Road to Joy

1.6 warm-up and cool-down, 2 mile tempo (6:55 maybe - I forgot to push my lap button), 2x800 (3:18, 3:03), 2x400 (1:23, 1:28)

Alright, the marathon is this week so it is time for positive thoughts.  I started out a little tight, but by the 400s I was feeling ok.  I definitely need to get a good warm-up before the marathon starts.  I drove the course yesterday so that my kids would get a good nap before church.  It is really a scenic run which should be enjoyable.  There are some ups and downs between mile 7 and 16 that might be a little tough, but at least I know they are there.  In particular there is a hill at mile 15 or so that is a mile long that I really want to work well through during the race.  Things get a little blah for the last 6 miles since those are all through town, but I know that stretch of road well and will hopefully be able to push myself through it.  

3:10 would be awesome, 3:15 is about what I'm expecting, slower than 3:20 would be a bit of a disappointment.  We'll see how it goes (:

Easy miles at my sister.  I haven't run just 3 miles since my baby was a few months old.  It felt like cheating.  It definitely felt like a warm-up and then my run fell off the edge of the earth.  Still feeling creaky, and old, and scared, and asking myself why I sign up for marathons anyway.  Come on positive thoughts.  Get back here.

I was supposed to do 4x400 today.  But after 2 of the 400s I thought I was doing more harm than good.  Inside my left leg just feels wrong.  The ITB on my right side and my left achilles aren't doing too hot either.  The thing I am taking comfort in is that over the last couple of weeks, as much as I haven't felt great in the legs, once I get down to doing my tempo runs or longer intervals I've been at least able to perform on par with what I usually do.  My fingers are SO crossed that everything will hold together until 26.2 miles are done.  Then my body can do whatever it wants...within reason.

So there is going to be a pacer for a 3:40 and for a 3:10 to help the Boston hopefuls out.  I'm hoping to take advantage of the 3:10 pacer - it will at least be an added motivation if he/she is within sight.

Mostly easy - I did the last half mile at a 6:45 just to give myself some confidence that my legs work.  I'm trying hard not to get discouraged about the fact that I didn't take care of my legs well in the last couple of months.  But I've certainly learned my lesson.  I'm going to do the simple things like stretch and keep up on getting new shoes next time I train for a race so that all the hard work I do in putting the miles in doesn't get compromised.

On the positive side, I do feel excited to be doing this race tomorrow and enjoying the canyon on a nice cool morning.  My tempo runs and my repeat miles have been at the same pace or maybe faster than the last time I trained for a marathon.  I've run more months consecutively than I ever have before.  So those things will help me.  I'm also excited to watch my sister do her first 5k since high school.

Well its all over and done now.  I guess I better give a few details in case I wonder next time I'm training.

Race start was 5:30 so I got up at 2:45am.  That's early.  It was cool at the top but I was well clothed.  I did about an 800 warm up and then stretched and waited for the start.  The first 20 miles went great.  I felt great and I felt I could keep my pace up for a long time.  I let a fast girl pace me and that really helped.  But then I completely bonked the last 6 miles.  6 miles to go and everything left me.  I felt like I was barely able to make it in.  The last hammer gel was handed out at mile 19 and I couldn't get it open and I think part of my problem was being out of food.  It was all I could do to keep my bowels together for the last 3 miles - so frustrating.  But I have that problem with running if I don't eat enough.  Odd.  But true.  Really.  Anyhow.  I can't be disappointed with a 3:10 right?  The fast girl finished in 3:07:30 so I lost 3 minutes in 6 miles.  Oh horrors.  Anyway - she did great and I'm so grateful to her for helping me along.  It was a super-fast marathon.  The winners were at something like 3:48, 3:49 and 3:51.  Nothing that Nan couldn't handle!

Oh, one more note for the future me in training.  Dan had me take an ice bath when I got home from the race.  I wasn't very excited about it - but oh what a difference it made.  I can walk again.

So final lessons learned: stretch and get good shoes during training, do longer tempo runs during training, have a hammer gel plan and stick to it in a race.  Next marathon I'd love a 3:05, but I might be hitting some stasis here.  This might be my speed.  I look forward to the next marathon, although it might be a year or two again.