Almost there!

The marathon is in 33 days y'all. My training is peaking. I hit 40 miles last week, with my Saturday long run being 17 miles. I also experienced my first ice bath. Not. Awesome.

Check out the lovely black toenails. That's hot, right? I am feeling incredibly burnt out at this point. As in, I'm dreading my runs. My entire life revolves around getting ready to run, running or recovering from a run. It's all consuming. On October 6th, I'll run in a 20 mile race, and that will be the longest of my long runs. After that, I'll have a 3 week taper before the big show. I can do this...

A 15 miler

Yesterday I ran 15 miles, which is the farthest I've ever run. I did it without my running group, as the person I usually do long runs with had a race. Basically I ran the 7 mile loop around my neighborhood twice, then threw in an extra mile at the end for good measure. I felt really, really good. I stayed on top of my hydration, taking a salt pill every hour, along with water. I ate a Gu every hour as well, though I think I'm going to push that back to every 45 minutes because I felt myself starting to droop before the hour was up. I ran it at a comfortable 11:08 pace, which is acutally pretty fast for me at that distance. I think I need to stay off the scale until after the marathon. The weight fluctuations are scary. I can lose 3lbs during a long run, and wake up the next day 2lbs heavier than my original weight. And waking up heavier freaks me out, so then I don't want to eat the calories that I need to fuel my runs. Nasty cycle. Time to just let it go and focus on my training and eating as healthy as possible.

T-minus 75 days...

So I am just about halfway through marathon training. Last weekend I ran a whopping 14 miles. It really wasn't too bad, and I think that if this heat and humidity would let up, it would be even easier. I am running an easy 10 this weekend, and have a half marathon scheduled next weekend. My Monday tempo runs are up to 7 miles now, and my tempo pace is supposed to be a 10:15 or better. I've really, really struggled with this, as it is a hilly 7 mile course where I live and the heat has been brutal. Yesterday I ran it at a 10:01 pace, so I am definitely improving. I'm going to run a marathon in less that 75 days. No, really. I am!

Still alive, still running

What a horrible, sad, lonely little blog this has become. I DID finish that half marathon. It was slow, horrid and discouraging. It took me awhile to recover mentally from it. I ran a 2:42:55 which was 20-30 minutes slower than I was expecting. Since then a ran a 10K and got a new PR of 1:02:50, and 2nd place in my age group (it was a group of 4). I ran a miserable, hot, hilly 5K on the 4th of July for a time of 31:16. My running coach (did I mention I got one of those?) encouraged me to run a redemption 5K which I did last weekend and finished it in 28:22 which is a HUGE PR for me, and the first time I broke 30:00 in a 5K. Next up is the Patrick Henry Half Marathon. I'm treating it as a long run that happens to me timed. It's really just a tune-up run. But, it's also an August run on a hilly course, so it'll be tough. And of course, looming over everything is that marathon. Gulp.

Half Marathon Musings...

So my first half is in 17 days. I am prone to bouts of panic and crying when I think about it. I need to trust my training. I have put in the work. I am more cardiovascularly fit than I have been since age 19. But holy shit, 13.1 is a long way to go. I'm skeered.

Did the 12.

After last week's epic fail, I decided to go to a local run group and try to clock my 12 miles with other people who're training for a half marathon. I was successfull, but it did get a little hairy around mile 10.

A Heightened Sense of Blah.

So Saturday I ventured out for my longest run to date, a 12 miler. This run became an absolute horror of a run, cut short at 8.3 miles. The night prior I made a couple of fatal errors. Number one was a delicious, greasy sausage pizza. Number two was a giant bucket of theater popcorn, loaded with nasty movie theater butter. Can you see where this is going? I chose a new, extremely hilly route through my neighborhood. Somewhere around mile 3 I hit the first bathroom. It wasn't too bad and I thought I could continue. Around mile 5.5 I met a nice couple and their cute pit bull puppy. I played with the pup and then asked directions to the nearest park with a bathroom. They told me about a port o potty about a half mile down the road. I reached it, but barely. Hideous. I continued on down the road. At one point I actually had my cell phone in my hand to call my husband for help. I convinced myself I could continue. I was no longer able to run and was run/walking to the next park. Unfortunately, that park's bathroom was still boarded up from winter. Now I'm getting shaky. Continue on a couple of miles to my neighborhood's clubhouse where I know there are bathrooms. I make it in time, and open the first set of doors to find the second set locked. Practically in tears I ound on the door, but to no avail. I check the outdoor bathroo by the pools... closed for the season. By this point, knowing I couldn't run 4 more miles to get home, I call in the cavalry. Husband quickly picked me up, and I cried on the way home. It was embarrassing, uncomfortable and I was hideously disappointed in myself for quitting a run. Fast forward to today. I had my normally scheduled 3 miles. I wanted nothing to do with it. I forced myself to go, but it wasn't pretty or fun. I am worried sick about my upcoming half marathon. I'm worried about handling the distance, and about GI issues. I don't ever want that experience again.