Hello friends of ActionAIDS! AJ and Han are back with a (long-overdue) update of theirPhiladelphia Marathon training and fundraising progress.
A lot has happened since our first post way back in March introducing ourselves and our fundraising efforts while we train for the Philadelphia Marathon this November 22. This past spring we completed the Phillies 5K, the Love Run Half Marathon, the 5K Walk+Run Against Hunger, and the Blue Cross Broad Street Run. We both ran personal bests at the Run Against Hunger and the Broad Street Run, and AJ ran a personal best at the Love Run Half Marathon. Did any one else run or cheer at these events? You may have seen us in our tutus and ActionsAIDS shirts. Overall, it was a great way to start the year!
After building a solid running base this spring, we turned our attention to training for the Marathon. We had every intention of training through the summer with a 20-week plan that would have us primed and ready for 26.2 miles at the end of November. Of course in running, as in life, the best-laid plans sometimes fail. AJ has spent much of the summer traveling for work or on a running hiatus due to illness, while work and the summer heat in Philly made it difficult for Han to keep up with running consistently.
But fear not, faithful readers! Running in the summer is always difficult given the heat, humidity, and siren song of the pool and the Shore. But during a recent visit to the Barry public pool in South Philadelphia, we decided to revise our marathon training plans and start fresh in August. This two weeks ago we completed our first week of marathon training … take two! … and are excited for the next 14 weeks of running. Our training plan has us running 388.3 miles in the next four months, with long runs starting at 6 miles and building to 26.2 miles on race day.
Between now and then we’ll be doing some of our training runs at local races, including theOcean City, NJ Half Marathon (Sept. 27), the Atlantic City Half Marathon (Oct. 18), and theCooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10K (Nov. 1), where we’ll run back and forth across the Ben Franklin Bridge. If you’re in the neighborhood, come out and cheer us on. As always, we’ll be in our signature tutus and ActionAIDS shirts.
And don’t forget to donate at ActionAIDS.org! Check out the donation link below to contribute to the cause. You can give at the full marathon level ($26.2), half marathon level ($13.1), or with an amount of your choosing. Remember – every dollar counts, just like every training mile!
–AJ Young & Han Meadway