FULL MARATHON for the busy employee

 Although I may have stopped my frequent runs after this, I still consider this a huge achievement - completing the Quezon City International Marathon. Yup, it is a 42 km run which took me 5 hours and 40 minutes to accomplish. Did I die? No, i did not really try to beat a fast pace, just enjoyed it. But it sure did make me face a healthy lifestyle.

How did I train for this event? I started running in feb 2010 
1. 5km - 3 runs
2. progressed to 10km - 10-12 runs
3. 15km - 1 run
4. 21km - about 15 runs
sometimes I would switch to 10km and back to 21km

I also finished the NYC Half Marathon in March 21, 2011

After this International Half marathon, I must admit I slacked a bit...

Took me about 2 months to get back to a decent 21km run...slowly inched my way from 10km runs and back to 21km runs...

By October 2011 I was training for the 42km. Every sunday, there is a 21km that I will go to. Then I started to register on a regular basis for the progression runs which is common in Manila from October - December. So I had 15km this sunday, a 21km run next sunday, a 25km run the following sunday, and a 32 km run the next sunday. In between, I would make a 3km, 5km, and 7km on MWF every after work.

After the 32km run which is the longest distance you can join before a full marathon (42km), i started training with my coach/ athlete friend and we did the 37km run. That was 2 sundays before my marathon. In 2 weeks, I continued the 3,5,7km runs on MWF, and a 15km run one week before the marathon.

You will notice that you get stronger when you don't feel much pain anymore after a long run. Sometimes I would do the run on an early 5am as I do not have time after work or I am expecting a meeting.

I highly recommend you try this too. It was a real achievement on my part, one that i may not be able to do again but for sure will always be something I am proud of.