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I’ve finally gotten around to planning out my training for the upcoming Philly Marathon. It will be my first marathon and I’m really excited to get started.

After much debate, I opted to work from a marathon training program developed by Bart Yasso. My husband just read his book, My Life on the Run, and found it very inspiring and the training plans in the back to be easy and sensible.

I really hope that my friends, Adrienne and Regan, will train and race with me. Here’s a look at the schedule.

Fast Cat Sports is offering a local Philly Marathon Training program. The Philly Marathon is on Sunday, November 23rd and training begins on July 7th — 20 weeks prior to the race. Dave Thomas, is one of the coaches and owners of Fast Cat Sports. I trained with him for the Alaska Marathon. He’s fantastic!

If you are interested in running a marathon, consider teaming up with Fast Cat Sports for guided training and tips on food, race performance, shoes, etc.

Information sessions:
Thursday, June 19 @ 7pm, Lloyd Hall (upper level), Kelly Drive (Boathouse Row)
Thursday, June 26 @ 7pm, Lloyd Hall (upper level), Kelly Drive (Boathouse Row)

For more information the Philly Marathon Training, visit http://www.fastcatsports.com/FCMTphillymarathonpage.html

After my injury I was really concerned that I wouldn’t be able to complete the Broad Street Run (10 miler). I was afraid that I would have to walk a portion of it or worse — injure myself to the point that I wouldn’t be able to run again. Fortunately, that’s just a result of my typical pessimism and not reality.

Before I was injured, I convinced myself to run Broad Street in 1:35. That would put me at about a 9:30 min/mi pace. This pace is what I’ve been training at for longer distances. Last year I ran Broad Street in 1:49 (an 11:00 min/mi pace with a nice sprint at the end).

I’m still recovering from my injury so I had to mentally prepare myself for running 1:40, but I managed to finish Broad Street in 1:34.57. That’s 15 minutes faster than last year and I loved every minute of the race. I felt as though I could run 3.1 miles to make it a half marathon when I was done. I know I’m crazy, but I’ve always loved running and hope that my next race will be even better!

After a short break in my training, I will begin preparing for the Philadelphia Distance Run in September (half marathon) which will require me to train to run in the heat, which I loathe. Then on to the Philadelphia Marathon in November.

My crazy, Hawaiian running route…

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1683377

Finally after a couple of weeks of minuscule losses I can finally say I lost another pound for a total fo 24. I can’t help but wonder if it was due to my crazy decision to run 8 miles on Saturday when I’ve only been running 4 :)

Some weeks are slow with weight loss, and other weeks are big. Last week I lost 2.5lbs. This week, just 0.5lbs. But a loss is a loss :)

In other notes, my training is underway for Broad Street. I’m determined to run the race at a faster pace than last year. I hope that I can run it at a 10:30 min/mile pace. So far I’m training at a 10:00 min/mile pace for short distances.

This weekend I managed to run 3 miles in 28:44! That’s faster than 10:00 min/mile! (That’s 28:44 for 4.8km for my Croatian friends :)

For those of you beginner to moderate runners out there looking for a partner to train on Saturdays for the Broad Street Race, here’s my schedule. It’s a modified version of the schedule I used with Team in Training to train for the 2007 Broad Street Race and Alaska Half Marathon. Weather permitting, I plan to vary the destinations from Kelly Drive, Valley Green and Valley Forge.

Training starts this weekend!

View and subscribe to my training schedule

On June 23rd I ran my first half marathon and I owe it all to Team in Training. The entire experience from training to post-race festivities was life changing. It’s an amazing feeling to be a part of something bigger than myself and give back to the community so that others may benefit from my actions.

I raised over $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This money will go to directly benefit people in my area suffering from blood cancers, through financial assistance, treatments and research.

I ran 13.1 miles in honor of 8 extraordinary people who have all been directly affected by leukemia or lymphoma. In the process I met some really fantastic, inspiring people and made new lifelong friends.

And, I learned a lot about myself, my limitations and capabilities.

Thank you to everyone who helped me and supported me and my involvement with Team in Training. I couldn’t have done it without you.

I leave today for Anchorage, Alaska to participate in the Maryor’s Midnight Sun Half Marathon. I’m a member of Team in Training and have been training and fundraising for this half marathon for the past 5 months to honor my friend who survived Lymphoma in 2006. All the hard work has paid off. They say the easy part is the race :)

I nervous and excited at the same time. I know it will be fun and filled with emotion. I will post a full race report when I return.

Today was a beautiful day. I was worried about the run. We started a half hour earlier than normal and my allergies were terrible the day before. But, luckily I ran just fine, and faster than I expected. I ran 9 miles at a 10:40 pace (20 seconds faster than my target)! That’s the longest I’ve ever run.

If you’d like to help me in my cause to raise money for people affected by Leukemia and Lymphoma, check out my Team in Training site at http://www.active.com/donate/tntepa/ckubitsky