22 Miles. Yup, That's Right.

I've been extremely bad about updating my training here. My life has been centered around work for the past few weeks and my training has taken a slight hit. Fortunately, it seems that my reduced training volume has really helped my iron levels get back to normal. I knew it would be tough to fit in my runs once school started up again but this year has been straight up ridiculous. I'm on another committee, plus I have six classes with two preps (since I'm teaching two subjects) which means I also have to write double the lesson plans. We also held our first cross country invitational which was totally worth it but a royal pain in the ass.

So... last week was pathetic. I ran 5 miles, and then 7 miles of fartlek, did NOT run on friday or saturday morning but ended up running about 5 miles while setting up cones for the meet and running to put volunteers in place. I was supposed to run 17 miles on Sunday and ended up doing 18 in 2:18. I slowed down a lot in the last few miles because it was so hot and I was really dehydrated (I only had a 20 oz bottle with me). I actually stopped at Starbucks and asked for water when I was 2.5 miles from home. I don't know if I would have made it if I didn't get that water. That's a whopping 35 miles for last week.

This week I ran 5 miles at our cross country meet on Tuesday, then 5 miles on Wednesday and 6 miles on Thursday. One of those days was a fartlek day that I did a lot of sprinting but I don't remember right now and don't feel like getting up to check. Yesterday was the first cool, rainy day in what feels like forever and I ran 9 miles with Bella. Then today it was still 64 when I woke up (I even got to sleep in!) and overcast. It warmed up a little during the run and rained a little but it still felt sooo good compared to every other long run I've done for this marathon. Since this was my last real long run before the race, I wanted to push it and run a solid pace for the entire run. Well... I ended up running 20 miles in 2:25 and then tacked another 2 to make it my longest training run EVER... and finished in 2:39:26. I averaged 7:14 per mile for 22 miles! The fastest I did any of my long runs this summer was around 7:40 pace and I felt like garbage for the last few miles then. Today I felt great. I won't overanalyze this, but sure am happy to finish my last long run with a good day.

47 miles this week... This definitely gives me some confidence for my race in 3 (yikes!) weeks. I would also like to mention that I am borderline addicted to Lauren Fleshman's Picky Bars and everyone should buy them from her website pickybars.com. They have helped me get through my work day AND my training. AND they taste amazing.