I always start seriously training three months out from a marathon. My plan from about this week through the Maine Marathon is to go on one three hour weekend run, with tenish mile runs during the week, two rest days with cross training and a speed workout evening or morning depending on the day. Fifty toe touching sit ups a day, five push ups…

Staying active after health obstacles with pots syndrome or back surgery is important for keeping my body working, being active is better for me than resting, keeping all the blood vessels toned. Sometimes there’s dizzy spells or feeling like the surgery was a month ago and I need that silky microwavable lavender heating wrap all the time, but other days taking the risk to be an athlete is worth it. Atleast the back surgery happend after turning 25, where being competitive in running is still important or valid in life, but it isn’t as important as it was under 21. My worst athletic injury by far is my left foot escalating into a pretty bad fracture, after a surprise occurance in a weightroom all the way back in the tenth grade. The human body really adapts to new realities with injuries moving forward. I feel like once I cross a finish line of a marathon, no one even knows about the health obstacles which I have worked around, which is nice.

For me, it is important to run long once a week, to really be prepared for the marathon distance, doing x amount of mileage makes all of the muscles + bones + tendons jump back into the water so it does not feel unnatural on an event day to make it to the finish line.

If all goes well, between the Maine Marathon and Mount Desert Island in October, I will not have to train over fifteen miles on a weekend long run, my body will just be in marathon mode.

This weekend, however, I slipped on a silly five mile run and have scratches on my elbow+hand+knee+leg like a little kid. Fingers crossed this weeks training goes better. The last resort is always just winging the marathon of a whim. Just making it through this fall season will make my entire running life.