Couch potato to marathon finisher--you can do it too!

Me and my best friend Kaitlyn after finishing the Ogden Half Marathon

I've never considered myself a good runner… I've never exactly enjoyed running either. But I do it! I've done 5 or 6 half marathons and here is my reasoning behind it: if I sign up for the half marathon I have to train before or I'm going to be miserable on the race day. In essence, it forces me to work out.

Some people say, "Oh I'm not a runner, I can't do half marathons/marathons" and I think to myself, "Yeaaah right!"Anyone can do a half marathon. Seriously anyone. I've seen severely overweight men and women cross the marathon finish line and it's amazing! It makes me emotional. So don't you try and tell me you can't do it, you can!

Anyone can run races. It's all about training and pacing yourself. When I would run the half marathons I would do training runs 3 days a week and do a run/walk method. If you're doing your first race I highly recommend reading The Run Walk Run Method by Jeff Galloway. Walking during a run isn't "cheating"… it's refreshing your muscles. Sometimes people end up finishing with a faster time using the run-walk method than they would if the ran the whole time. Surprising right? I swear by the run/walk method, I don't ever do a long run without doing the run/walk method.

The ratio of run/walk depends on how fast of a mile you run. The ratios outlined by Jeff Galloway are as follows:

If you run a...
8 minute mile: run 4 minutes walk 35 seconds
9 minute mile: run 4 minutes walk 1 minute
10 minute mile: run 3 minutes walk 1 minute
11 minute mile: run 2.5 minutes walk 1 minute
12 minute mile: run 2 minutes walk 1 minute
13 minute mile: run 1 minute walk 1 minute
14 minute mile: run 30 seconds walk 30 seconds
15 minute mile: run 30 seconds walk 60 seconds

Sounds do-able, right?

I'm planning on doing a racing series that does a 5K, 10K, 10 mile, half marathon, and 18 mile run throughout the winter. I'm also signed up for the Ogden Half Marathon on May 17, 2014. I've done the Ogden half marathon about 4 times now and I love it. It's down the beautiful Ogden Canyon alongside a river and finishes up at historic 25th street. I'm also planning on doing my first MARATHON next June. I'm looking forward to the experience.

One problem, I didn't do any running last year because I was pregnant and scared of getting my heart rate too high. No really, I can barely run a mile right now. Yep, I can barely run a mile and I'm going to do a marathon next summer. Join me! You can do it too! Anyone can!

Along with the run/walk method another one of my secret weapons is runnerworlds "SmartCoach". You can access SmartCoach here. SmartCoach creates a personalized training plan for you based off of how long of a race your training for, how hard you want to train and how many miles a week you currently run. You have to sign up with Runnersworld.com but it's free!

The longest the plans can be is 24 weeks, so right now I have the plan set to train me for my half marathon. When I get closer to the half marathon I'll revise it to train me for the FULL marathon. I'd love for you to join me! Believe in yourself, surprise yourself, become that marathon runner!