57.5 hours to go!!!!!!!

It is almost here. I have to admit that I am feeling very scared and very unsure of myself. I have recently developed a horrible side stitch that has affected me on my last 4 runs. All of which would have led you to believe that I am not ready. Tomorrow morning is my last run before the big day. I am only running between 2-4 miles and I am hopping that it is really easy. I need something to bring my confidence level back up. I spent some time reflecting on my training log to help ease my mind and did notice that I have had several times when I was running really poorly and then out of nowhere I had a great run. I am really hopping that out of nowhere that great run is the marathon. I know this is only my first and I just want to enjoy the experience and learn as much from it as I can. I am still really hung up on finishing in less then 3:30:00, but want to start out really slow and build. I would rather run the entire way and finish in 3:39:00, then to start out strong, die and finish is 4 hours. I think for my mental state it is imperative that I start out at a pace that is so easy that is does not cause me any pain. If I can feel could through the first 8 miles then I think I will be ready to go mentally. Miles 5 through 8 take you up a pretty decent climb. This may be my last post before the big day but I will definitely be recapping marathon.

A Saturday Off?

Today was my first Saturday off since early January. Saturdays are my long runs to it was really weird not to run at all today. I am really taking advantage of this tapering thing.

I did however manage to get in a little exercise while running through the sprinkler with my daughter.

taking it easy

Today was just over 6 miles at a pace of 7:45 a mile. It felt really good. I just hope the first 6 miles of the marathon go as easy as today's run. There are only 11 days left until the marathon and I am planning to do mostly race pace running, or slower. I plan to get a decent amount of miles in over the next 5 or 6 days and then start cutting back.

I have started thinking a lot about my plan for the big day and the main thing I think I need to focus on is controlling the pace early on. No matter how good I am feeling early on I want to make sure that I do not run faster then 8 min miles for the first 16 to 18 miles. If I am still feeling good at that point we will just see what happens. I know I have no chance at breaking 3:30 if I have to walk at all so I have to make sure I go at a pace I can maintain. I also will not break 3:30 if I start out to slow, but I know that is not a problem. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to run any slower then 8 min miles. Tomorrow morning I am going to practice running slow for 9 miles, we will see how it goes.

Fear

A good dose of fear struck me this morning. I set out for an easy 10 miles. Leaving the house just before 6am it was dark, about 42 degrees, very damp, and winds at about 10 mph. My goal was to just keep it easy, running whatever felt comfortable. Pain radiated from my side before the first 1/2 mile was finished. This continued until the 8 mile mark where I conceded and began to walk. I ended up running at about an 8 min pace, which should be really comfortable for me but it just wasn't. I have days where I am really on and days when I am really off. The fear struck when I thought about the possibility of having one of those off days May 3rd. I will do my best to be rested and the rest...well I guess we will see.

Today's Run
8 Miles
1:04:00
8 Min Pace

Still pushing it

One of my fears during this process was that I would peak at some point and then give up. I would then run the entire marathon knowing that if it had been several weeks prior I would have done better. A lot about preparing for something like this is timing and perseverance. If you push too hard too soon you might not leave enough steam. Playing it safe could result in never getting into shape. So you have to try your best to push yourself hard, at an intensity you can maintain.

I have had some really good runs over the last month and I want to make sure that I continue to push hard and don't rest on the work I have already done. Today I set out for an easy run like usual and ended up pushing it pretty hard. I just kept telling myself that I needed to make it hurt to make sure that I was not just maintaining my current fitness but improving on it in the last 14 or 15 days before I begin to taper.

Today's Run:
6.16 miles
44:10
Pace 7:11

3 WEEKS TO GO!!!!

It is only three weeks until the marathon. I thought I was going to start feeling really nervous, but I am instead feeling really excited. I have put so much work into getting ready for this race and I am ready for it to be here.

I am not in as good of shape as I hoped to be. I could have gotten out of bed more. I could have kept going on runs were I stopped. I could have stuck to my plan more. I could have done more speed work and more intervals. I could have eaten better. I could have started all of this 10 years ago. I also could have given up on this silly dream, I didn't, for that I am grateful. Despite all of those things I am proud of myself. I ran through the winter. I have bounced back from several injuries, two of which I thought were the end of my running altogether. I

Yesterday I ran 17.7 miles very comfortably, at a pace that was slightly faster then my goal marathon pace. I have one more long run left slated for next Saturday. I hope to push it pretty hard the next two weeks and then really start to taper.

Day Number Twelve

Today was my 12th straight day of running. My legs felt pretty sluggish yesterday and today. I did some really serious hills yesterday and ran about 12.5 miles. Today I went out to run a really easy 5 to 8 miles, whatever felt good. Well, unfortunately nothing felt good. I felt slow the moment I left and it was hard the entire time. I told myself just to run really slow and try to enjoy it. Which is just what I thought I was doing.

At 53:35 I called it quits. I came inside and mapped the run. To my surprise it was 7.13 miles making it an average pace of 7:30. Well so much for taking it easy.

Tomorrow will be easy because it will be a forced day off. My wife is going out of town tonight in order to go to her uncles funeral. I am staying home with our daughter. Tomorrow morning Avery and I will be getting up early so I can drop her off at my sister's house while I go to work. Then I will pick her up after work and come home. The only way I could run would be to run tomorrow night and I don't run at night. I think it is probably time for a day off so I am just planning to enjoy it.

Today's Run:
7.13 Miles
53:35
Pace 7:30

WHAT!!!!!!!

So I set out for another mile repeat workout this morning. I had decided to take it slow but decrease the recovery time from 2 min to 1.5 min, to more closely immolate race conditions.. I had also decided to only run 5 of them and was going for a pace of about 7 flat.

The first half of each mile was in the wind so the second half felt amazing. After the first mile I looked down and my watch read 6:47. It felt really good so I decided to shoot for that pace. The next mile was 6:46. I was starting to loosen up and I was feeling good. The next mile was 6:29. Mile number 4 was 6:29 as well. With one mile to go I decided 5 was not enough. Since it was my seventh straight day of running I decided to celebrate with 7 mile repeats. Mile number 5 was 6:27, number 6 was 6:23, and number 7 was 6:03.

WHAT!! Where did that come from. This not taking a day off is going really well right now. My average pace was 6:29 and it felt really good. Needless to say I have completely gotten my motivation back. The hard part is going to be running easy tomorrow morning. I know I have a sub 3 hour marathon in me, its just a matter of time before it comes out.

Today's Run:
Mile Repeats with 1.5 min recovery
6:47
6:46
6:29
6:29
6:27
6:23
6:03

New milestone

Today was 7.3 miles easy at a little under 8 min pace. It was also my sixth straight day of running. Making it the 3rd time I have run six straight days in the last few months. However, I have yet to run more than six. Tomorrow will be that day, and I still have no plans of taking a day off.

Ups and downs

I feel like I have been up and down a lot lately and am really striving for some consistency. Today was my 5th straight day of running and I have no plans to take a day off anytime soon. There are times when the running is just not going like you think it should and it can become such a mental disappointment. My running means a lot to me, so when it is not going well it is tough to handle. I have spent many commutes back and forth to work pondering my lack of motivation when I know I love to run. Sometimes it just does not make sense. To make it even more confusing, it seems that I struggle with motivation when things are going well, then it is compounded when I take a few days off and then have a couple of bad days to boot. I had about a 10 day struggle that I finally broke through on Saturday. I am too embarrassed to share some of those bad days with you but would be happy to share what broke me through it.

As you may have gathered, my long runs are slated for Saturday's and yesterday was to be a shorter long run at 15 miles. My plan was to run a little under 8 min per mile. My record for a long run was a pace of 7:52. I looked down at my watch after the first mile and it read 8:30. Pretty far off the pace, but I was excited. It seems like most of my disappointing runs start with an over ambitious first mile. Not yesterday, I was taking it easy and it felt easy. I have discovered my body needs to get into a rhythm and I will naturally speed up. It truly is a natural and slow progression. It is not anything I need to plan or work on I just start running faster.

I would not know my pace until 4.5 miles in and was hoping to be close to the 8 min at that point making it 36 min. I came to the marker in about 35:30. I could not believe it I had already made up that first 30 second lag and then some, and felt great. It was not pressured, just fun and easy. The next time I would know my pace would be at 9 miles, so with my mind off of that for now I just enjoyed the run.

1:12 would be 8 min and I came in at around 1:09:30. I was now pacing around 7:43. I decided at this point to start pushing it a little. I would know my mile splits from here on out. I did not make it the entire 15 but stopped short at 14. However it still goes in the books as one of my best distance runs ever. The last 5 miles were as follows. 7:15,7:30,7:05,6:52,7:00. So the final 5 mile pace was 7:08. The pace for the entire run was 7:34 and I was really proud. That pace would deliver a marathon time of 3:18 and I am shooting for under 3:30. I still think I have a chance even after those 10 hard days.

Busy but doing great

I have been really busy and have really neglected my blog. Fortunately I have not neglected my running. Last week got off to a rough start but I ended up running 51.6 miles, and had 5 strait days of really good running. Two of the runs were particular highlights for me. Thursday I ran 6 mile splits averaging 6:43 with 2 minutes of rest between each mile. 6 is the most mile splits I have ever done. Saturday I ran 20 miles making that the longest run of my life. It felt really good and was a lot of fun. I actually looked at my watch 27 minutes into the run and thought it was going to be really tough to make it for 15 miles, fortunately it got easier and I made it for 20.

Today I ran 10 hard miles at a pace of 7:30. Things are going really well right now and I am hoping to keep it up. I also hope to be back on the blog again soon.

Oh and it was 43 degrees this morning...I am loving this warm weather.

Today's Run:
10 Miles
1:14:53
Pace 7:30

Are you kidding?

Well, I just can't seem to catch a break. Tuesday night I started to feel sick. I woke up Wednesday with a sore throat but ran anyway. That took me out for most of the day. I took Thursday and today off, which I am really upset about. I am not struggling with any pain or motivation and I got sick. To top it all off, it is going to be 55 degrees in the morning. That's right. I still don't feel great, but I am hopeful to get out there. I woke up the last two nights at 4am feeling like crap, so hopefully that won't happen tonight. I keep thinking, this is it, nothing else can get in the way of my running. I JUST WANT TO RUN.