Every January for the past four years, my favorite yoga youtube instructor, Adriene Mishler, puts out a new 30 Days of Yoga series, with a new video published everyday of the month. She also has an online Facebook community, called the Kula, where Yoga with Adriene yogis come together and offer support, ask questions and basically lift each other up from all over the world. In January, most members are practicing the videos the days they come out, and it builds a very special kinship and sense of comadrie during a solo practice. This year, the series was called True.

I was mostly able to keep up. Some days I had to do two or three videos due to two half marathon weekends and an intense work commute that took much of the hours of the day I wasn’t physically at work. I liked having a schedule of workouts – since Mike and I moved outside of LA I haven’t been keeping up with my run crew, or even a set running schedule to train for the LA Marathon. I run when I feel like it, for as long of a distance as I have in me. I also have been trying to make a full recovery (not injured, just very tired) since my San Antonio marathon in December – it’s important to me to run strong at LAM.

In the midst of True I was thinking I would spent the month of February committed to one of YWA’s older 30 Day series, possibly Revolution as I never finished it! Towards the end of January, I realized I didn’t have it in me to commit to another yoga video every single day, but I did want to try something new I’d have to show up for! A run streak! I’d never done one before, and as LA Marathon is getting closer, I knew it’d be the perfect motivation to get in better running shape!

My run bud, Zooey, and I! This run streak has us bonding more than ever before!

The rules of my own personal run streak are as follows: At least one mile, everyday. Of course these things are more fun with others, so a few of my IG run friends have joined it. It’s great – we keep each other accountable while embarking on solo endeavors. It’s a virtual run crew! My goal is to work on my speed, run form and being able to run on fatigued legs. My long term goal is to run an ultra, which means I have to train to stop falling apart at mile 18 during the marathon distance. My short term goal is a 4:30 marathon finish time at LAM ’18. I don’t have much time left, about 5 weeks, and it’s going to take a lot of work, but I know I’ll get close. With hardly any long distance training (or much training in general) I was able to PR at Long Beach with a 4:58. That took everything I had, and mentally I have to get back there. The optimal goal is 4:30, mostly it’s about the PR. I want to beat 4:58, and not by just a few seconds this particular race.

The breakdown of my marathon story goes like this:
I trained hard for my first marathon, LA Marathon, last year. I wanted to run it with Mike, who did not train as rigorously. We finished with a 6:10.

I ran Long Beach, in November, for me. I wanted to see what I could do on my own. The goal was 4:30, but with hardly any specific marathon training. I ran a half marathon, a 10k and a 5k the month prior to Long Beach. I finished with a 4:58 and was happy to have a sub-5 under my belt!

I ran Nice-Cannes the following month. The goal was to finish under the six-hour cut-off, which  I did, barley. I got a 5:46. Running two marathons, and a half marathon, in one month’s time took almost an hour off my marathon time.

I ran Rock’n Roll San Antonio in December. My finish was 6:14. I took a few weeks off running after that one.

So here we are in February, about 5 weeks out from LA Marathon! I’m upping the strength training and trying to get out there, everyday to run at least one mile! Tonight’s training run is 8 miles with my old run crew, incorporates the hilliest parts of the marathon in the run, and will be a better indicator of where I am and what I still have to work on!