Chasing a Marathon PR: My 2025 Training Journey

I’m so excited (and slightly terrified) to be training for my second marathon! I’ve officially signed up with the goal of shaving off at least 30 minutes from my time. Last year, life was…a lot. My training suffered, my energy was questionable, and I basically dragged myself across that finish line at CIM. But hey, I finished! This year, things are looking up—kids are a little older, I’ve got a plan, and I’m ready to chase down that PR. (Side note, does it count as a PR if it will only be my second time running that distance?)

That being said, I needed a big goal for 2025—something that gets me out of bed and tells me, “You’ve got this!” And on those really tough days, something that yells, “You HAVE to!” So here we are. I need a simple, no-fuss training plan. Nothing complicated. No frills. I’m on a budget here…Just something that fits into my crazy schedule and lets me train on my treadmill (aka the Treadie) during the tiny slivers of time I have. It’s not fancy, but it’s achievable. And if I put it here, I have to hold myself accountable, right? Right.

So, if you’re a professional running coach and you see something wild in here, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, this is just me, winging it with some structured chaos. Let’s go! This is honestly to just hold me accountable. If I put it out to the universe …. I HAVE to follow through. This isn’t meant to be a “you should do this too, listen to me, I know best.” I KNOW NOTHING that would be the worst advice ever. Listen to a professional, please!

Monday-Friday: 40-Minute Runs (These will be in a treadmill as I’m home with the kids. After I run I do a peloton Ride. In the mornings I will either be going to Pilates or weight training in my garage) I’ll be mixing it up between speed workouts, hill repeats, and steady tempo runs.

Saturday: Long Run (starting at 6 miles, increasing to 12 miles by June | Increasing to 16 by September and then 20 by end of October. Once November roles around I’ll be tapering down.)

Sunday: Either a rest day or replace with my long run if needed.

August is when I’ll start scheduling Grandparent visits or calling in husband favors for childcare. “Hey babe, wanna hang with the kids for a few hours? Cool, I’ll be back in 3… or 4… or 5.” I mean…it’s basically my version of golfing right? And you know what, he will probably just be watching golf the entire time with the kids.

Let’s do this thing!!! We’re in this together—through the good runs, the terrible runs, the runs where I question all my life choices, and everything in between. Follow along as I take on marathon training round two!