Motivation Monday - 1st week of marathon training

It's been 2 years since I've trained for a marathon. I'm running the Portland Marathon on Oct 5th and going for a PR. My goal is to finish the race in under 3:20. This is 5 minutes faster than my previous faster marathon and I know the training will be challenging. I'm looking forward to it because I love how it feels to get faster, to hit times, to conquer hills and enjoy slower runs!

This past week I did hill repeats, a hilly run and 10 miler. I got into Forest Park to tackle the hilly run and found a new spot for hill repeats (missing the Brooklyn Bridge!) My recovery runs were just that - slow and easy. My body definitely felt the hills and the upper mileage. I'm not worried about my pace at this point. I'm looking for consistency on the hill repeats and a strong finish on the hilly runs. I hit my small weekly goals, slept a lot and am looking forward to week 2!

Learn to Love Hills

If you've worked with us before, you know how much we love hills. We love hilly runs, hill repeats and finding new hills to run. Why do we love hills? Because they build strength, stamina and endurance. Even if your race isn't hilly, incorporating hills into your training will benefit you. You'll be able to run farther and stronger after a few weeks of hills.

Remember to start out easy and slowly - don't charge up the hill or do 8 repeats on your first day out. We recommend incorporating hills into your daily runs and then adding in hill repeats once a week. Find a hill that is about 1/4 of a mile and run up it a few times. Walk back down (or jog) to fully recover before you start up again.

Happy hill running!