My Strength Marathon Training Program with P90X

My Strength Marathon Training with P90X

I started running back in mid-2011 at the age of 40 years old. Contrary to what some of my friends believe, I was actually never a runner! In fact, just the thought of running made me sick to my stomach. I was always active when I was young, and was involved in extreme sports such as skateboarding, surfing, martial arts, and mountain biking.....but never running!

Things change as you get older, and for people who are in my age bracket, you are either a couch potato or super fit, there really is no in between, at least from what I've seen in my network of friends.

I started running when my brother introduced me into the sport of obstacle course racing, but around that time, someone told me about this marathon in Boston where you had to qualify. After doing my first obstacle course race, I made a decision to make running part of my daily routine. I ended up doing a half marathon even before I did a 5K, and finished with a 1:36 time with an average of a 7:19 pace per mile. I was amazed what my P90X training has done for me because I have never ran before in my life. It's amazing what that program did for me!

I got heavily involved with obstacle course racing in late 2011, and pretty much forgot about my Boston Marathon goal. The main reason why I loved OCR (obstacle course racing) was because it didn't just focused on running. As an OCR athlete, you are required to have overall strength and endurance especially if you want to be competitive. After years of racing and even developing a project to help the sport grow, I am now focused on my Boston Marathon goal once again. I just want to mark it off of my bucket list =)

My passion for Obstacle Course Racing

I continue to be involved in obstacle course racing, and if it wasn't for my love of the sport, I would not have become a runner. I really owe it all to my success with P90X (thanks to my brother), and the sport of OCR. Now I am focused on the Boston Marathon.

I have started a 16 week marathon training program in which I will have run over 600 miles in 4 months. But I will not just be running, I will also be incorporating strength workouts from P90X, Body Beast, and some interval training from various Insanity programs such as Asylum and Max 30. The tricky part about strength training while endurance running is finding the balance. You can't build too much mass or else it will slow your running pace, but you don't want to just run or else you will lose your muscle mass and upper body strength, and that's something that I do not want to do especially if I plan to continue obstacle course racing as well.

I decided to try out the Marathon Training Program from Nike+. The coach programs are absolutely free, and it is very easy to follow. I live a pretty busy life as a Full Time Beachbody Coach, so I enjoy working out and having a program to guide me, so I can think about other things like family, travel, and business. The Nike+ Marathon Training Coach Program fits into my lifestyle, and so far it's doing well. If you are not training for a marathon, there are other training programs for 5K, 10K, and half marathons, so it's great for all fitness levels.

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I incorporate about 3 strength workouts into my week. For the most part, I will normally plan a LEG DAY (such as P90X Plyometrics, Body Beast Build Legs, X3 Triometrics etc) on Mondays. On Wednesdays I do an upper body workout (such as P90X Chest and Back, Body Beast Bulk Chest, X3 the Challenge etc) and then on Friday will will either do another upper body workout or full body interval workout (Asylum Speed and Agility, T25 Total Body, Insanity Max Interval Sports Training etc). On Thursdays which are normally a cross-training day, I will either mountain bike or do some sort of stretching workout (such as P90X X Stretch or X3 Yoga). On Sundays, I will do more stretching and just relax.

A sample of my 16 week Strength Marathon Training Program:
- Monday (Leg Day + Run)
- Tuesday (Run)
- Wednesday (Upper Body + Run)
- Thursday (Cross-train and/or Stretch/Yoga)
- Friday (Upper Body or Full Body Interval Training + Run)
- Saturday (Long Run)
- Sunday (Rest and Recovery/Stretch)

That's just a sample of what my week looks like with my Strength Marathon Training with P90X. I am always listening to my body, so if I am feeling tired or over-trained, I will take a rest day to ensure that I do not injure myself. Recovery is very important to me as I have overtrained in the past many times, and it doesn't feel good at all. Safety first guys! Nutrition also plays a key role (80%) in my training program and I will be drinking my Shakeology along with my normal eating plan of fresh whole foods, lean meats, whole grains, nuts, and lot's of greens, fruit and WATER.

I have never done a marathon before, so I am pretty excited to sign up for my first one after I am done with my 16 week program. After my first marathon, I will see how much I have improved, and then I will go into my 2nd marathon training program which will be a lot more intense with longer runs.

If you would like to join me on Nike+ or workout with me online with either my Free Fitness Group or my Online Challenge Group, feel free to message me, I'd love to run and workout with you! As always, stay active my friends! =)