I am getting close to taper time for the marathon! My race is 35 days away to be exact.
Ahhhh! This seemed like a good idea 3 months ago! Ahhhh!
This means I’ll be running less and will have more time and energy for some much needed strength training. I am horrible about balancing cardio with strength and want to improve on this. But, I don’t have a ton of time or resources so I decided to use something I already have – Jillian’s 30 Day Shred. 
I plan on doing this dvd for the next 33 days or so. The plan is to do each of the three levels for ten days. I will be taking my long run days off from this (even when they start to decrease) so it will work out to last until right before the race.
I am hoping this will help keep my spirits and motivation high while still letting my “running parts” rest 🙂 If I do feel like I’m not getting enough rest or taper, I’ll cut back. I am good about getting enough rest, trust me.
This morning I did Level 1 and took a short walk for some exercise. Then, it was time for a fabulous Sunday breakfast.
I made French Toast with sandwich thins dipped in an egg batter with cinnamon and chia seeds.
I always cook up the extra egg batter for some extra protein. Yum, eggs with syrup!
Served with iced coffee 🙂
and freshly cut watermelon. I know H2O melon season is coming to a close, but this one is still delicious! 
I like Jillian Michaels. I know her style is not for everyone, but I appreciate some “tough love” from my coaches. I use the phrase “get it together” a lot and I know that rubs some people the wrong way. Well, it works for me because that’s the kind of motivation I respond to.
I have been accused of berating myself on RER, but I have to disagree with that. I am a straight shooter and I speak very candidly to myself and on this blog. At the same time, I don’t take myself too seriously and a lot of what I write here is meant to be helpful, but also fun and light hearted.
Training for a marathon is no joke. I realize that sometimes I am hard on myself. And sometimes I’m too easy on myself too. Luckily, I’m a grown ass man woman and I get to be the boss of these things.
I dream of breaking 4 hours in my marathon.
I dream of one day qualifying for Boston.
These dreams will not be accomplished by throwing pennies in wishing wells. These dreams will be accomplished by me training like an athlete, eating like an athlete and treating myself like an athlete. It won’t always be pretty, but it will be pretty bad ass.
And that’s really what we’re all here for anyways, right?
I love your attitude!
While I don’t respond to tough love when it comes to working out, I really liked JM’s 30 day shred.
What exactly is leftover french-toast batter? I can’t even picture what that might be.
I like your voice. Don’t stop letting us hear it 😉 I must sound really stupid but it has NEVER occurred to me to cook up leftover french-toast batter.. DOH
Don’t let those people get you down. I love your mix of humor and determination, and especially your willingness to be candid and tell it like it is. A lot of other bloggers are way too saintly in the way they present themselves. I love reading about you as a real person, not as an ideal.
i’m the SAME way. i always stop right in my tracks when i catch myself having a triple p ( personal pity party, haha) because, quite frankly, i feel like half the time we’re upset, all we’re really being is whiners. i think it’s really important to develop a tough skin, not to beat ourselves up, but before anything, or anyone else tries.
When do you begin tapering for your marathon? I am running one the same day and debating on how long I should slow down! This is my first full marathon. I have found for my half marathons that a week seems almost too long. Any suggestions??
I taper two weeks for both half marathons and full marathons. I am a huge proponent of a good two weeks of pulling back on training before a race. I have said on here before, “It’s better to be 10% under trained than 1% over trained.”
My two long runs before the race will be 13 miles and 8 miles. The midweek runs will be shorter as well.
Thanks for the advice! I will be thinking of you in 35 (!!!) days!
You’re in it to win it! Orrrr… do your best! Either way, great attitude. I like your ambition!
If I ever meet Jillian Michael’s I’m going to say, “I love you, Jillian, even though you make my arms cry.” The Shred is tough stuff, have fun lunging the days away.
Whatever works for you! That’s all that matters.
I have a marathon in a little over a month as well. You are super hardcore. There’s no way I’m starting anything like the shred! 🙂
Good luck with doing the shred and training at the same time! That’s really tough!
Hell yeah! You rock!
I actually love your attitude – if you want to be an athlete, you have to be an athlete and there are no shortcuts or secret passageways!
you tell em!
I’m running a marathon on 10/17 too (nike women’s) I totally get your nervous excitement. I also get your self-deprecating humor. I like that you’re honest, sorry people give you a hard time about it.
Good luck same day racer! I’m glad you “get” me 🙂
You motivate me. I have this dream of running a half-marathon in 2011 and reading blogs like yours makes me feel like I can make this dream a reality.
I love the shred dvds. I haven’t ever tried level 3. I should get on that. I love Jillian’s style. Another dream of mine is having her come to my house and whip me into shape. I love her.
keeping chasing those dreams and goals 🙂 you will get them 🙂
Thanks Karyn 🙂 I may be hitting you up for advice when I start trying to reach that second goal…
How is your knee doing? I was wondering how the IT Band/knee issue resolved itself and how you got back to running. I’m facing a similar situation right now and I could use some good news! I really want to run again.
It’s doing a lot better and I plan on posting about it this week! I haven’t even been taping it and it’s okay on long runs. I can tell when it’s getting tired before the rest of my body and pull back some when that happens.
I was going to ask the same question about your knee! I can’t remember – have you done the shred and been running a lot at the same time before? The one time I did this is when I injured my knee, and I’m pretty sure the millons of lunges/jumping squats, etc. had something to do with it. I’ve just started training for my first marathon so I LOVE to hear any marathon + strength training tips!
Oh and I think more people need tough love! Sometimes you just to hear the unfortunate reality of a situation, especially when you tell yourself 🙂
Yeah, I know the Shred can be hard on your knees so I’ll watch out for that. I was not doing Shred when I hurt my knee last time, that was all from the race/training.