The Big Two-Two

With 22 days till the marathon (yes, I'm counting!!), I ran 22 miles this morning on the Iron Horse Trail. I did two 4 mile pace segments--the first one from 8-12 miles and the second from 15-19 miles. My legs felt heavy on the first pace segment, but I ran those miles around 8:46 pace. Somehow, my legs felt better at mile 15, and I really pushed through miles 17 & 18 (I ran the last pace mile in 8:21). Overall, I felt strong during the run, even after a tough week of juggling school, work, and life! So, the workout was a success, and that means I've graduated onto taper-dom....I will definitely be writing more about the ups and downs of tapering. Hint: an "up" is that you don't have to pack gels for your 2+ hour long medium long runs, but a "down" is that you don't get to eat oodles of peanut butter or loads of pasta....

Glamour Shots

I crammed in my fourth weekday run with a nice 60 minute run in the Lake Merritt Area. And, unexplicably, there were several people taking posed photographs with vistas of Oakland as the backdrop....I think my glamour shot would be a pic of me, post-marathon, with a shiny medal, a big smile, and an even bigger PR :P

Tomorrow's a mega workout--22 miles with 2 X 4 miles at goal marathon pace!!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I have a hubby and family who support my running. BIG thanks to my amazing running buddies and can't wait to run more races and explore more routes with them. I am thankful that my legs, knees, and feet let me run this morning. I am thankful that my running routes are scenic and safe.

I'm thankful for getting to run consistently for over 3 years and today, too! Thanks.

RIP, Raccoon

Sadly, I ran by raccoon roadkill on Pleasant Valley today. I said a little prayer for it. You definitely see an assortment of things when out on runs--dead, alive, pretty, and not-so-cute. There are big and small dogs, as well as cats wandering about (plus wild dogs in my home state of TN!!). Sometimes I see cool birds in addition to the feared and ubiquitous pigeons :O I've seen cute babies (awww) and the infirm out and about. I've seen overflowing stinky garbage cans, condoms, and general litter (PEOPLE! Dispose of your waste properly!).

All in all, this is shaping up to be a good training week!

April

I ran 10 miles this morning before the April showers rolled in! My legs were happy to be running, which always makes training easier and more fun. This will be another high mileage week, so I'll try to eat and drink and rest appropriately :)

On tap:

-Another medium long run of 13 miles

-22 miler with some goal marathon pace miles....Yeehaw!

We all have marathons

With precisely one month until Avenue, I had a deep thought during my steady state run this morning....We all have marathons. Everybody's marathon is different. Maybe your marathon is to cope with your job, or to take care of child or aging parents, or to jump through the hoops of graduate school, or to figure out your place in our wide world....

Marathon training is cool because you set goals and make plans and see what the day brings. Just like all those other marathons, in which you're never totally sure what will happen till it happens! Ah, can you tell that I'm trying to embrace uncertainty ;)

Happy Friday, folks! And keep striving toward your marathon.