Training report

A little known fact is that I am training for the St. Louis Half-Marathon (takes place at the same time as the St. Louis Marathon on April 15). Having trained (poorly) for a half-marathon before, I know full well how important it is to build my mileage. My last venture ended in injuries that have plagued me for nearly eight years, now. In part this is because I was in terrible shape- three babies in six years with intermittent training during that time- but also, I didn't stick very well to my training program (probably because I wasn't in any shape to stick to it).

In October (2006) after the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation Bridge Run (across the MLK Bridge that spans the Mississippi River and links East St. Louis and St. Louis) at which I ran a pain-free 5K, I decided I was up for trying this challenge again. On the advice of my marathoner sister-in-law, Kathy Holden, I am using a training program from a sensible book called Marathoning for Mortals.

I spent October - December trying to be consistent and building a good base of mileage, and I was quite successful. Then, the two worst enemies to my training raised their ugly heads - first, my kids got sick; then I got sick. Still, I was able to start the actual 14 weeks of training mostly on time in January, but once again, last week I became quite sick for almost a week.

Nevertheless, I am proud to say that I got my six mile run in on Saturday (on the treadmill at Korte). By the end it was clear that I need to stay for a few more days on Coach (the good doctor) Fennoy's tonic: half Pedialyte, half Gatorade, as I was suffering quite a bit from dehydration. Further, I'm proud to say that today I got in a 50 minute run outside on the GC track, and I felt good - much better than Saturday, and I ended strong.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can continue injury-free (thanks to Mike Toolen from Running Start Sports for recommending the Brooks Radius that are working so great for me) and healthy, along with my kids.