Training with Tara Costa: My Next Goal, The Marathon

Remember how much we loved watching Tara on Season 7 of The Biggest Loser? Now you can follow her as she trains for her next big journey, The ING New York City Marathon on November 1st. Each week she’ll blog about her progress, her ups and downs and what she discovers about herself during her next big adventure. 

Setting personal goals is a new top priority for me. I have always established career goals. Now after competing on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, I have realized that I need to have a more balanced lifestyle. It is time for me to make goals in all areas of my life. That is why I have chosen to run the ING NYC Marathon this November with the New York Road Runners.

Growing up in a suburb of New York City, I always thought of the Big Apple as my “real home” knowing that at some point in my life I would live somewhere inside that beautiful Manhattan skyline. I ended up moving to the city while attending New York University. I remember never wanting to go to the university gym. I was so afraid of what people would think. So instead, I spent the extra $80 per month on a gym that was less equipped. The average age of the members was 60. I felt more comfortable going there than working out with my peers. Before I lost my weight, I never wanted to do organized activities with friends, like races or hiking adventures, because I was afraid of what I would look like. I was paralyzed by my own thoughts, thinking that people would automatically think negative and derogatory things about me because of the way I looked. My weight held me back.

Now, after my eight month stint on The Biggest Loser, I am trying to break the mold of my old way of thinking. I realized that I enjoy a challenge. So, now it is time for me to take my old paralyzing fears and put them aside because I want to start living my life… for me. I want to be able to say that I am no longer the girl who allowed what others might say paralyze her dreams, desires and goals.

Remember half of doing, is believing in oneself that you can.

Here is an overall preview of my training schedule. Check in each week to get a more detailed look into my daily training and see how I’m doing. Wish me luck!

• 3 Easy Runs per week, which can range from 4-8 miles, and it normally will end with a few short distance sprints (80 meters)
• 2 Days Off for Total Recovery: Normally one of these days I do some type of cross training. It could be an intense cardio class, spin class or I might ride my bicycle
• 1 Tempo Run or Speed Workout a week. For Example, 3 miles warm-up, stretching, 3 x 1 mile @ 10K race pace with 2-minute recovery jogs, 3 mile cool-down
• 1 Long Distance Run or Marathon Simulation run. A marathon simulation could be 8 miles easy running and 6 miles at GMRP on a hilly paved course to simulate Central Park. (GMRP is Goal Marathon Race Pace). A long distance run could be 17 miles @ 55-65 seconds slower than GMRP, preferably on a dirt road or trail.
   
  Want more updates from Tara Costa? Follow Tara on Twitter or Fan her on Facebook. You can also follow Tara’s progress on the New York Road Runners website.