Today Is The Big Day, and Our 2013 Race Calendar

Today is the day I have been waiting for since I ran this trail half marathon on November 17th.  Since then I have not been on a training plan.  I have been flying running by the seat of my pants.  Four days a week, 30 miles or so, no hill repeats, no speed work, just running to keep my legs, heart, and lungs conditioned.  Today marks the start of a brand new training cycle, with a brand new training plan.  We started a training plan from the July 2012 issue of Runner's World to prepare for our first full marathon. The one thing we failed to plan for when determining our race schedule for the year was this...

Just a little bit cold here right now!  And the rest of the week (3 more runs to do) looks even chillier!

Leigh hit the treadmill to get his miles in, but I CAN NOT STAND the old dreadmill. I would rather bundle up and brave the cold then run 6 miles in the same place! I worked nights last night, so I hauled it out of bed around 12:30 and thought of the ladies over at Another Mother Runner, told myself "Don't Think, Just Go," put on several layers of clothes, dug out my sunglasses and off I went for an easy 6 miler. I don't know if it was the excitement of training for a new challenge, getting out for a sunny stroller free midday run,  or subconsciously trying to speed up to get out of the cold, but I didn't have my typical post-night shift-dead legs. I found that I had to reel my pace in several times to stay within my target pace.  I made my loop just a bit too long, so ended up with 6.36 miles under my belt, with many many more to come before marathon day!

So what are we training for?  Our first goal race of the year is The Ottawa Marathon on May 26th 2013.  We are both gunning for sub-4 hour finishes.  We will also be running The Around the Bay 30K on March 24th 2013, which we have worked into our training schedule on our 18 mile long run week.  The miles we put in training for these races will serve us well as a base for our training for The Sears Great Canadian Run.  

We would like to thank all those who have read and shared our blog thus far.  Thank-you so much for posting it to your Facebook walls, and sharing it with your friends.

A VERY special thank-you to all those who have already donated to Cooper's Troopers.  We are at 28% of our original fundraising goal, which is inspiring us to try to blow our goal out of the water and give as much as we possibly can to the Sick Kids Foundation.

-Lex

Leave us some comments!!!! (we fixed it so anyone can comment, no special IDs required!)

How are you coping with the cold?

Any race goals for the year?