It's been a very eventful week in Virginia to say the least. Just in the past seven days we've dealt with the extreme smoke from the lateral west fire in the Dismal Swamp, a 5.9 earthquake in Mineral, VA (about 150 miles from our house), and the big mother, Hurricane Irene. As of right now, we have some powerful thunderstorms headed our way as well as another TORNADO WARNING! Geez!
Well, we are sooo thankful that we were able to come away with very minimal water damage in our garage. There is quite a bit of debris to clean up as well, but we got the day off from work to take care of the mess. Some of our neighbors did not fare as well because their property sits a bit lower and many have a slab foundation. Our house is up a few feet higher than our neighbors because of our crawl space foundation.
Running was okay this week, still taking all of my iron supplements and working on adding more iron to my diet. I didn't feel great this week, but still felt I would have a good race on Saturday.
The race itself was crazy. First, we didn't even know if they were going to let us run because of the hurricane. We decided we were going to evacuate on Friday and we had to take Bella with us, so we found a hotel in Ashland that was pet-friendly. We figured either way we would be safe from the Hurricane and maybe we would get to run if the race was still on. Well, they made the decision on Saturday morning to go through with it. I was nervous for various reasons but excited to race since it had been so long. The first mile marker than I saw was at mile 3, and I figured out I was running 6:45 pace, which was ok. I was aiming to start at 6:40 and drop it down to 6:30. Unfortunately that didn't work out because we ran straight into the wind for miles 5-10. I was still at 6:45 pace by mile 10, and feeling fine although I was having a lot more thoughts than usual. Usually I am very focused on the race and have very few thoughts that I can remember.
There was a long downhill before the hill I knew was coming at mile 11. Well... no one said it was going to be a MILE LONG! Literally, the mile 12 marker was at the top of the effing hill. Seriously! My legs were dead, my shoes sopping wet from the rain, but I pumped my arms as hard as I could to get myself going again. A few people pased me, and they were going a lot faster than me. My other thought was SHIT! I came to the mile 13 marker and looked at my watch and it said 1:29:15 and then I said it out loud "SHIT!". Well, I got to the line right at 1:30, and I was mad! The guy handed me a third place plaque, all smiles, I faked a smile back to him. I was soooo royally pissed. I laid on the grass, soaking wet from the rain, more rain pelting me, but I didn't care. I had been thinking this whole week that I would run 1:26- 1:27 on flat course, but with the hills I figured 1:27- 1:28. Never did think I would run another 1:30. I ran that time in March when I was only running 2-3 days per week and had no training plan. I've put in 12 solid weeks of 55-70 miles per week, and now basically no improvement? I'm still annoyed, but getting over it. I know the wind was bad but I'm pretty tough and figured I would power through it.
Eventually I quit being a baby and enjoyed the rest of the weekend of being temporary 'fugees. First we got the hell out of that "Quality" Inn we were staying at. We found a much nicer pet-friendly hotel in Richmond, a newly-remodeled Holiday Inn with a huge flat screen TV, King-size bed with nice linens, and a fully-equipped fitness room. We enjoyed some drinks and dinner and watched coverage of the storm all night. Bella was very excited because there were so many guests with dogs. It was her dream come true.
So... here's this week's summary:
Monday: off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: AM 5 miles/ PM 6 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: 14 miles (1 mile warm up, 13.1 race, didn't feel like cooling down)
Sunday: weak treadmill attempt of 5 miles
Total: 44 miles
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Six Weeks To Go!
"Road racing is rock 'n roll; track is Carnegie Hall."
Marty Liquori
The World Championships in Daegu, South Korea begin this week. I also have my first tune-up race this Saturday, a half marathon. I would like to say that I'm excited for this race, but I'm more excited to watch the coverage of the World Championships on Universal. Road races can be exciting to watch and are definitely fun to participate in, but track really is the cream that rises to the top. I love watching the different racing tactics and seeing how the race plays out, especially at Worlds when the stakes are so high. It'll be interesting to see how much my marathon training will pay off in the spring. It's been soooo long since I've run a race on the track but I am very excited for the prospect of that actually happening. I'm getting ahead of myself though.
Anywhoo, I think I have the iron thing working for me. I really didn't know what to expect on my long run yesterday, but I ended up making it 19 miles. I actually felt good until about 17.5 and then I started to feel really bad. I didn't feel like carrying my water with me so I was probably more dehydrated than normal, and I couldn't stomach the shot bloks (I only had 4 for the whole run, which is the equivalent of one gel). I don't know why but I was not in the mood to eat those and I normally like them. But the good news is that I was able to make it that far without the low iron symptoms from last week. I hope if I can just take it easy again this week, things will fall into place for my race this weekend. That will be a huge confidence boost.
Monday off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 12 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 4 miles AM/ 9 miles PM (w/ 4 mile tempo 6:45 pace)
Saturday: 7 smoke-filled miles
Sunday: 19
Total: 61 miles
PS- this really confuses me, but the "weeks to go" thing means that at the end of the week, I'll have 6 weeks until my marathon. I don't know why the dude that made this plan counts it like that, but he does.
Marty Liquori
The World Championships in Daegu, South Korea begin this week. I also have my first tune-up race this Saturday, a half marathon. I would like to say that I'm excited for this race, but I'm more excited to watch the coverage of the World Championships on Universal. Road races can be exciting to watch and are definitely fun to participate in, but track really is the cream that rises to the top. I love watching the different racing tactics and seeing how the race plays out, especially at Worlds when the stakes are so high. It'll be interesting to see how much my marathon training will pay off in the spring. It's been soooo long since I've run a race on the track but I am very excited for the prospect of that actually happening. I'm getting ahead of myself though.
Anywhoo, I think I have the iron thing working for me. I really didn't know what to expect on my long run yesterday, but I ended up making it 19 miles. I actually felt good until about 17.5 and then I started to feel really bad. I didn't feel like carrying my water with me so I was probably more dehydrated than normal, and I couldn't stomach the shot bloks (I only had 4 for the whole run, which is the equivalent of one gel). I don't know why but I was not in the mood to eat those and I normally like them. But the good news is that I was able to make it that far without the low iron symptoms from last week. I hope if I can just take it easy again this week, things will fall into place for my race this weekend. That will be a huge confidence boost.
Monday off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 12 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 4 miles AM/ 9 miles PM (w/ 4 mile tempo 6:45 pace)
Saturday: 7 smoke-filled miles
Sunday: 19
Total: 61 miles
PS- this really confuses me, but the "weeks to go" thing means that at the end of the week, I'll have 6 weeks until my marathon. I don't know why the dude that made this plan counts it like that, but he does.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
*Actual* Recovery Week
The main topic of conversation around here is that the Dismal Swamp is on fire. This has been going on for weeks, and it is still only 10% contained. Depending on the wind direction, it can be quite dangerous to be outside. It takes some planning to avoid running when (and where) the smoke is at it's worst. This morning I was lazy and slept in and when I opened my front door I was hit with a thick waft of smokiness. I ran anyway, and managed to make it through without major respiratory probs.
Besides the impending school year (ugh) the other major thing on my mind has been my iron levels. I've been taking a multivitamin and emergenC pack every day as well as my slow-release iron tablet. I tried and failed at giving up coffee so I've just been taking the iron at lunch time. I've been really good except for yesterday because I was in shopaholic mode. Pete and I somehow got so into shopping that we missed lunch, then got stuck in traffic, so we didn't eat "lunch" until 5pm. We still had to do our tempo run too, so I skipped the iron pill (it can cause stomach issues). I still can't believe how much things can change in a few days. I could barely finish 5 miles at 7 min pace last Sunday. Last night I wanted to see how I felt running faster so I did Pete's tempo with him. We ran 4 miles at 6:45 pace and it felt easy, just like it should. I'm supposed to do a 22 mile long run tomorrow, but I may just do 20. I have to be careful not to get super excited and push myself over the edge again. Low iron can be a tricky thing.
Monday off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 12 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 4 miles AM/ 9 miles PM (w/ 4 mile tempo 6:45 pace)
Saturday: 7 smoke-filled miles
Sunday: (22)?
Besides the impending school year (ugh) the other major thing on my mind has been my iron levels. I've been taking a multivitamin and emergenC pack every day as well as my slow-release iron tablet. I tried and failed at giving up coffee so I've just been taking the iron at lunch time. I've been really good except for yesterday because I was in shopaholic mode. Pete and I somehow got so into shopping that we missed lunch, then got stuck in traffic, so we didn't eat "lunch" until 5pm. We still had to do our tempo run too, so I skipped the iron pill (it can cause stomach issues). I still can't believe how much things can change in a few days. I could barely finish 5 miles at 7 min pace last Sunday. Last night I wanted to see how I felt running faster so I did Pete's tempo with him. We ran 4 miles at 6:45 pace and it felt easy, just like it should. I'm supposed to do a 22 mile long run tomorrow, but I may just do 20. I have to be careful not to get super excited and push myself over the edge again. Low iron can be a tricky thing.
Monday off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 12 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 4 miles AM/ 9 miles PM (w/ 4 mile tempo 6:45 pace)
Saturday: 7 smoke-filled miles
Sunday: (22)?
Monday, August 15, 2011
Mooooooo
Last week was a "recovery" week with reduced mileage. I felt really good until Saturday when I did 8 miles with 10 x 100 meters and I swear I felt like I could not get any air in my lungs! After each of the last 4 I had to stop for about 15 seconds before I could resume running again. I blamed it on the heat and the smoke from the dismal swamp fire that continues to burn (and is only 10% contained as of yesterday). I felt kind of crappy for the rest of the day on Saturday, but still made sure to be hydrated and carb-loaded.
On Sunday we got a late start. As much as I hate waking up early I would rather get started at 6 rather than 7 because there are far less people on the trail and it's much cooler. Pete and I started our slow 2 mile warm-up together, 8:30 and 8:25 for the first 2 miles. I felt like complete garbage and couldn't catch my breath again. I actually felt like my lungs were burning. Of course I sucked it up and started my marathon pace run, after a quick stop to stretch. The first mile felt great, came through the half in 3:18 so I slowed it down a little and ran 6:50 for the first mile. Mile 2 was a 7:02 which was fine. Then I focused on keeping that pace to the turnaround at 5 miles where I would refill my water. Mile 3 7:04, whoops gotta pick it up. Mile 5, 7:07. Shit. By this point my lungs were really screaming and I was having trouble lifting my legs. I powered through mile 5 in 7:00 then stopped and basically hyperventilated as if I had just raced a 400 all-out on the track.
Suddenly I had a flashback to 2003 and 2004 when I remembered feeling exactly like this. It's such a strange feeling. I know I'm in good shape, and 7:00 per mile should feel easy. I just did a 6 mile tempo at 6:30 per mile 2 weeks ago. It's low iron! I started to think of all of the symptoms I experienced then and now, and what I had to do to fix them. I haven't trained this much since 2004, so I guess it was just a matter of time.
After Pete and I finished our run (I ended up running 14 total, but didn't do the rest of my marathon pace) we first went home and showered and figured out where to eat lunch. When we got to the restaurant, I looked through the menu and picked out a burger with roasted tomatoes, cheddar, and bacon. Hold the bacon, please. I also ordered an orange juice, which seems like a weird combo, but the vitamin C helps you absorb the iron better. Anyway, it was ok, I felt a little naseous when we left but it thankfully passed. We stopped by Target to get a multivitamin, raspberry emergenC, and SlowFe. SlowFe contains ferrous sulfate, which most doctors recommend because it is better absorbed. The multivitamin contains ferrous fumarate, which is another compound containing iron. I asked the pharmacist if it was better to get the name brand, but she said the Target brand is just as good so we went with that.
Last but not least: no coffee, tea, sugar, soda, etc. for awhile, especially with the supplements. They interfere with the absorption of Iron. No fun.
Week Summary:
Monday: off
Tuesday: 9 miles
Wednesday: 9 miles (6 x 800 meters workout)
Thursday:6 miles recovery
Friday: 11 miles in 1:24
Saturday: 8 miles w 10 x 100
Sunday: 14 with 5 at marathon pace
Total: 57 miles
On Sunday we got a late start. As much as I hate waking up early I would rather get started at 6 rather than 7 because there are far less people on the trail and it's much cooler. Pete and I started our slow 2 mile warm-up together, 8:30 and 8:25 for the first 2 miles. I felt like complete garbage and couldn't catch my breath again. I actually felt like my lungs were burning. Of course I sucked it up and started my marathon pace run, after a quick stop to stretch. The first mile felt great, came through the half in 3:18 so I slowed it down a little and ran 6:50 for the first mile. Mile 2 was a 7:02 which was fine. Then I focused on keeping that pace to the turnaround at 5 miles where I would refill my water. Mile 3 7:04, whoops gotta pick it up. Mile 5, 7:07. Shit. By this point my lungs were really screaming and I was having trouble lifting my legs. I powered through mile 5 in 7:00 then stopped and basically hyperventilated as if I had just raced a 400 all-out on the track.
Suddenly I had a flashback to 2003 and 2004 when I remembered feeling exactly like this. It's such a strange feeling. I know I'm in good shape, and 7:00 per mile should feel easy. I just did a 6 mile tempo at 6:30 per mile 2 weeks ago. It's low iron! I started to think of all of the symptoms I experienced then and now, and what I had to do to fix them. I haven't trained this much since 2004, so I guess it was just a matter of time.
After Pete and I finished our run (I ended up running 14 total, but didn't do the rest of my marathon pace) we first went home and showered and figured out where to eat lunch. When we got to the restaurant, I looked through the menu and picked out a burger with roasted tomatoes, cheddar, and bacon. Hold the bacon, please. I also ordered an orange juice, which seems like a weird combo, but the vitamin C helps you absorb the iron better. Anyway, it was ok, I felt a little naseous when we left but it thankfully passed. We stopped by Target to get a multivitamin, raspberry emergenC, and SlowFe. SlowFe contains ferrous sulfate, which most doctors recommend because it is better absorbed. The multivitamin contains ferrous fumarate, which is another compound containing iron. I asked the pharmacist if it was better to get the name brand, but she said the Target brand is just as good so we went with that.
Last but not least: no coffee, tea, sugar, soda, etc. for awhile, especially with the supplements. They interfere with the absorption of Iron. No fun.
Week Summary:
Monday: off
Tuesday: 9 miles
Wednesday: 9 miles (6 x 800 meters workout)
Thursday:6 miles recovery
Friday: 11 miles in 1:24
Saturday: 8 miles w 10 x 100
Sunday: 14 with 5 at marathon pace
Total: 57 miles
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
VO2 Max'n It Up!
Woke up early again this morning, and hit the snooze three times. Somehow I managed to drag myself to the park for this workout. I only had 9 easy miles yesterday, so I think it was just me being lazy.
Anyway, the 2 mile warmup was pathetically slow, but I loosened up a little towards the end. It was very humid and smoky, but since the repeats were pretty short it didn't affect me very much. The workout was 6 x 800 with 90% rest. I decided on 2:30- 2:45 for rest, because I figured I would run 2:50- 2:55 for each repeat. The goal was to work at 5k race pace, which is a pace that should be close to your VO2 Max pace. 2:55 per 800 is an 18:07 5k, and 2:50 is 17:36.
Well, I stuck on that pace pretty well for the first three, but it actually felt too easy. My times were:
2:55
2:49
2:49
2:48
2:46
2:37
They're actually half mile times, not 800s since it's on the park trail, but the difference isn't significant. Since the marathon will be on a bike path, it's more useful to do the repeats on similar terrain (rather than on the track). 4 mile cooldown after the workout was slow but didn't feel terrible. I like these types of workouts sooo much more than the long tempos. Bring it on, VO2 Max intervals!
I appreciated all of the walkers and runners on the trail this morning who encouraged me... "Did you just sprint for half a mile?" ummm, yeah I guess. I even got a "You go girl!"
Anyway, the 2 mile warmup was pathetically slow, but I loosened up a little towards the end. It was very humid and smoky, but since the repeats were pretty short it didn't affect me very much. The workout was 6 x 800 with 90% rest. I decided on 2:30- 2:45 for rest, because I figured I would run 2:50- 2:55 for each repeat. The goal was to work at 5k race pace, which is a pace that should be close to your VO2 Max pace. 2:55 per 800 is an 18:07 5k, and 2:50 is 17:36.
Well, I stuck on that pace pretty well for the first three, but it actually felt too easy. My times were:
2:55
2:49
2:49
2:48
2:46
2:37
They're actually half mile times, not 800s since it's on the park trail, but the difference isn't significant. Since the marathon will be on a bike path, it's more useful to do the repeats on similar terrain (rather than on the track). 4 mile cooldown after the workout was slow but didn't feel terrible. I like these types of workouts sooo much more than the long tempos. Bring it on, VO2 Max intervals!
I appreciated all of the walkers and runners on the trail this morning who encouraged me... "Did you just sprint for half a mile?" ummm, yeah I guess. I even got a "You go girl!"
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Selfishness, Be Gone!
Alright, so this past Sunday was an awful reminder of some of my toughest days as a runner...
It began with an unwanted alarm going off at 4:45am. It indicated that I was about to dislike the next 4 hours. Mollie and I woke up, got ready and headed to the park in VB. We got out on the trail and running with our supplies around 6:30am. That's when the negativity really started to kick in.
Racing through my mind were tons of crappy thoughts:
This water bottle in my hand is heavier than I'd like.
My legs feel like I raced a half yesterday.
The air smells and tastes like campfire smoke.
I rushed the start and didn't get to stretch, so my calves feel "tight as a banjo".
I'm pretty sure a 2 mile warm up won't help break me in properly before this workout begins.
My revised marathon pace for this workout will be wrong and hard to run since I'm only on my 2nd week back in training.
10 miles easy sounds craptastic this morning, not to mention the workout I'm beginning calls for 16 miles (w/ 10 at race pace).
Mosquitoes are still biting me even while I'm running.
My first warm up mile split was atrocious.
Where did all this land me?
For starters, I began with an 8:40ish first warm up mile- ugh. Next, with a bitchy attitude from hell that not even a mother could love. Also included, bickering between myself and my running partner- the one person that could pull me out of this chasm of negativity that smells of hot trash. Finally, it helped me out 0% in my workout.
I don't know exactly why I was in that funk that morning. There were a thousand reasons I could propose, but they all seem negative just thinking them up, so there's no benefit to spitting them out. Ultimately, that negativity was a result of me being selfish and wanting to do everything on my terms. I sometimes find myself getting irritated at the workout plan, as if I didn't choose to do it myself- foolishness.
After that workout Sunday morning, which I did get through without total disaster, I realized I need to maintain a different take going into a run. The approach to the workout should not be "me, me, what if, but I need, etc.". Instead it should be "I'm prepared, what can I do for my partner, another day closer to our goal". We're human, not perfect, but I need to drop the selfishness- it's a crippler.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Feeling Better, Pushing Through
Long run yesterday, 20 miles in in 2:34:11, 7:42 average. Pete and I drove to the oceanfront, started at about 6:30 am... of course it was very hot and humid again and there was a lot of smoke in the air for some reason. I paced Pete for his run, which was supposed to be 7:40 average, then I finished the last 8 miles on my own.
Our splits:
mile 1: 8:48 sloooooooow
mile 2: 8:09
mile 3: 7:47
mile 4: 7:41
mile 5: 7:34
nile 6: 7:44
mile 7: 7:40
mile 8: 7:41
mile 9: 7:32
mile 10: 7:40
mile 11: 7:45
mile 12: 7:34
mile 13: 7:30
mile 14: 7:23
mile 15: 7:45
mile 16: 7:29
mile 17: 7:36
mile 18: 7:38
mile 19: 7:38
mile 20: 7:28
I wish I had been closer to 7:30, but I also didn't want to push it after last weekend. After the first two miles I averaged 7:37 which is a little better.
The rest of the week was just mileage, no big workouts since it was supposed to be a rest week. I hit 70 miles this week, for the first time probably since college. Next week is supposed to be a "rest" week as well, but I still have to make up a 12 mile marathon pace run, which I think I will do on Sunday.
Kinda feel tired today, and a little sore. Probably because we were entertaining family all weekend and we spent all day Saturday at Busch Gardens and all day yesterday at the beach in the hot sun. I feel like I've been downing fluids all day every day and barely getting enough in. (Hmmm... maybe I should have skipped the beers yesterday and just stuck with water?)
Our splits:
mile 1: 8:48 sloooooooow
mile 2: 8:09
mile 3: 7:47
mile 4: 7:41
mile 5: 7:34
nile 6: 7:44
mile 7: 7:40
mile 8: 7:41
mile 9: 7:32
mile 10: 7:40
mile 11: 7:45
mile 12: 7:34
mile 13: 7:30
mile 14: 7:23
mile 15: 7:45
mile 16: 7:29
mile 17: 7:36
mile 18: 7:38
mile 19: 7:38
mile 20: 7:28
I wish I had been closer to 7:30, but I also didn't want to push it after last weekend. After the first two miles I averaged 7:37 which is a little better.
The rest of the week was just mileage, no big workouts since it was supposed to be a rest week. I hit 70 miles this week, for the first time probably since college. Next week is supposed to be a "rest" week as well, but I still have to make up a 12 mile marathon pace run, which I think I will do on Sunday.
Kinda feel tired today, and a little sore. Probably because we were entertaining family all weekend and we spent all day Saturday at Busch Gardens and all day yesterday at the beach in the hot sun. I feel like I've been downing fluids all day every day and barely getting enough in. (Hmmm... maybe I should have skipped the beers yesterday and just stuck with water?)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Setting Goals and Stuff
My high school coach used to help us set goals before the state meet. He would give them to us with our itinerary before we boarded the section 2 bus. It went something like this:
name "ultimate goal" "realistic goal"
Jess 1st 1st
Elizabeth 5-10 15-30
Mollie 15-20 25-50
You get the picture. I changed the names other than mine. As you can see, I wasn't an all-star in high school. I think I was more excited about the hair ribbons and glitter than actually being focused on my racing performance.
Anyway, in the spirit of good old Coach Mindel, I have decided it's about time to set some goals for my race. We didn't really get time goals from Mindel since the weather and terrain were so unpredictable in NY in November. This race is in October and is basically flat, so I feel comfortable making time and place goals. Okie here goes:
name "ultimate goal" "realistic goal"
Mollie 1st 1st- 5th
Mollie 2:55 3:00- 3:10
That was scary. I wrote 2:59 at first, and then I felt like a wimp, so I changed it. At least I have a goal pace now, with plenty of time to work towards it.
So the other part of this goal-setting involves what happens after October 9th. My coach at JMU always encouraged us to make "process" goals rather than "outcome" goals. So taking his wisdom into account, the real goal of this marathon is to get in decent enough shape to be able to run a (gasp) race on the track. I'm going to wait until after the marathon to set any further goals because it's making me nervous just thinking about it. Obviously it would be nice to say, oh I want to set a PR in the (1500/ 5000/ whatever) but I can't even imagine that right now.
So this week has been pretty low key training-wise. After my crappy long run last Sunday, my cold took on a life of its own. It seems to be going away, but it may also be gearing up for one final push. I had 10 miles on Tuesday which I did with Pete, and 15 yesterday. Both of those runs were at a very easy pace, around 8 min/mile. I wanted to run faster, but I also want to make sure I'm fully recovered from this cold by Sunday. Today I had a 5 mile recovery run, and I also did the ab ripper from p90x. I never actually did the p90x system, but I like some of the workouts, especially the yoga and ab ripper. I started doing the yoga workout too, but had to get showered before the guy from the glass company came to fix our window. I might do that one tomorrow.
Oh, btw, its still flipping HOT.
name "ultimate goal" "realistic goal"
Jess 1st 1st
Elizabeth 5-10 15-30
Mollie 15-20 25-50
You get the picture. I changed the names other than mine. As you can see, I wasn't an all-star in high school. I think I was more excited about the hair ribbons and glitter than actually being focused on my racing performance.
Anyway, in the spirit of good old Coach Mindel, I have decided it's about time to set some goals for my race. We didn't really get time goals from Mindel since the weather and terrain were so unpredictable in NY in November. This race is in October and is basically flat, so I feel comfortable making time and place goals. Okie here goes:
name "ultimate goal" "realistic goal"
Mollie 1st 1st- 5th
Mollie 2:55 3:00- 3:10
That was scary. I wrote 2:59 at first, and then I felt like a wimp, so I changed it. At least I have a goal pace now, with plenty of time to work towards it.
So the other part of this goal-setting involves what happens after October 9th. My coach at JMU always encouraged us to make "process" goals rather than "outcome" goals. So taking his wisdom into account, the real goal of this marathon is to get in decent enough shape to be able to run a (gasp) race on the track. I'm going to wait until after the marathon to set any further goals because it's making me nervous just thinking about it. Obviously it would be nice to say, oh I want to set a PR in the (1500/ 5000/ whatever) but I can't even imagine that right now.
So this week has been pretty low key training-wise. After my crappy long run last Sunday, my cold took on a life of its own. It seems to be going away, but it may also be gearing up for one final push. I had 10 miles on Tuesday which I did with Pete, and 15 yesterday. Both of those runs were at a very easy pace, around 8 min/mile. I wanted to run faster, but I also want to make sure I'm fully recovered from this cold by Sunday. Today I had a 5 mile recovery run, and I also did the ab ripper from p90x. I never actually did the p90x system, but I like some of the workouts, especially the yoga and ab ripper. I started doing the yoga workout too, but had to get showered before the guy from the glass company came to fix our window. I might do that one tomorrow.
Oh, btw, its still flipping HOT.
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