On the Contra Costa Canal

Hip, hip, hooray for completing the first 20 miler of twenty-ten!

Today's run featured wandering up and down the Contra Costa Canal trail all the way to Concord! It was our first time running on that particular trail, definitely providing a nice change of scenery.

Speaking of change, Jenica and I tried a new type of long run workout in which from at each mile from 8-18, we did 1 minute at tempo pace. That means that we squeezed in about 10 minutes of tempo running into the big ole 20 miler :> It made the miles zip by, so I liked the change of pace!

Control

Running involves a hearty jig around the fine line of control.

It's well known that us runners, especially us marathoners, have type-A/control freak tendencies. Yes, oftentimes, you can control when & where you run or how far you. On good days and great days, you can even control how fast you run. But there's plenty of stuff that you can't control--illness, poor sleep, evil injuries, unfortunate tummy incidents, weather & headwinds, and on so on and so forth.

So, running's not so different than life. And this week had a few downs (as well as some ups, including Girl Scout cookies, steak taco night with my Hubby, and some positive conversations!). I'm pleased to report that I was able to control today's steady state run. During a tough period, I reminded myself that THIS was my hard workout of the week, so it should feel hard and that I would do it. I averaged sub 8:34 for the 35 min. steady state.

Orange, orange

I realize I'm obsessed with the color orange....There's something very cheery and energetic about this color, and I think it makes me zoomier :)

I now have a couple orange running tops & an orange GPS (the Garmin 310xt), which is appropriately named Garmalade. Maybe it's because I'm from Tennessee, the volunteer state, and cheer for the VOLS, aka big orange!!

Sopping

I ran this week's medium long run of 10 miles in the rain. Well, the first few miles were just grey and humid, then it was sprinkling, and then I could hear the pitter-patter of rain over my ipod's music ;) By the end of the run, I was a little chilly and every part of my body--from the rain gliding over the brim of my hat to my puddle drenched Sauconys--were soaked. I was definitely inspired to remain positive and keep my grumbling to a minimum about the rain because I'm aware that many of my running-buddies from the internets (e.g., http://mile-posts.blogspot.com/ & http://tri-ingtodoitall.blogspot.com/) are dealing with snowy and icy conditions.

All in all, it was a good run to Berkeley. Now I'm warming up my core by refueling with a hot mug of green tea and a scrambled egg sandwich :P

Week of 2-22

With just over two months until the marathon, there are a few major workouts scheduled for this week:

• 10 mile medium-long run
• Steady state run with 35 minutes at SS pace
• 20 mile long run this weekend

Today's recovery run was delightful, thanks to fantastic East Bay, early-springtime weather! I'm getting excited for my first 20 miler of twenty-ten :)

Getting tougher

Everyone's heard the saying that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. As a marathoner, when the running gets hard, the runner gets stronger. If the miles take a bit more concentration or a few more stretches, then so be it.

And I'm getting there--tougher, fitter, and perhaps even faster. Today's long run was 18 miles with 2.5 pace miles to practice the routine of the beloved fast finish run. My legs were tired yet somehow felt invigorated by the sub 8:47 pace portion (speedier than my goal marathon pace!). Signs are pointing to a PR, sub-4 marathon, and that means I need to keep going :)