New Training

I signed up for the Chicago Marathon Saturday. It's October 12, 2008. It's pretty far away, but I like that. Not that I did too much last year, but it will be nice to have a more relaxed race schedule for this year. I might not even do a triathlon this season. I do love triathlon, but I don't have much desire to race just yet. I might change my mind when it starts getting warmer again, but as of today the only races I plan on doing in '08 are the Derby Half Marathon and Chicago.

So how is training going? The month or so after a race is always the time I need to be the most cautious. Its always a challenge to figure out how much time I need to take completely off, and how slowly or quickly to return to exercise. I have some strong telltale signs of when I am being too ambitious. I think we all have them, so what happens when we don't listen to the signs? In most cases it results in injury. Every time I have had an injury, achilles tendinitis, knee inflammation, etc. it has always been in the first month or so after a big event. My achilles tendinitis occurred when I started running again after the Derby Marathon. Knee pain followed the Ironman. It's not every time that I have an injury after a race, but it can be often if I am not careful. Knowing that my running group is out there pounding the pavement every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning makes me want to come back as quickly as possible because I fear losing fitness... of course also for fear of missing out on the great early morning conversation.

Since I am still within one month of the Phoenix Marathon I have been trying to be very careful about my training. I've been doing this by taking a few days off when I feel something not quite right, and adding some variety into my training. Strength training is something I always do reluctantly and infrequently, but for now it has been a bit more frequent, but still with reluctance. Example week:
Monday: Strength training 30 minutes, cross training (usually elliptical) 30 min
Tuesday: Run 40-50 min
Wednesday: Trainer ride 45min-1hr, Hot Yoga 1hr (flexibility and strength)
Thursday: Run 47-49 min w/Starbucks group
Friday: rest
Saturday: Run >1hr
Sunday: Trainer ride 1hr, Hot Yoga 1hr

I've been really enjoying this yoga class. I think the instructor is great and it is always more challenging than I anticipate. The room stays a very humid 90-95 degrees which makes it great
for keeping the muscles warm and loose. I think it is really helping my hips and hamstrings. Hope it helps me stay injury free as well!