The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is less than 4 short months away and training has commenced! After hearing the rave reviews from my friend Dena Harris, I decided to try the FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) Program. Instead of running 4-6 times a week, this program has you run only 3 days of intense workouts and 2-3 days of cross-training (non-weight bearing activities such as swimming, cycling or rowing). Here's a recap of my first week:
Monday (XT#1) Rowing Workout (30 min alternating between easy and hard effort) - Loved it!
Tuesday (Run#1) Track Workout (10-20 min warm-up, 3 x 1600 at 6:39 pace, 10 min cool-down) - Got two of these in and had to stop. Too hot!
Wednesday (XT#2) Swim Workout (20 lengths of 25m pool with a kickboard; no arms) - Stretched my hips every two lengths, but really enjoyed getting in the water.
Thursday (Run #2) Tempo Run (2-mile warm-up, 2-mile tempo at 7:12 pace, 2-mile cool-down) - This was a challenge but I hit my pace goals.
Saturday (Run #3) Long Run (13 miles at 8:30 pace) - Had a 10K race, so I ran 7 miles at an 8:00 pace, then PR'd the race at a 7:43 pace)