When it's 100 degrees...

it takes more motivation than I apparently have to go out and run. Especially when that run is scheduled to be 15 miles. It was hellish in DC this weekend. Luckily some thunderstorms rolled through yesterday afternoon and cooled things off just a bit. By 7:30pm I decided I'd better go or else I'd run a grand total of 0 miles. While my late start meant I didn't make it the full 15, I did manage to get in almost 11 miles. Not too shabby.

10k pace

I ran 3 miles yesterday at my "10k pace" (about 8:30/mile). It's a lot easier to go that fast when I'm actually running a 10k as opposed to running on a tredmill. Never the less it felt good to run a little faster than I normally do. I feel like I should push myself to go faster on the shorter runs more often so that when I slow down for the longer distances I'm not moving at a completely glacial pace.

Doing 6 miles after work today. Feeling a little bit of a sore throat coming on. Hope I'm not getting sick.

rest days

The last couple of weeks I've needed two full days to rest from my long run. I don't actually really feel any of the effects (sore shins, arches, hamstrings) until two days, which has made it hard to do my Tuesday runs. That's my way of saying I didn't run yesterday. I did get up and do my 4 miles this morning though. And I think I'm going to do a Saturday and Sunday run this week since Sunday is only 5 miles. Geeze, I remember when 5 miles was almost unthinkable and now it's a short day. Kinda cool

not writing, but still running

I haven't written in a while, but I have been running. Yesterday I did a full 12 miles. It was definitely tough. And I have the sunburn to show for it. It feels really great though when I think about how far I've come. Especially given the debilitating heat we've had recently. Just for some perspective, yesterday was a cool 90 degrees. I figure though if I can handle this then the marathon will be rather comfortable in comparison.

Lunch runs are fun runs

Getting up early two days in a row just isn't going to happen. Besides, I have decided that I like running at lunch time. And it actually isn't too bad to shower at work, even if it doesn't mean my hair doesn't look so hot. It doesn't look that great a lot of the time anyway... I ran my 5 miles outside this afternoon. There really is nothing like running on the Mall.

One week down...

I finished week one. Only how many to go? I skipped the Saturday run. I think I'm going to mark Saturdays as "optional". As long as I make it out 4 days a week and do the long run I think I'll be ok. Other friends that have trained for marathons don't seem to think 5 days are necessary to finish the marathon standing - which is the goal.

Yesterday was a hot one. 90+ degrees and humid. I kept trying to wait to go for my 6 mile run, but once 8pm rolled around and weather.com was forecasting temperatures hovering around 90 degrees for the remainder of the night I figured I better just get out there. It was a little slow going because I cut my toe on a rock on Saturday tubing. I did the full 6 miles and then some though and felt pretty good at the end. I didn't mean to run the extra 0.6 miles, I just didn't read the route I had planned too well apparently. Oh well, I guess it can't hurt.

Morning runs are hard

I couldn't drag myself out of bed yesterday morning. I went to bed at 9:30 the night before, but for some reason I was completely exhausted. I refused to miss a run on day 2 though so I ran on the tred mill at lunch. That actually turned out to be a really good idea. I did a 10 min mile warm up, 1/2 mile at 9:30, 1 mile at just under 9 mins, 1/2 mile at 9:30, and the last mile at 10 min. Nice, slow and steady.

This morning I had very little motivation to get out of bed again. AMA said she'd come with me though and ended up giving me the push to get going when she texted at 6:50am with "I'm up!". How could I not get up? So, despite the displeasure KJS expressed at letting me out of her house, I made my way to AMA's and did about 4 miles. I actually felt pretty strong at the end of it. That's a nice feeling.

3 runs down. A whole lot more to go.

Run one

This morning was harder than I expected. Maybe because I was still recovering from 8 miles on Sunday or maybe because I didn't sleep too well last night. I don't know. Either way pushing through my strong desire to get back into bed made me feel good when I was done. I just need to remember that finishing feels good and maybe starting won't be so bad. Day 2 and 3 are tomorrow and Thursday. They're both 4 miles so not too bad. I'm think I'll do this and this.

The plan

I googled "Free Marathon Training Plans" and decided on this one. It has me getting all the way up to 26 miles before the race, which is different than a lot of other plans. I like the idea of coming close to 26 miles before the big day. I started a week early so I'm repeating week 19, but with a shorter long run on Sunday.

The Beginning

Tomorrow I start training for my first marathon. 3 mile run with AMA at 7am. Should be easy enough.