Back on track!

The deed is done! I'm officially registered to walk the 4 Bridges Half Marathon in Chattanooga in October. LeeAnn and I have been talking about it for awhile, and now we're all official and stuff. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I can't allow myself to have any doubt about whether or not I can actually accomplish this since I completed a similar task once already this year.

Yup, that's right. Two half marathons in one year. That's certainly not a goal I ever thought I'd accomplish. Isn't it amazing how quickly goals can change?

 This time last year I don't think I'd even considered applying for Covenant's Biggest Winner Marathon team. One simple decision that truly changed my life, my habits, and my goals. If anyone's interested they're currently accepting applications for next year's team! If you've even considered it once ... go for it!

In the last year I've gained strength, courage, determination, not to mention some amazing friends whom I couldn't imagine my life without.

Anyway ... back to Chattanooga. The good thing is that we've never stopped our walking routine, so we're in pretty good shape starting back with our distance training. Here's our basic guide we're going to follow (thanks to Coach Kane's training guide):

Week 1 (Sept. 1): 3-4 miles

Week 2 (Sept. 8): 3 ½ - 5 miles

Week 3 (Sept. 15): 4 ½ - 6

Week 4 (Sept. 22): 5 ½ - 7

Week 5 (Sept. 29): 7 – 9

Week 6 (Oct. 6): 7 ½ - 10

Week 7 (Oct. 13): 9 – 11 miles

Week 8 (Race Day on Sunday):

Monday (Oct. 15): Rest day if you are feeling really tired.

Tuesday (Oct. 16): Easy 20–35 minute walk

Wednesday (Oct. 17): 2 – 4 miles.

Thursday (Oct. 18): Fifteen minute light workout and stretch well. Be drinking more water and eating good sources of carbohydrates over the next few days.

Friday (Oct. 19): Off.

Saturday, Oct. 20: Walk around 10 –20 minutes at an easy pace. Make sure you know what the last one or two miles of the course look like. Hydrate yourself well the night before the race.

Oct. 21: Sunday:  Race Day!  Good luck and have fun.

So there you have it ... my next couple of months in a nutshell! I'm so glad that I've been keeping up with my workouts and strength training -- even though it's nothing compared to our group workouts with Chris. The foundation of strength has really helped me realize that this training shouldn't be too bad! 

I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about getting back into training ... just some parting wisdom from Pinterest.