Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured

6 easy miles with Annette and a temp of 59 degrees - holy cold!   It was nice but a 20 degree temp drop over the weekend shakes things up a bit.  

2 miles with jenny in the evening.

6 easy miles with Wendy early in the morning.   I felt miserable but did not want to bail, so I cut my planned 10 miles down to 6.    We had a close encounter with a skunk and were lucky enough not to get sprayed and then a mile later an opossum....crazy Texas.   Watch out of you ever come to watch the Colonial golf tournament - we were just outside the fence.   

Jenny agreed to accompany me to the Y so that I would get my sorry self out of bed.   I warmed up for 2 miles and then did 1 min on/of x 20.  On's were 6:53 and off's were 8:57.  Tired, I have done zero speed since returning from India, but a good run.

In the words of my 8 year old - it is winter in Texas.  Temps dropped 30 degrees overnight and I hate the wind....so indoors it was.   Jenny met me at the Y this afternoon and ran with me for the first 1.5 hours and then I was on my own.    It wasn't too bad actually, other than it beat me up more than a normal 20 miler does.   

One of the areas I wanted to work on today was being more efficient.  I love running with the group, but we are not efficient  - long water stops, I always need a POP stop.  Sometimes it just takes a while.   I enjoy them to much to change, but this was a good confidence builder.    

I did 6.8 miles in 62 min (when the treadmill said no more); quick drink, gel & POP (less than 5 min).   Next set was 7.2 in 62 min, drink & gel, and then 6 in 49:43. 

I ran progressive, which I like and I have decided will be my strategy for MCM.   I ended up with at least 2MP miles at the end, and in reviewing the treadmill conversion chart, it is probably closer to 4-5

Avg Pace 8:40s?   

Now to taper two weeks or three?  I have usually done a 3 week taper, but have noticed most everyone with a 2 week taper this year.   I am leaning this direction since my training has suffered.   This would give me 5 20's - too much?  If so, plan for next weekend?

I am traveling everyday this week, which makes trying to run difficult.   I am in Syracuse today and ended up with 8 miles at 1.5% incline on the treadmill.  Nothing like running after flying all day and then a client dinner.   It was much harder than it should have been.....

1 mile to meet Jenny, 5 together and then another back home.   

I always look forward to when we can run together.  She did great today and I stuck to a pretty easy pace.   

Running at 5:30 in the afternoon is not my first choice - ever.  86 degrees, windy and lots of traffic.  I had one hour to get my run in while my daughter was a volleyball practice and before the other daughter's game.   It felt so much harder than it should have and the legs were tired. 

 Avg Pace 8:28

We had an extremely busy day - hosting senior breakfast for the volleyball team, my two younger daughters both had games, my older daughter had a work out with a new club, dinner with friends and my son had 3 baseball games.  Somewhere in this mess I had to get my last big workout in.   The goal was 15 miles with 9 MP tempo miles.     I ended up on the treadmill at the Y between the two volleyball matches and had to move fast.   Three mile warm up with 4 min on at just under MP and then 1 min recovery, repeated for 9.25 miles.   This actually went by really fast and I felt good the entire time.  I would think I was tired every once in a while, and I had to tell myself I was bored, not tired.   I watched college football and for the second weekend in a row was subjected to watching OU play.  I am not a huge UT fan, but they were a disaster.   I had time to just get in 14 and had to rush to the next game....Next weekend is not any better. 

Ons @ 7:53 pace with 1.5% incline

Offs @ 8:57 pace with 1.5% incline

Up to meet Jenny and run some miles with her during her long run.   I thought we would meet up around mile 2 but it ended up being 3.5.   We ran the rest together and the legs were very fatigued.   I had a hard time getting going and the slow miles were tougher than they should have been.   There will be time on the foam roller tonight.

I met Tim, Ashley and Wendy for what I thought would be MP mile repeats.   I was excited to hear about SG, but we really didn't chat much - that will be tomorrow during the easy run.    We warmed up on the trail for 2 miles and then did 5 x 1 mile repeats.   They were targeting 7:20 - 7:30 and I told them I was going to hang back and run MP....never happened and I ended up with the following:  7:45 felt better than I thought but faster than MP; 7:27 too fast, but still feeling okay; 7:32 legs were tired during this repeat and had to run under the viaducts and I always feel like I am going to trip; 7:29 back under the viaduct and trying to stay mentally strong; 7:28 hanging on and so glad it was the last one. Cool down for 2 miles that were slow and tired. 

Avg pace: 8:21

Six easy miles with Wendy.  We did the normal route through Tanglewood, Colonial and to the Woodshed and back.   Wendy rolled her ankle on an acorn right about mile 5, forcing us to slow down and cut the run short by 2 miles.   I am not overly comfortable running by myself there, so I called it a day.

Met the group at the store for my last "long" run.   Everyone is at different points in their training cycles, so we started together and then quickly split up.  Wendy and I did 10 together and she headed out to add on 4 more.   The effort was harder than normal due to wind on the way out and then easy on the way back.  Ended up with an avg pace of 8:28 and thinking "I'm done, I have plenty left in the tank."  Hopefully, that is a good sign for next weekend.   

2 warm up miles and then 4 min @ MP and 1 min off for 3 miles and then a cool down.

I have put off writing this race report because I am not really sure what to say.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but an absolutely amazing experience.   We made some mistakes in the days leading up to the race - too much time on our feet and a dinner that made me violently ill Friday night.  But I went to the starting line feeling prepared and ready to go.   The course is beautiful and the support on the course rivals Boston.   The first 8 miles are hilly and then then it is flat until the last .2.   I did very well through the hills, but my legs were tired by mile 5.  I hit the half at 1:51 - right on for a 3:45.  From there the next 8 miles were tough but I stayed strong and pushed through.  I hit mile 21 at 3:00:00 and did bad math and thought I could finish sub 3:45...not really, this is why I do not do math while I run.   I would have been around 3:47 - 3:50 and then the wheels fell off.  My lower back started cramping and my legs were done.  I was just trying not to fall and the walk breaks became my crutch.   This is also where not driving the course and knowing what was coming up became my downfall.  We were winding through Crystal City and I knew there was a water stop, but it was never there...3 miles later, I found it.  When I hit the point .2 at the end, I was fine.  I had trained and visualized that for so many months that I ran up the hill, slow and painful but I ran.   

I have spent 8 days now deciding how I feel about my time.   I had nothing left when I crossed the finish line, which is good, but I am disappointed with 3:57.  I know I can do better.  I had gone into this race thinking it would be my last marathon for quite some time.  My kids are getting busier and busier and my work is becoming increasingly demanding, so training suffers.   But I am now unsure.  

If anyone is ever interested in running MCM, I highly recommend it.  A first class race, spectacular course and amazing experience. 

6 easy miles with Jenny.   But on the bright side, I am finally walking more normal.