A Journey to My First Marathon Part 10

Training for a first marathon is hard....The long runs..The hill runs...the interval runs...the tempo runs. Especially when the long runs going above 3 hours. But you need to long runs for endurance. If not you will never have the confidence and physical capability to complete the race.

Most of the training programs will also include cross training days. I have two cross training days in my weekly schedule. I used to be doing weight training for 4 days before I get back into running. And I have been doing weight training for a long time. Currently, I break up my two cross training days into chest, shoulders and abs. The other day being back, legs and abs. I throw in biceps and triceps whenever I have time available. I do not like to have complete lean upper body with no muscles. But keeping some of the muscles makes my body heavier and it slows down my running speed. It is a compromise I have to choose. I have still lost a bit of muscles when I start reducing my weight training. I actually get more athletic looking body than a more bulky type.

I sometimes squeeze a bit of swimming mostly on Saturday. It helps to elevate some body injuries and   to avoid boredom and I really like the sun and the swim. It is a terrific combination!  Honestly, I don't really like swimming without the sun. Possibly some of parts of my body run on solar energy. Makes me think of Ultraman...

These are the two pictures of sunset I took when I was at St Kilda in Melbourne facing the Antartica. The sunset is just magnificent !

The cross training helps to build the core strength and avoid injuries. The hill runs, tempo runs and interval runs are those that help to improve your speed.

The next thing...to improve the long runs ....and outdoor runs...To be continued...