All about that base

{And of course, the obligatory: I’m hosting a second round of my charity auction to support Team for Kids!!! Please please please check out the awesome swag that is up for bid. The first 4 people to bid today will automatically get a set of Brilliant Reflective strips! You can check out the charity auction here}

It’s hump day! And it’s Wild Workout Wednesday and I’m linking up with  Fitful Focus, The Fit Foodie Mama, Fruition Fitness, and Pretty Little Grub.

Lately, I’ve been mentally gearing up for marathon training. One, because I love planning and two, because I know it’s going to be HARD. Training officially starts in July. And I live in Atlanta. I’m from New England. So basically, get ready to watch a 4 month dumpster fire. I’m gearing up for it…

Just an aside: I can blather on and on and on about base building. I think it may be my favorite running topic ever.

What I plan to do between now and July:

Work on my weaknesses: Say what now? A.k.a. strengthen my hips and glutes and foam roll my calves religiously. Up until recently, I hadn’t struggled with calf issues but my hips are a known bugger in training. Race Pace Jess posted an awesome article on what to do before starting marathon training.

Build endurance: I love Jason Fitzgerald’s article on building a base.

[And] Bob Kennedy, the former American record holder in the 5,000m, explains, “There are three basic phases to a training cycle: base, strength and speed. The problem that most athletes have is that they think [the phases] are mutually exclusive. I think that the phase of training is defined by what you are focusing on during that phase.

But you always do a little of all of those things. There’s never a time of year when you’re just running mileage or you’re just doing speed. You’re always doing all of it, it’s just a matter of to what degree.”

Any base period should include three components: gradually increasing mileage, the critical long run, and of course, at least one faster workout per week.

Training plan: I’m still so undecided. I did a “modified” Hansons for my last marathon and felt pretty much amazing up until the very end. But I also found this Women’s Running training plan that looks appealing. Part of me wants to “save” Hansons for when I’m ready to make some big time goals.

Have fun: I’m just going to live these Disney Princesses hit the gym video right here…