Day 33

Day 33

Today I got up and ran 7 miles before work! Wowsers! I have to say I am tired but I feel better than I did on Tuesday, the first time I did the 7 miler. First of all my legs feel much better. I think my leg workouts have helped a lot and I have been stretching out a lot as well.

I started out with a one mile run with my dog. Then I ran 6 miles. I stopped with 1.5 to go to stretch out but the whole thing went really well. There were a few times where I could tell I was losing my technique, so I turned off my music and focused a lot on how I was running. I was running pretty fast too! My average was around 11 minute miles, which is great because typically I am closer to 12. My guess for the marathon was 11 minute miles and I may right there. Now that my husband is doing it with me, I have less control over time, at the same time my husband generally has been faster than me when training. But I will have logged more miles than him by the time we get there, so I may be in better shape. We will see! My goal is to finish...the only advantage to running it faster is that it will be done sooner! lol

Tomorrow is 14 miles! Eeek! That is the farthest I have EVER ran! It actually ties the farthest I have ever ran so I will let you know how it goes! Ciao!

Day 31 and 32

Day 31

Yesterday was a 4 miler and I decided to run it in the afternoon. I woke up several times the night before including one time with a low fever. Generally I felt terrible the night before and decided to take the morning off. That seemed to work out well for me because I felt pretty good all day. 

So, I did my 4 miler after work yesterday. It was HOT. I was slightly freaked out by my right leg hurting so badly the day before and so I let myself run really really slow. I had fun imagining who lived in each house, haha! I would think in my head which ones I would fix up, which ones were new, which ones were old and renovated. I had a good time. The bad thing was at the end my left hip was hurting which is generally a sign (For me) of a tight IT band. That is NOT a good thing for me. It has taken me out of running before, but the good thing is I know the sign of it and I know how to begin fixing it and that is by doing more quad and glute exercises. I have been doing them once or twice a week, but I guess that isn't enough. 

Day 32

Today is my rest day so I slept in again this morning and I honestly feel pretty good. I can still tell my body is tired though and I think it is important that I truly make today a rest day. However, since yesterday I found out my legs need more work, I am definitely going to get in a good leg workout today. My plan is to do a lot of squats and jumpies. Maybe even a few kettle bell swings. I will probably start doing my squats every day besides my long run days to make sure I keep that part of my body strong. I will let you know if I do anything different today. Ciao!

Day 26, Day 27, Day 28, Day 29, and Day 30

I got behind again...ooopsies.

Day 26

This was my only 6 mile run for the week and it was relatively easy. I did not run it too hard and felt strong for the whole thing. I ran a mile with my dog and then 5 on my own.

Day 27

This was my 9 miler and I started late. I was really tired and knowing that I only had a 9 mile run, I figured I could sleep a little later than normal. Normally I would get up, run a mile with my dog, then run however far I needed to go that husband wouldn't run with me, and then finally run with my husband. But on this day, I woke up and woke my husband up to run...he let me know he was frustrated we were starting so late since it gets so hot. I wasn't too worried about it because the night before we had a huge storm, I figured it wouldn't be too bad out side. It wasn't. 

We ran in the shade and easily finished the 7 miles together. Towards the end the sun was high in the sky and we started to feel pretty hot. At the end of that I turned around and finished out my last 2 miles. At this point I was hurting...I was hot, thirsty, and hungry. But I made it through and knew it was just part of the training process, pushing through when you are not feeling your best.

Day 28

This was cross-training day! I was not completely sure what I would do for my workout. I was still tired and so I waited to do my workout later in the day. I did a circuit that added up to 200 jumpies and 5 sets of ab work. Later in the evening, I felt a little better and so I did 75 lunges, 100 kettle bell swings, and 125 pushups. Overall, I think I did a pretty decent workout, even if it was spread out.

Day 29

This began my hardest week, yet! All of my daily miles went up this week and this day was a 4 mile run. I did the 4 miles straight through with a stretch break at 2 miles down. I felt strong for the run but felt a little tired. I think it was extra humid yesterday morning too, which didn't help.

Day 30

Finally we have reached today! I had a 7 mile run today. YIKES! I have to admit, I was nervous about this run. I had a terrible time falling asleep, even though I felt exhausted, but actually woke up pretty easily. My husband decided to run part of it with me, so I woke him up when I was taking off with the dog to run the first mile. 

He wasn't ready when I got back, so I ran the next two miles. My calf and foot were hurting pretty badly for the mile run with my dog so I was a little nervous about running 6 more miles on it. So, although I was a little annoyed that my husband was not ready to run when I got back, breaking it up by running 2 miles first was probably not a terrible idea. My calf and foot felt better for that part and then again didn't hurt too badly for the last 4 miles I did with my husband. 

They are definitely sore now though. I think my foot muscles and calf muscles are a little tight from running badly in my toe shoes. See, if I pound too hard on the pavement, my feet hurt because I have no support. I normally focus a lot on running lightly, but sometimes when I get tired or want to push my speed, I fall back on pounding on the pavement. Yesterday I challenged myself to run a little faster, so I probably slacked on my technique. I was much better today, but I am not completely sure if I should run tomorrow...

We'll see how it goes today. Ciao!

Day 25

Day 25

Rest day :) I slept in an hour later than normal and that did not feel like enough sleep...blahhh. This busy week is getting to me. I may take my dog on a long walk tonight and I might do a little weight circuit tonight, we will see. It was nice not having to get up and run though :)

Finding a hotel in Savannah is ridiculous. I am almost ready to give up. I would if my husband wasn't so grumpy about the idea of having to drive to the starting line rather than walk...but I am starting to get over the idea of pleasing him. lol  Ciao!                  

Day 24

Day 24

 Today was a 3 miler and it was fairly uneventful, except I didn't want to get up :). My husband went shrimping last night so he got home really late. I was barely asleep when he got home and of course I woke up when he came in. It was after midnight when he got home so when my 6 am alarm went off, the only thing that MADE me get up to run this morning was knowing that I have dinner plans with my dad and siblings tonight...so I wouldn't have time to run.

Anyway, I think I ran it kinda slow, but I am a lot less sore than I was yesterday, YAY! Tomorrow is rest day, yay! Friday, a 6 miler, then Saturday a 9 miler. So, this is basically my easy week. I started trying to make arrangements for a hotel for the Savannah marathon and I feel like such an IDIOT for waiting so long to make a hotel reservation. I have 3 months left but there is NOTHING available close by. Ugh...I am hoping for a cancellation at this point...Ciao!

Day 23

Day 23

Oh boy, I did not want to wake up this morning. It is about 2 pm and I am super barfy...blahh...

Anyway, I did get up! And I started out running with puppy dog for a mile. I almost convinced myself to wait to run the other 4 because it was incredibly smoky outside and smoke is not good for your lungs! But, then I saw that lots of other people were out cycling and running so I decided, if they can handle it, I can too.

So I started out on my 4 miles, about 1.3 miles into it, it started to rain. Not bad rain, just sprinkling, BUT I had my iPhone with me. I did not want that thing to get wet. I have a super duper tough case on it, the OtterBox Defender, but I didn't want to risk it. Luckily I was not far away, I had done the first part of my run weaving around blocks so I had racked up some mileage but was only about a quarter of a mile away from home. So I sprinted home to drop off my phone. 

Sure enough, I leave to finish out my run and it STOPS RAINING. So, all of that effort for nothing. Oh well. My phone is safe and I finished the run easily. 

I do have to say that my legs were KILLING ME! It felt like my but had rocks in it and when I ran they were poking out of my skin. That workout on Sunday kicked my butt! It did yesterday too but since I blogged before my 3 mile run, I didn't mention it. Basically these past two days have showed me I have to keep up the lifting during my training weeks or else I may hurt myself. That is all for now! Ciao!

Day 18, 19, 20, 21, & 22

Yikes, I got behind again!

Day 18

Today was my rest day...I thought about making up my three mile run that I was supposed to do the day before when I made up Tuesday's 6 mile run...but I changed my mind. I had my Ultra Sound for my gall bladder and couldn't eat before 9 am...so I didn't want to run before it. Then I found out my grandfather is dying...so by the end of the day I was donezo...I wasn't working out, I wasn't cooking...done. 

Day 19

My friend Liz and her adorable son, Collin, came in town for breakfast at 7:30 am so I woke up at about 5:15 am (ouch!) and did my 6 mile run - a mile with my dog and 5 on my own. I was happy I got myself out of bed! And the run went really well, which was also great.

Day 20

This run went pretty well! 12 miles, wowsers. At the end of it honestly my feet hurt, but they were fine after an hour or so, which is a good sign. Here is how it went:

1st mile - with my dog. I started out at about 5:50 am because I wanted to do this run early before it got too hot. 

9 miles - This I did with my husband and it was super slow, but honestly super easy for me. After my first mile with the dog I got a little bit of a sick stomach like last week but once that was over with and we started the 9, I was totally fine. Didn't even need all of my gatorade and gave some of my portion to my husband...who was not doing so hot...that was why we were slowww. He started feeling bad, so we slowed down, but he made it through the 9 miles!

Last 2 miles - When we finished the 9, my husband headed towards our building doors and I kept running. I took no break between the 9 and 2, just a quick water/ stretch break after mile 1 and then I finished the last mile sore but strong. I only felt like taking a break because I ran my last mile with my husband without a break and we ran it harder than the rest....plus it was getting realllly hot (we didn't start the beginning of the 9 until about 7...ugh...which was frustrating since I had gotten up so early, but oh well...) 

Anyway, I did all 12 and felt good about it! 

Day 21

Today was cross training day! I did a decent job cross training by doing a weight circuit at home and honestly today my legs and butt are SORE!

I did 200 jumpies, 125 lunges, 125 pushups, 100 kettle bell swings with 45 pounds, and 4 sets of abwork. It took me about an hour, so not a bad cross training day. 

Day 22

Well, this morning did not go as planned...I set my alarm for 15 minutes before I needed to get up then I reset it for the correct time...or so I thought..Turns out I hadn't, and I woke up too late to run, grrr. So technically I have not done today's 3 mile run yet...but my plan is to do it after work today. :) Tomorrow I will be back to running in the morning...

Day 16 and 17

Day 16

Well, I had my first cheat day...I didn't wake up yesterday for my 6 mile run and things got crazier after that.

I actually did wake up on time, but I realized I was out of my Luna protein bars and that I had nothing else that I could eat before a run...I knew I couldn't make it through 6 miles without eating because I would be realllllly sick. So, I thought, oh well, I will do it tonight after work.

I got all dressed after work but then I got a text and a phone call. My brother found a litter of kittens at my father's house and he didn't know what to do. I knew my coworker, who has raised litters of stray kittens before, was still at the office and so the two of us headed over to check out the situation. 

By the time we figured out who owned the Mama cat (the neighbor) and gave one of the kittens a bath (they were COVERED with fleas, poor babies), it was about 7 and I knew my husband wouldn't be up for waiting another hour for me to get my run in. And with all of the excitement, I was not really physically in a good place to run (I was pretty shaky). So, instead I drank a beer and we had takeout thai food...it happens.

Day 17

Today was supposed to be a three mile run, but instead I did the 6 miles I was supposed to do yesterday. Tomorrow is supposed to be my rest day, so I may do the three tomorrow...we will see. 

The 6 went well, I woke up sleepy but by the time I got running, I felt pretty good. I did a mile with my dog and 5 on my own. I took a walk/stretch break at 3 miles down and another mini walk break at 3.8 miles down because my stomach started cramping up really badly, luckily the walking helped settle it down and I made it home and finished the 5 miles without getting sick. 

The weather was very unusual this morning. It started out with a nice breeze and was warm, as the sun came up it got to be a little warmer, but the last 20 minutes of my run my visibility in front of me started to get worse and worse. I looked up and the sky was clear, it looked like it was raining in front of me. It ended up being fog and it made its way towards me. When I ran the last 3/4 of a mile back home, it followed me. So when my husband looked out the window, he couldn't see anything, the fog was so strong. Bizarre!

Anyway, I will let you know if I do the run tomorrow or not. I don't want to mess myself up because I have a 6 on Friday and a 12 on Saturday...plus I have to get a sonogram to check for gallstones at 9 am. I can't eat anything before my appointment for 6 hours, so I am not sure if doing a run is a great idea...we will see how I feel...Ciao!

Day 12, 13, 14, 15

Ok, so I got a little behind on posting...oops.

Day 12

This 6 miler did not go as well as the one earlier in the week. My pace was the same as the week before though but I needed my water on my fuel belt and a little rest/stretch break at 2.5 miles. 

Overall, I just felt tired...which made me nervous for my run the following day... the 11 miler...

Day 13

This 11 miler ended up being pretty interesting. The night before I had one glass of wine and my dinner was blackened mahi with grits and collared greens. Afterwards, my stomach felt a little funny, but nothing happened...didn't think much of it. 

The next morning I got ready for my 11 miler. I split it up so that I could run 1 mile with my dog and 7 with my husband, the last three I did on my own. I woke up at about 6, was planning on starting to run at 6 but figured, there is no hurry...and I started out with the one mile run with my dog. Thank GOD I did! I got reallly sick at about half way...so I ran when I could and walked when I had to that second half. I made it home...but my stomach was a mess. I was very thankful I was only half a mile away when it started...and figured, the worst is over.

My husband wasn't ready yet to run so I figured I would do my 3 on my own...and it gave me a chance to see if my stomach could handle it. The humidity began to rise, so I felt that, but otherwise the 3 miles went by easily.

I felt ready for my last 7 miles, but of course was a little tired when we got started. Sure enough, half a mile down, I had to tell my husband I needed to go back...my stomach was getting messy again...What I don't understand is ALL week I ran 3 to 6 miles a day with NO stomach issues...and by the time I reach 5 miles I get sick TWICE?!?!?! What the heck? Anyway, I got back, did my business, and warned my husband that this may continue to happen. At this point I am starting to get hungry again, despite my 20 g protein bar I had at 6 am...it is probably about 9:15 at this point...but I decided to go for it with the last 6 miles anyway.

Thankfully the last 6 were uneventful and I did not have any more stomach problems...phew! We did the 5 minutes on, 1 minute off, then for the last mile did 3 minutes on, 1 minute off (at a much faster pace). Although I was dog-tired at the end, I am sure I could have ran more miles...By the time we finished that run it was about 10:30...So technically it took me 4 and half hours to run 11 miles. lol Although obviously I had some challenges that morning and more than anything I am thankful I finished the miles. I kept telling myself, if I have stomach issues on race day I am going to have to make it through some how, this kind of stuff prepares me.

Day 14

Totally uneventful. I did a little weight circuit as my cross training but I was super lazy this day...I even took a 3 hour nap! And...I had a HARD time falling asleep...so I think in the future I am going to step up my crosstraining...although the extra rest was refreshing.

Day 15

Today was a 3 miler. I got my husband out of bed to do it with me..although we both started a little late and I was late for work...ooops. 

My husband typically wears his watch, but he forgot it today. However we looked at the clock before we left and when we got back. We think we broke 11 minute miles! This is a big deal for me, I have been struggling with that on all of these morning runs. I was huffing and puffing pretty hard when I finished but I felt strong. We took a stretch break half way through that only lasted a few minutes and it helped. 

Overall a good run, I am hoping husband will run 6 with me tomorrow. We will see! Ciao!

Day 11

Today was my day of rest. Just like last week I made plans to maybe run with my dog that morning...didn't happen. I didn't do any type of exercise at all...Ciao!

Day 10

Today was an easy run, a 3 miler. My husband got up and ran with me today! The weather was great, overcast but not too humid and there was a slight breeze.

We took a stretch break half way through but it was short and we finished with about 11 minute miles. I sprinted the last quarter of a mile and it felt really easy. I have to say that these runs this week feel a LOT easier than last week. 

Just like last week, I am starting to get sleepier and sleepier every morning I get up early. Tomorrow is my rest day, YAY! So, I will get to sleep in about an hour, which will be really nice. Then Friday is a 6 miler and Saturday is 11 miles! Eeek! I am trying really hard to be confident about that run, but I haven't ran that far in a while...I gotta get used to it though - 26 is a LOT farther. 

Speaking of long runs, I have started to think about how in the world I am going to entertain myself. I don't have a running partner - love my husband but he doesn't seem that interested in actually doing this marathon - so I am going to have to provide my own entertainment. I love listening to music...but I think that will get old at about 90 minutes down...since it will probably take me about 5 hours to do the marathon, I need to figure something else out for training for the long runs. I am not worried about the actual run, I think the excitement of the race and the race entertainment will get me through it...but the 20 miler training runs, yikes! A friend of mine suggested audio books that are fun stories, like Harry Potter. I think I will try that out. Maybe this weekend? 11 miles will probably take me about 2 hours, wowsers. 

Ciao!

Day 9

My husband might have given up...at least he did today. I have to say, I am proud of myself for still doing the run. I had thoughts like "you could do it after work, you don't have any major plans..." ha! 

But, I did it. A 6 mile run. I split it up and ran the first mile with my dog ( in case husband changed his mind by the time I came back) and then did a 5 mile run. Splitting it up made me a teeny tiny bit late for work, but that is ok. I actually felt great for this run. I woke up stiff and a little sore, not sure why, maybe from Sunday's cross training? Or maybe I ran hunched over yesterday, I am not sure...but by the time I started running I felt really good. 

My splits were about 20 seconds faster than they have been and I felt great during it! In order to get the time I want I need to drop 20 more seconds which I think is totally reasonable because I think the lack of speed mostly comes from my lack of coordination with my toe shoes... Once I get that down I will be back where I was at least with my regular running shoes, which is about a minute faster than my expected marathon mile time.

Anyway, I woke up for another run and I am happy about it! Tomorrow is a 3 mile run...husband is supposed to get up and do it with me, we'll see :) Ciao!

Day 6, 7, and 8

Got a little behind on the blogging but not with the training, yippee!

Day 6

This was my first long run of my official marathon training and it was 6 miles. My plan was to wake up early and get it done before the heat started. It didn't work out that way. The day before (Friday), we found out my husband's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin were going to be in Daytona beach for the day and night. That is only about an hour and a half away while they live in Leesburg, which is about 3 hours away...big difference. We haven't seen them in a while, so I took off from work at about 3:30 and we headed that way. 

We had a great time but it was really hard to leave. We probably would have stayed but we had left the dog at home, so we left at about 10:30. Normally I am the late night driver. My husband falls asleep pretty early but I can usually stay awake. Not that day. I had woken up that morning early to do the 5 mile run and I think after 5 days of waking up early, I was done. So my husband drove for about 45 minutes and decided he couldn't go on...so we took a nap at the rest stop! lol We planned on napping for 15 minutes but that turned into about 45, by then my husband felt good enough to finish the drive...I felt like I was going to puke, haha. Needless to say I was happy to be home, but I still had to take the dog out (a bit of an ordeal since we live on the 4th floor of a condo). By the time we got to bed it was after 1:30...my 6 am wakeup call for my 6 mile run was not happening. 

I ended up tearing myself out of bed at about 8:15. My plan was to run 5 miles on my own and a mile with my dog. My husband decided to run with me so I did a mile with the dog first and then my husband joined me for 5...we didn't end up running until almost 10...blahhh...hot. Because we were both tired and hot, so we decided to try the 5 minutes run, 1 minute walk method and that got us through it...phew...

Day 7

This was a cross training workout and so I did a circuit of jumpies, kettle bell swings, and an ab workout. I also ran with my dog for a mile. I would have liked to have done sprints with my husband but he wasn't really in the mood for a workout yesterday...I can't blame him - Friday was long (see above) and Saturday ended up being a long day too. 

Day 8

Ok, we are finally to today! I woke up early (yay!) and I felt  A LOT better than I did when I woke up on Monday last week to run. That is probably because I had just got back from a vacation or maybe I am just more used to it, either way I felt really great during the run. 

Today was a 3 mile and my husband decided to do it with me, yay! It is a little hard when he randomly decides to run with me in the morning because he takes longer to get ready and I have to be out the door at a certain time so if I don't plan for the extra time...I get grumpy that I am going to be late. Well, today luckily I had woken up extra early because we left almost 20 minutes later that I planned. My husband also told me this morning that he is going to train all week with me and if he likes it he is going to do the marathon with me, yay! We will see how it goes, I will update you as the week goes on :). Ciao!

Day 5 of Marathon Training

I woke up tired this morning. Not sore tired but sleepy tired, but I got my butt outside to do my run.

It was hot and toasty. Not mid day hot, but definitely hot and extremely humid. It felt like I was swimming through the air. I took a stretch break at 2.5 miles and then another one at .3 to go...my body had been screaming for one starting at about 1.5 miles to go but I tried to ignore it...it finally got to me when my stomach started to scream at me - I was like, OK! Fine! So I walked for 30 seconds (timed) with .3 to go...ridiculous...but it calmed my stomach down so I could finish and I sprinted at the end to try and make up for those 30 seconds :)

I made it through the work week doing my workouts woohoo! Now I just have the weekend. Today my husband and I are heading to Daytona to visit family that are in town and will probably head home at around 9 or 10...blahhhh. The time with the family will be fun but it is going to make it harder for me to get up tomorrow to do my 6 mile run. Which leads me to ponder, what time should I get up tomorrow? I don't have work but I have the heat...I will feel better during the run if I run at around 6, but ugh soooo early. I think I am going to shoot for that then when I get up, I will decide if I can handle the extra heat that will be out at 7....I think it will be too hot if I start running any later than 7. Gotta love heat waves. I can always nap afterwards :) Mmm, beach nap...

Ciao!

Rest Day

Day 4: Rest day! I slept in an entire hour later than I have any other day this week, it was blissful :). Although my body woke me up at the normal time ready to go...hopefully that lasts until the big day on November 5th! ha! 

Today I got to rest, tomorrow is 5 miles and Saturday is 6 miles. Then on Sunday I cross train, so today's rest day is helping my muscles grow stronger so that I am ready for this next busy week. I honestly did not want to rest today... I wanted to do something...I still might go on a walk tonight with my dog, I think that is ok...but I know it is better that I do rest. :) 

Ciao!

Day 2 and 3 of Marathon Training

Day 2 - I did my first long run. I ran 5 miles yesterday morning. I thought it would be dark but surprisingly it was light outside when I took off on my run. 

Normally I run a mile/mile and a half, then stretch out and finish the run. On my longer runs, I often add a few more of these mini breaks to drink some water. I stretched out a lot before this run (long elevator wait, hehe) and I was feeling great until about 3 miles. At that point my stomach started making funny noises and I mentally calculated how far I was from the nearest Porta Potty... (thank goodness for the construction on homes going on in the neighborhood) Anyway, I luckily did not need that, but planned to take a stretch break at about 1.3 miles away from home ( 3.7 down...). 

Well, at that point, a creepy looking man was walking...ok he wasn't actually creepy, probably owns one of the multimillion dollar oceanfront homes, but I get nervous when I am by myself running in the morning. This particular street I was on did not have any intersecting roads for about half a mile, so rather than stopping and stretching, I kept going...then once I reached a turn-off/aka safe place away from the creepy potential millionaire...I was less than 3/4 a mile away from my building, so I decided to tough it out and make it home, and I did! I think I ran the second half of the run a minute per mile faster than the first half!

Day 3 Today I was a little sorer and a little more tired. I only had a three mile run and I decided to break it up so that I did two on my own and one with my dog so I could give him some exercise too. The two miles went well, again my second mile was faster than my first by more than a minute and I did take a stretch break after a mile...my shins were hurting - the only problem with the toe shoes, your shins absorb what your shoes used to. Anyway, I can see why the training guide has a rest break for tomorrow. It will be good to give my legs a break before running Friday and my long run, which is not too long, only 6 miles, on Saturday. 

I am done with work for the day, so I am sitting in my recliner and sipping on some wine. Ahhh. Ciao!

Marathon Training Begins

Today I started my marathon training. 

My shoes:  Vibram KSO

I love these. They took some getting used to and I had to work my way up mileage wise but now I love them. The farthest I have gone is 9 miles, I am curious to see how I do in these for the longer runs...for now they are the pair I am sticking with, but I do have a backup pair of Asics just in case.

My Training Plan: Hal Higdon Intermediate I Marathon Guide

I chose this one because I have followed his half marathon plans before and they have worked out well for me. Today I am started the third week of this guide, I have been running on my own for a long time now, basically keeping longer runs in my workouts since I did my last half marathon in February. I was on vacation last week and so I thought it would be easier to officially start this plan and my marathon training this week. 

My Past Runs: I have done 4 half marathons and one Jacksonville River Run 15K. I have done a bunch of 5K's and 10K's, but the ones I mentioned I found the most challenging. I ran my fastest half marathon at the OUC half marathon in Orlando. It was my first and I really trained hard with a group of great friends. I still flied and died, but my time was 2:04...I haven't come close to that on my other three nor at the River Run. Of course I also puked a few times at the end of that and laid in a bath tub for about 6 hours before going to bed for the night...not a good feeling...

I mention all of that because I wanted to give my plans for this big race. I am fairly comfortable keeping an under 11 minute mile pace and think I will do that for the marathon. Ideally I would beat 10 minute miles, and through training that may happen...but for now my goal is to reach under 11 minute miles. 

Today's Run: Today I did a 3 mile run, which is the Tuesday run for the 3rd week of Hal Higdon's plan. I am moving the plan back a day since the marathon is on a Saturday not Sunday. I decided to officially start on a week that had less mileage because I didn't get to run much on vacation and I think it will help get me back on track rather than jumping into a higher mileage week. Plus I have been fighting an on again/off again stomach bug for a few weeks now and it is not PLEASANT when you have to do long runs. Ugh. 

I really want to do all of these runs in the morning. The marathon is in the morning and it is really nice to be done for the day with the workout and not have to worry about it after work...especially since these afternoon/evening temperatures are brutal this time of year. I have been very unsuccessful with the morning runs in the past...mostly because I have to get up so early and it's still dark out...blah...but I live in a reallllllly safe area. So I need to get over it. Tomorrow will be my first test of this because I will have to start running while it is still dark out for my 6 mile run. Yikes. Prayers! Motivation! I need it! 

This will be my training blog and my accountability blog :). Ciao.