Last Week

So this past week went really well for me. One of those weeks where you have tackled everything and come out on top. On Thursday while running 6 miles I got mile five at a 6:42 pace which is my fastest ever. I was so excited about that.

Then to make things even better I ran 16 miles today and I felt awesome. I paced myself around a 9 minute mile and I felt great the whole way. I even felt like I could go even further than what I did. My legs and butt are sore now, but well worth it. Next week is 18 miles and hopefully I will feel as good as I did today. Marathon is just around the corner.

Long Saturday Run

So I ran 14 miles on Saturday... The farthest I have ran on training has been 12 and then of course my two half's which were 13.1 miles each. So yesterday was a mile stone for me. I started feeling sluggish around mile 11 and then the heavy legs kicked in. But the secret for me is not to stop. Once you do, sometimes you get leg cramps and then it is hard to start back up again. It was a great pace of 8:50 average. I wanted to keep it around 9 and I got it. It is so nice to have people to talk to and encourage you on those long runs. I am grateful for the running group every Saturday. It was an empowering experience for me to know I can run that far. Next Saturday is 16 so hopefully I will still be able to get it done.

New Shoe, New Feeling

I got new shoes finally this past week. Today was my first run in them. Can I just say that brand new running shoes are marvelous. They are like running on a cloud. These past couple of days my knees have been a little sore, but today I felt super. No aches afterwards. You really should replace running shoes often. I had five miles this morning and I honestly felt so good the whole time. Average pace was an easy 8:45, which is what I want my race pace to be about. My next run on Saturday is 14 miles so we will see how well it goes. I want to try and keep my pace around a 9 so that I don't over exert myself for the latter miles. Wish me luck.

Saturday and then today

This past week has been a low mileage week on my training schedule. It has been nice to only have to go a couple of miles and be done. Although I almost feel as if I am cheating myself, but I am assured that Runner's World has some of the best training programs around. Saturday I only had to run 5 miles with the group. It seemed like nothing, but I think since they only had to run 5 with me they picked up the pace a lot. Keeping it around a 8:20 the whole time was a little difficult. But I finished and got home early with my family. The weather was perfect by the way.

Today I only had 2 scheduled but I ran 3 instead. I just can't seem to rationalize running only 2 little miles, but 3 is lowest I will go. I was so winded the whole time and I didn't understand why until I got done and looked at my pace. I was running a 7:50 mile. What was up with me? No wonder I was winded. That is way faster than I need to be going right now. But I will take it knowing that is the reason I was so winded. Hopefully I can slow it down on Saturday for my 14 miler. This will be the longest I have ever ran before. Should be interesting.

Move Over Lady

Today was a great run. The weather was perfect, clear and in the twenties. No wind for once. The snow had melted so the shoulders of the roads were clear. It gets light around 6:30 here so I only had to run half of it in the dark. I had 6 miles and I felt great the whole time. I paced my usually 8.30 miles and my last was around 8 minutes flat.

I had to laugh because I was running listening to my music and usually I see no one when I run. I got a big surprise and almost peed my pants when this guy out of now where buzzes past me at break neck speed. I figure if I was going around 8.30 he had to be going around a 6 minute or faster pace. He just smiled and zoomed right by. Made me feel like a granny going super slow. It was nice to actually see someone else, but at the same time a little annoyed that I felt like I was going so slow. Curse you little man, curse you.

Where Are The Plows When You Need Them?

This was going through my brain this morning while I ran. We got around 7 inches of snow last night and usually the roads are in pretty good shape here. I don't know if it was the cold temperatures keeping those plows indoors or what but the roads were horrible. I tried to run in our neighborhood first but hardly any traffic equals really deep snow to try and trudge in. Only one single tire track was in the snow and it wasn't that big. So after a mile of deep snow I opted to run on the main road where at least the plow had made one pass. It was close calls when the cars drove by. Not enough room for all of us. But I was determined to run my 5 miles no matter what. My time was crappy considering I had to dodge snow, cars and ice the whole time. It is horrible when you have to concentrate on every step you take. But the determination paid off and I got all five done. I am hoping the snow will be mostly gone by Thursday so my next run will be more productive.

Oh The Wind

Yesterday I had a long run planned. I awoke to Gabe throwing up and the wind howling. Not just a wind either, gust up to 50 mph. I was going to wimp out on my group. I mean who wants to run in that kind of wind? Even running in OK doesn't prepare you for that. But I didn't hear anyone else cancelling so I couldn't be the wimpy on in the group. So I went and it was so so windy. It seemed like every hill we came to the wind would push against us. Running up hill add 50 mph wind is not good. We still got the full 12 miles in and our pace was about an 8.30 which is great considering the weather. I can't wait for warmer milder weather. And my legs and back are sore as well. It was a killer workout.