Before the actual blogging begins, here's a quick recap of my pre-IM spring training: I ran a marathon. Why? Because two of my friends told me that the best thing they did before their fall IM was run a spring marathon. I hadn't run "just" a marathon in 10 years and really had no desire to do so, but they had convinced me that it would help my run in IMC so I fell for it and signed up for the Colorado Marathon (5/6/13).
The best thing about doing this marathon was the training - I really enjoyed it! I followed the Furman FIRST training plan and really liked it. It's unique in that it requires only 3 days of running. Each week has a tempo run, interval run, and long run. The other days you cross-train. I felt great and would highly recommend it.
The plan called for two 20 milers and even though I ended up doing two 18 milers and one 20 miler, I felt good on those long runs. That was a huge confidence builder! I did a little speedwork but not much, mainly because my goal for this IM is to finish, not PR.
