When I signed up for the LA Marathon (day of opening) I knew going in that I absolutely needed to have some formal training under my belt. Marathon one left me benched for almost two months and I never thought that I would find myself where I am today… about 50 days away from marathon number two… and still not feeling quite ready.

I signed up with a package to train with the official training group for the LA Marathon, the Road Runners (headed up by Rod Dixon – Olympic medalist and former NY Marathon winner.) The concept behind the Road Runners is simple, you surround yourself with a group of people who run at your pace and allow the group to keep you in rhythm and motivated to stay on pace.   (There’s more to it like a full training plan, nutrition and general training advice and a SLEW of pacers.)

Day one with the Road Runners was like my first day at school. I was so nervous and had no idea who would “buddy up” with me in my training group (we run 2 x 2).  Despite the nervous feeling, it was amazing to meet so many runners at varying levels of experience. Everyone there had a common goal, and it wasn’t just to finish, it was to finish strong.

Unfortunately for me and as is the case for a lot of people in my situation (super active racers) I missed a good chunk of my RR training due to my half marathon schedule. This weekend is actually my triumphant return to Road Runners training (don’t judge me I’ve been training on my own)… with hill training! We’ll see how it goes.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Road Runners training program you can visit their site here.