So It Begins: Week 1 of Marathon Training

"Disclaimer: I received access to the AfterShokz #262squad Marathon Training Experience on Motigo to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

So, I am officially in training for my first ever Marathon, the Tobacco Road Marathon on March 17th, 2019. 
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHGHGHHGHGHGH!!!!!!!

Perhaps the hardest part so far of training for a marathon has been selecting a training plan. I am SUPER Type A, especially when it comes to planning my runs. Since I started racing almost 5 years ago now (WOW) I have been on some sort of plan or another. I started out using the Couch to 5K plan. After that, I used Runkeeper plans, plans found online, plans though local training groups, and finally, I've started making up my own plans based on what has and hasn't worked for me in the past. But marathon training was a whole new level of insanity that I've not experienced before, and I'm pretty much doing it alone which in itself is scaring me a bit. 

Lucky for me, as I was agonizing over this, I was given an amazing opportunity though BibRave to check out the Aftershokz #262 Marathon Training Experience through the Motigo App. Basically, it is a fully realized 18 week marathon training plan that consists of 4 run days per week. Also, for each week, 1 or 2 of the runs will have Audio that provides motivation and tips that pop up as you run so even though I am training alone, I'm not really alone. 

So I had a wee bit of a rocky start (mainly because I thought this week - Nov. 19 - 25th was Week 1, instead of last week - Nov. 12 - 19th). Oops! Luckily, I figured it out half way though the week and really only missed 1 running day (but actually put in the correct number of total miles, so in the end, it all worked out anyway. 

For the first week, I had 2 days with Audio cues. Since I am early in the program, the audio mainly was motivational, a preview of what was to come. I liked how I got a little chime right before the audio cue came on because sometimes I have a tendency to zone out a bit while running, so when I heard the chime, I had a moment to turn up the volume on my Aftershokz so I could make sure I could really hear Jessica or Tim talking. I'll be honest, during my first run with Audio, when I heard Jessica encouraging me to increase my pace near the end of my 5 mile run, at first I was like, nah, but then I did and I am glad that I did. It was nice to have that bit of an extra push and I look forward to more of this in the future. 

Overall, the plan looks gradual and pretty straight forward, and not quite as intimidating now that I have it all set out before me. My biggest concerns are being able to fit in the longer mid-week runs. Any thing above 5 miles on a week day is a bit of a challenge to schedule in, so I may have to get creative for a few weeks, especially seeing that the bulk of the plan is squarely in the winter months, which can be pretty unpredictable here in SC. Mainly, I am trying to think positive and not let it overwhelm me. It helps that a few other of my fellow BibRave Pros are also training with this program, so even though I am technically alone, I do have a squad out there who know what I am going through. 

Let's just hope it doesn't end the same for me as it did Theoden... 

Would you like to join me on this epic adventure? There is always room on the #262squad. To join in on the Aftershokz #262 Marathon Training Experience visit: https://262squad.aftershokz.com/ for instructions on how to access the program. 

And if you'd like to join me specifically at the Tobacco Road Marathon, you can register here: http://www.tobaccoroadmarathon.com/ and use discount code:  trmrave19 for $20 off your marathon or half marathon registration.