Getting back on the training train

The year may be coming to a close, but training is just starting for many of us running the Pittsburgh Marathon and other spring events.   Training through the winter isn't easy. Short days and long nights, cold temperatures, snow and the worst of the worst...ice!  So far we have had it good. The unseasonably warm weather this year let me run on December 22nd shirtless and in shorts and I was still sweating. 

I started training on December 14th and am looking ahead to 34 weeks of training broken down into 3 cycles.  First, will be base and strength building which will lead to to the Pittsburgh Marathon weekend. From here five high mileage weeks and then a taper for the Laurel Highlands Ultra. This race will be my furthest to date with a whopping 70.5 miles of moderately technical terrain.  After recovering from Laurel Highlands one more buildup of miles and then a taper leading to the Burning River 100 miler!

The hardest part of training is simply finding the time, or more aptly making the time to train without neglecting my work and home life. Is there anyone out there that would like to hire me to run? That would simplify things greatly!

Here is how I am attempting to balance training.  Mondays are for rest and crosstraining. Tuesday through Thursday are run days with a medium long run on Wednesdays. Tuesday and Thursday will alternate between running on lunch break and after work. Wednesday will be early AM. By the time I get up to running 15 milers on Wednesday I will likely need to be awake by 2AM.  Also when the back to backs get very long I likely will be on trail by 3 AM or so.  Is this sustainable? I'll let you know over the course of the next few months. At this point I have some doubts, but as Nelson Mandela said, "It always seems impossible until it's done." So now I get to it and get it done.