Marathon Monday, Week 1

Happy Monday, everyone!

I'm probably sitting in traffic on my way to work now, but I wanted to introduce you to a new series: Marathon Mondays. Dom and I are training for our first marathon on April 28, 2012 in Nashville, TN.  Every Monday, I'm hoping to give a recap of how training is going, how I'm feeling and any products I've found particularly helpful in the training process.

This week was our first real training week (although we were both running 2-4 days a week before) and I'm really exited about how serious we are.  The program I'm using jumped very quickly into longer distances, so my body was very sore after my 9-mile run today...however, I'm hoping it will get better as I become accustomed to running longer distances.  Here's what I did this week:

Monday: 4 miles (outside)

Tuesday: weightlifting and a dodgeball game

Wednesday: 5 miles (treadmill)

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: 9 miles (outside)

Mile goal: 20

Total miles ran: 18

I rested an extra day (Saturday) because I went out on Friday night and was too exhausted to run.  Although our Sunday run was the longest I've run since my half-marathon, I felt really good.  We slowed our pace down to about 10 minute miles to prevent injury and mentally prepare ourselves for the longer runs coming up.

Product review:

For Christmas, my mom got me this top.  I am in LOVE with it and wore it on my long run today.  The weather was between 44 and 50 degrees and this top was perfect.  It feels like Under Armour but is lined with a fleece-like material (sooo soft!)  It's fitted and keeps the sweat off my body.  I also felt like Spiderman wearing it!

Where to buy: Target

Price: $19.99

When to use: layer under a jacket for 30-40° weather.  Wear alone for 40-50°.

Purchased this week:

Recently, I realized that almost all my sports bras suck.  I need a lot of support and my Target-brand spadexy ones are not going to cut it.

After a fairly painful experience at the gym the other day, I decided to splurge on three 'high intensity' sports bras.  These things are not cheap, but I do categorize them as a necessity.  It is very important to have a supportive bra when you're running, especially if you have a larger chest.  You can actually damage your ligaments if you are not careful.  No one wants granny twins at 24!  I plan on reviewing all three after they arrive in the mail and are put to the test.  The three I purchased are:

1.  New Balance NBX Welded Sports Bra-- it got fantastic reviews and was on sale at Zappos.com for $35.99 (includes shipping and return label if necessary.)

2. Moving Comfort Women's Fiona Bra--was recommended by Lauren at Sassy Molassy and also got awesome reviews.  I found it on Amazon for $26.00; however, it's regularly priced at $50.00

3.   Moving Comfort Women's Rebound Racer Bra--also received fantastic reviews and was on sale at Amazon!  $35.00 for this one, but it's $50.00 originally.

On the wish list:

Within the next two weeks, I will probably buy this hot-pink number.  When I was training for my half, I used the water fountains (and water stations during the race) during my runs.  However, DC has turned off a lot of the water fountains because of the dropping temps, so I don't want to get caught without proper hydration.  I also want to start training with this on so I get used to having it around my waist.

Where to buy: online or local running store

Price: $32-$40 depending on where you buy

When to use: Longer runs when drinking fountains are scarce. 

This week, my longest run is 6 miles but I might try to increase that since I'm a week behind in my training schedule. It's also restaurant week in DC so I might need to run those extra miles to work off all the food I'm going to eat.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend!