26.2

Hi, my name is Courtney and I am not a runner.

Compared to turtles I am slow, my form is horrible, and I somehow have managed to start running long distances using only sheer willpower, a rebellious streak in me that yearns to defy what I know to be my limitations, and an affinity for singing and dancing to Glee songs while on runs in public places.

I started running longer distances in Africa as more stress relief than anything else, and then signed up for the Big Sur Marathon on a whim. I want to show people that it is possible to not run very many miles, but just to try your hardest, and you too can cross the finish line. I ran my first on May 1st, 2011 and I’m officially addicted! Since I have been posting increasingly more often about the topic 0f running/marathoning, I deemed it necessary to make a page to aggregate all of my running-related posts.

This is not a blog that you will come to find running tips, ways to increase your mileage, how to run faster, how to fuel adequately, or how to break 2 hours in a half-mary without breaking a sweat. More accurately, you will probably find snarky comments about how running kind of sucks and about how slow I am. You will see tips about how to run while hungover and how to fuel a workout on a bag of yogurt pretzels.

With that being said, here are some of my posts about running in one place:

• 26.2 (About signing up for Big Sur way back in July of last year when I was still in the Moz!)
• I Run Because I Can (running in Africa and all the joys that it entailed)
• True Life: My Marathon Training Started Without Me (self-explanatory)
• The Five Emotional Phases of Marathon Training, Phase One: Honeymoon
• The Five Emotional Phases of Marathon Training, Phase Two: Apathy
• The Five Emotional Phases of Marathon Training, Phase Three: Pure Pain
• The Five Emotional Phases of Marathon Training, Phase Four: Momentum
• The Five Emotional Phases of Marathon Training, Phase Five: Anxious Excitement!!!!!!1
• The Worst 15-miler ever in life
• Halfway through Marathon Training reflections!
• Half Marathon (Shamrock’n in Sacramento) Recap!
• Big Sur Marathon Recap

“Here’s how you run a marathon.
Step 1: You start running.
Step 2: There is no step 2.”

I have signed up and/or completed the following races this year:

• Shamrock’n Half Marathon, Sacramento (March 13)
• Big Sur Marathon, Big Sur (May 1)
• Bay to Breakers 100th running, San Francisco (May 15)
• DSE 6-Hour Distance Classic (July 10th)
• San Francisco Marathon (July 31st)
• The Giant Race Half Marathon (August 27th)
• San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon (October 2nd)
• Nike Women’s Half Marathon (October 16th)

Here’s my training schedule for my first marathon. Take it for what’s it worth. This is NOT an expert plan by any means. My goals for this marathon were simply to:

• Finish (preferably in under five)
• Add in yoga for stretching
• Not get hurt
• Not die

And that’s basically it. I’m including my “other exercise” here because I think it all plays a part and because I run a lot less than most people do because I’ve gotten hurt a lot in the past and am trying to be careful. This is just basic; I will probably be running more than is listed here. Runs are in red, rest days are blue, yoga is bold, and everything else is cross-training.

Week “Zero”: (Total Miles/Long Run Miles) 12/5
Thursday: 3 +miles
Saturday: Folsom lake New Year’s Duathlon (4 mile trail run, 7 mile bike)
Sunday: 3+ miles

Week One: 21/7
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: CROSS (pilates and elliptical)
Wednesday: 6+ miles; Zumba
Thursday: yoga and elliptical
Friday: 5 miles; Bodyattack and Zumba
Saturday: treadmill hills (walking); stationary bike, strength training
Sunday (LR): 7 miles

Week Two: 22/8
Monday: elliptical and treadmill hills
Tuesday: 4 miles INTERVALS; Zumba: yoga; pilates
Wednesday: 6 miles; Zumba
Thursday: 4 miles; yoga
Friday: bodyattack; Zumba; strength training
Saturday: elliptical, treadmill hills
Sunday (LR): 8.5 miles

Week Three: 24/9
Monday: bodyflow (yoga); bodyattack; strength training
Tuesday: 5 miles; yoga
Wednesday: 6 miles; Zumba
Thursday: 4 miles; yoga
Friday: nada!
Saturday: Zumba instructor class all day
Sunday (LR): 9 miles

Week Four: 23/9 (was supposed to be 26; cut a 6-miler to 3 because of soreness)
Monday: Zumba practice
Tuesday: 4 miles; Zumba; yoga; strength training
Wednesday: 6 miles; Zumba
Thursday: elliptical, yoga
Friday: one hour walking on treadmilll w/ hills; strength training
Saturday: 3.1 miles (5K PR!)
Sunday (LR): 10 miles

Week Five: 21/11
Monday: nada!
Tuesday: 4 miles; yoga
Wednesday: Zumba
Thursday: nada!
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: yoga (Bikram)
Sunday (LR): 11 miles

Week Six: 30/13.1
Monday: strength training; yoga (Bikram)
Tuesday: 4+ miles, yoga (Bikram)
Wednesday: 7+ miles (HILLS); yoga (Bikram)
Thursday: Zumba; strength training; yoga (Bikram)
Friday: 5 miles; yoga (Bikram)
Saturday: nada!
Sunday (LR): 13.1 miles

Week Seven: 26/15 (planned was 27/12. It got thrown off because I moved to a new city and started a new job)
Monday: walked somewhere between 13-15 miles
Tuesday: none (planned 3 miles)
Wednesday: none (planned 7 miles)
Thursday: 6 miles (replaced Wednesday’s plan)
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: none
Sunday (LR): 15 miles (HILLS!)

Week Eight: 26.5/17 (planned was 32/14. Still off schedule. Next week I will be on top of things!)
Monday: strength training
Tuesday: 4 miles INTERVALS
Wednesday: none
Thursday: 5.3 miles
Friday:none
Saturday (LR): 17 miles
Sunday:

Week Nine: (planned 28/13.1)
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 6 miles
Sunday (LR): 13.1 miles (half marathon–read the recap!)

Week Ten: (30/16)
Tuesday: 3 miles HILLS
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 4 miles HILLS
Sunday (LR): 18 miles

Week Eleven: (33/18)
Tuesday: 5 miles HILLS
Wednesday: 6 miles INTERVALS
Friday: 4 miles HILLS
Sunday (LR): 20 miles!

Week Twelve: (35/20)
Tuesday: 5 miles HILLS
Wednesday: 6 miles INTERVALS
Friday: 4 miles
Sunday (LR): 23 miles! HILLS

Week Thirteen: (37/22)
Tuesday: 5 miles (HILLS)
Wednesday: 6 miles INTERVALS
Thursday: 4 miles
Sunday (LR): 22 miles

Week Fourteen: (30/12 TAPER)
Tuesday: 5 miles (HILLS)
Wednesday: 4 miles INTERVALS
Thursday: 6 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Sunday (LR): 12miles HILLS

Week Fifteen: (23/8 TAPER)
Tuesday: 3 miles HILLS
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 5 miles INTERVALS
Friday: 3 miles
Sunday (LR): 8 miles

Week Sixteen (IT’S HERE! 34/26.2)
Tuesday: 3 miles INTERVALS
Wednesday: 3 miles
Saturday: 2 miles
Sunday (LR): Big Sur International Marathon (26.2!)

Week Seventeen: Jack sh*t.