It’s finally here. Peak marathon training is here.

After weeks of building my mileage, especially my week day runs, have given me the confidence to get excited about the next three weeks instead of fearful. Even better, I have a partner in the excitement. Bo has been asking me more questions over the past few days than ever before. I think he finally feels that the marathon is actually going to happen for him this year after being sidelined with injuries the past two years.

So, how do I plan on embracing the next three weeks of training and stay excited about the 40-45 miles I’ll be running each week versus dreading it.

• Focus on the prize. My goal is 4:45 and now that I’ve put it out on the blog and shared it with my friends it is becoming very real. I know it’s doable but my mental stability will be more important than even my physical ability. Each run is being treated like it’s during the marathon. That means no photo stops, no stopping my watch, ensuring that I maintain a manageable pace by carrying on conversations during my run, using the fuel I want to use the day of the marathon, and push my body beyond it’s comfort zone.
• Sleep. It’s really hard for me to make myself go to bed “early enough” on weeknights. Since I’m up around 5:15-6 each morning, in order to get 7 hours of sleep, I should be in bed by 10pm each night. The evening is our only time to hang out during the week so the last thing I want to do is sacrifice that time. I also have a little thing called a blog. So, over the next few weeks you’ll see a few random morning posts as I try to do some posts before work in the morning, after workouts.
• Food: I’ve said it already bit I have made it halfway through marathon training without gaining a pound which is a nice change to prior years. I attribute this to healthier snacking, protein, and homemade dinners. I’m going to have fun with this month’s Favorite Things post by sharing some of my favorite foods lately that have kept me going and filled with energy these past few months.

So, while I know some people’s peak weeks include mileage totals in the range of 60-70, for me I’m super excited to see how my body reacts to these 3 weeks and how my brain handles the challenge.

So, here’s what the week holds for my legs:

• 2 easy, shorter runs
• 1 medium run (7-8 miles)
• 20 mile long run (Goals include ~ 10:40 pace, fuel every 4-5 miles, include some hills)
• 1 hill run including my beloved Cat Hill
• 1 personal training session
• yoga
• planks/dips/pushups

Your turn! How do you embrace tough workouts or training weeks?