Training and the NWM Lottery

As of yesterday morning I am registered in the lottery for the 10th anniversary of the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco! It is going to be torture the next few weeks while I wait to hear if I have been selected to run the race. This will be my third marathon and I am so excited to run it with new friends and some of the girls I ran the race with last year. It's not too late for you to sign up for the lottery yet either and I suggest you do! You can sign up on Facebook here. 

In preparation for the Nike Women's Marathon in SF, I am going to be focusing a lot on speed work and hill repeats. I want to make sure I am prepared for the tough hills of San Francisco as well as finally reaching my sub-4 hour marathon finish time. Last year I came close until my IT Band began acting up.  This year I am going to train hard and do a lot of strength drills and yoga to keep my IT Band strong. 

Yoga is so important for runners and flexibility is key in preventing injuries. While training for this marathon I will also be training for the Hood to Coast relay I am running with Team Nuun so I am going to need to make sure I am healthy and strong for this fun race in August! Yoga is key in keeping runners legs, hips and core strong and flexible to improve running form. Runners, especially myself, often have imbalances due to their repetitive forward motion. Yoga can help eliminate repetitive stress injuries and create a more balanced body.

My yoga experience is with vinyasa flow, aerial yoga and Leah Kim's NTC yoga workout on the Nike Training Club app. No matter what type of yoga you prefer, take the time to focus your practice on muscles that are neglected during running training or that need to be stretched or strengthened. Yoga also allows a critical time where you can relax and unwind after a hard training session. 

This weekend I am running the See Jane Run Half Marathon and I am taking this week easy with running in preparation for this fun race. It's not too late if you are going to be in the Alameda area you can still sign up and run with me! 

~Karen