As we did the last time we trained for the WDW Marathon, N and I started two weeks early so we have an extra couple of weeks in case we need to skip a week or two later on. So on Sunday, N and I ran 5.5 miles. I felt really good! N and I were well within race pace (16 min mile).

N plotted a course that led us up a couple of hills so we got a nice little bit of hill training in as well. While most people say that the WDW Marathon is a completely flat course, the truth is that most of the course is flat but the entrances and exits to each park have hills. There are not big hills at all but last time I had some trouble going from training on a completely flat course to running the WDW and trying to keep pace on the hills. So this time, N and I are adding in a bit of hill training to help us keep our pace throughout the Marathon course.

I also started training with K, a staff member at my local running store. She gave me a lot of encouragement, some great goals, and some new stretches. I have been experiencing some hip pain and K showed me some great stretches that really helped after the 5.5 mile run this weekend.

Before our next long run, N and I need to stop by the running store and grab some more gear, I also need some new shoes. I hope to post soon about my new gear including a new running belt which I love! As our runs get longer we will start using more fuel so we hope to stock up now.