The Program

My training program began on Christmas Eve 2007 with a run of 3 miles. The complete program is a 16 week program (although I have adapted the program to be a 17 week program so that my "weeks" are a week behind the book) and is fully described in "The Non-runners Marathon Trainer." Each week consists of 4 days of running and 3 days of rest. I have chosen to run on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. My long run each week is generally on Saturday. I have made a few minor modifications in the training program to work around scheduling issues. I am currently in Week 4 of the training. The first three weeks the runs were:

Week 1: 3, 4, 3, 5

Week 2: 3, 4, 3, 6

Week 3: 3, 4, 3, 7

In the hopes of avoiding injury I began a stretching program in Week 1 although the stretching exercises are not introduced until Week 4 in the book. So far, so good. Some initial tightness in my right hamstring has gradually improved. A new pair of shoes in Week 3 made a huge difference. More about that later. And more about running attire later -- suffice it to say that Under Armour rocks!

I am planning on two training "races" on my journey to Antwerp. The first is a Half-Marathon in Williamsburg, Virginia on Sunday, February 24. That will be Week 9 of my training with a scheduled long run of 14 miles (so the half-marathon at 13.1 miles will suffice). It's supposed to be a hilly course, but I train on moderate hills so I'm hoping that won't present any problems.

The second training "race" is the Charlottesville 10 Miler and is just before my wind down to Antwerp in Week 14 of the training program. 

My complete program is:

Week 4: 3, 5, 3, 8

Week 5: 3, 5, 3, 10

Week 6: 3, 5, 4, 10

Week 7: 4, 5, 4, 11

Week 8: 4, 5, 4, 12

Week 9: 4, 6, 4, 14 (Williamsburg Half-Marathon)

Week 10:0, 8, 5, 16

Week 11: 5, 8, 5, 16

Week 12: 5, 8, 5, 16

Week 13: 5, 8, 5, 18

Week 14: 5, 8, 5, 10 (Charlottesville 10 Miler)

Week 15: 18, 0, 5, 9

Week 16: 3, 5, 3, 8

Week 17: 3, 3, Walk 3, 26.2

Thursday of Week 17 we will be flying to Amsterdam so the challenge will be to get enough stretching in enroute, drink lots of water and get enough rest. Arrival in Amsterdam will be early Friday morning, April 18 (2 days before the marathon). Taking the train to Bruges via Antwerp (eating lunch and picking up race packet) and two nights in Bruges prior to Sunday's marathon.