The Columbus Marathon

This is going to be a long entry... A lot to say as I think about this race and the week leading up to it.

My final week of taper I had a few short runs of 4, 3, 2 and a shakeout run (1 mile).  All of those seemed to go ok.  In fact, all were sub 10 minute miles which was a huge surprise as I didn't expect speed to return after all that I've been going through . I took this as a good sign.

The expo was Friday and Saturday with the race Sunday.  I spent Tuesday through Friday kind of trying to eat a little more and drink a lot of water.  Friday was my last higher carb day and then Saturday I tried to eat normally. 

The expo was fantastic for this race.  Parking was so easy.  I got there right when it started and walked around, bought some discounted merchandise and just enjoyed it.  Saw a few people I knew, which really helped.

The night before the race was a tough one . I planned on going to sleep at 8:30 but sleep pretty much eluded me the whole night.  I was able to sneak maybe 2-3 hours of sleep in there. Kept waking up, having weird dreams, etc.  I was told that I shouldn't worry unless my sleep was really bad the few days before, but it wasn't.  I had 9 hours Friday to Saturday and the rest of the week 8ish hours each night. 

When I woke up at 3:50 I went ahead and ate the pre-race breakfast I had planned... Toast with peanut butter, banana, and brought along an energy bar to eat an hour before start.  Got all my stuff prepared and business taken care of before I left the house to pick up a runner in my neighborhood, meet someone else at the meetup location and the three of us were going together.  Everything went well there.  Even got to the parking garage super early.  Met up with our friends and did a group picture, went to the corrals and lined up.  I was put in D corral since I didn't put a super fast finishing time. I really had no clue, just wanted to finish.  Second goal was sub 5 hours and ultimate goal was 4:40.  I grabbed a pace band for 4:45 at the expo and decided to try and use that as a rough guide.  Most important thing "Do not go out too fast.  Stay at 10:45-11 minute pace for a long time!"

Race started with fireworks, pictures with the group I had been running with for months and everyone saying good luck to each other.

I'll break down the race into neighborhoods...

Miles 1-3 were basically starting in the Arena district down Broad Street on the way to Bexley.  I felt pretty good because I was well rested.  Biggest challenge was just keeping speed to 10:45-11 pace which I was able to do. 

Miles 3-7 Bexley around to Nationwide Children's Hospital, the sponsor of this race.  It was nice to see all the support at Capital University.  Thought of a few friends of mine who had gone to Capital.

Miles 8-11 Nationwide Childrens to German Village - this part was really tough only because we run past the hospital and it's really clear who this race is dedicated to.  There are patient champions on each mile marker and their families/friends and you can high five the kids when you go by.  That really meant a lot and kept me feeling good about doing this.  I was also able to get some donations to the hospital so I felt good about helping out in that way.  German Village had some good music, really I still felt ok and managed to maintain pace.

Mile 12-13 is where the split off point is for half marathon and full marathon.  I saw one of my friends at the split and was able to get a picture.  Still felt pretty much fine here.  Was happy that the half marathoners were almost done.  Not to be mean, but when I heard them talking about only a mile, almost done, it stressed me out a little so I was ready for the split.  Someone did say over a megaphone "Let them turn, it's ok, don't worry about them, keep going" because my guess is that others running the full had the same feelings. 

Mile 13-15 Continue down High St up to the Short North and then up toward OSU campus - This stretch was where I initially noticed the knee issue.  My left knee typically has a bit of trouble lately starting back up again if I stop to get water, walk, etc.  I have to rub around it a little and then it's usually fine.  Mile 14 I saw one of my friends and got really happy again for a while as I proceeded toward OSU.  Passed some of the old buildings I used to have classes for graduate school.  Enjoyed this part of the OSU tour.  At this point, I turned on my music because the crowd was starting to lessen as there were no more people running the half marathon that were there.  I needed the music at that point and planned to bring it just in case.

Mile 15-18 Continue past OSU stadium, up to West campus where there is a slight hill (!!) and then head into Upper Arlington - Around mile 16 I saw some of my other running friends.  I think at that point we were all starting to feel it.  Some complained of hip issues, hamstring issues, for me it was still the knees.  I tried to keep going as long as I could running but then had to take a walk break.  Tried to start my knee back up again and it worked for a little while.  Around that point I remember seeing a sign that said "You thought this was a good idea 3 months ago, do you still think that?"  This seemed to pretty much hit my mood right on at that point.  There were a few others that would have been funny otherwise but weren't at that moment.  That hill isn't really a hill but it sure feels like it at that point on West Campus.  I remember this "hill" when I used to work there but never really thought it was anything until now.  Someone warned me of this and I knew it was coming but until you experience it, you really don't know.  Was able to somehow continue at a decent pace once I got going again and made it to Upper Arlington.  At this point my pace was starting to become longer than I would have liked, around 11-12 mm.  I knew this was because of the knee slowing me down and making me have to walk.  I engaged in a small pity party there at mile 16-18.  I was able to push through though.  I thought about running with a few of the others I trained with.  But part of me was worried I might hold them back so I let them go.

 Mile 18-20 - Upper Arlington to Grandview Heights - This was a killer set of miles.  If I was totally in my head from mile 16-18, the worst part physically started to kick in around mile 20.  I wasn't any longer in the 10's-11's by the time I got to mile 19.  Pace for 19 was 12:48 and then I started to really wonder what I was thinking.  The knee kept doing the locking thing and so I did something a little bit different here.  Walked about 3 minutes and then tried to run.  A few times it felt like my knees might give out and literally smack the ground if I tried to run too long.  I had a horrible picture in my head of actually doing damage to my knees by having a fall.  I tried to block this out of my head.  Pace was ok for 20, about 11:44.  Feeling like maybe this would be ok once I got to 20. The mental battle subsided for a bit.

Mile 20-23 - Grandview Heights on the way to Victorian Village - Knee feeling continued to worsen.  Running was getting harder.  I felt like a drunk person trying to stand up.  It continued to get sunny and hotter.  Kept getting that image back in my head about dropping to the ground.  Kept trying to push it away.  Pace for 21-23 : 11:49, 12:38; 13:15.  Was so thankful to see some friends at mile 23.  I knew they would be there, they had told us to watch for them.  Was so excited to see them.  Explained my knee issue to them and they were so supportive.  I told them "I will finish, I will cross no matter what!"  I spoke those words out loud and as soon as I did that I knew I had to. That little voice was speaking to me that tells me to give up.  "You've gone past 20, that should be good enough.  You really don't have to."  I told it to shut up and had been trying to ignore it as much as possible. 

Mile 23-26 - Victorian Village to the Arena District - Pretty much a battle of the wills.  Myself against the voice in my head telling me to stop.  A few people yelled "This is what your training prepared you for!" There was a really peppy person in front of me running, and I remember thinking "how does she have so much energy at this point?"  Then I started to think that I should too, what was stopping me from enjoying this?  I made a decision during those last few miles that if I had to walk across the finish, I would.  My pace was in the 15's for miles 24-26.  I walked it and I know now that was absolutely the right decision for me.  I felt really sad having to walk at first.  I wanted to try to run most of this.  I realize now that I did run most of it.  The point where I had to walk was a decision to do so because running might have injured me further, resulting in a DNF. 

Conversation in my head: "You know, every time you try to run, even for a few minutes, you have that feeling that your knees are going to give out.  You have reached a point where you make a decision about this.  You can either stop trying to run and finish this race walking, or you can keep attempting to run and risk injury.  If you run and you are not successful, your mood will continue to get worse and you'll be mad at yourself for the outcome.  So just walk this, because not finishing is not an option.  I know you want to go find a medical tent and have them tape it for you.  But is that really going to help you right now?  No.  First of all, there isn't even one around.  You'd have to find one. They might even take your time up because they are concerned and maybe even make you stop.  You know that when you stop the pain will get worse when you start walking again.  So just finish this walking.  Just do it because you said you would.  Think of all your training runs.  You will do this."  (Throw in some whining and arguing with myself and this was pretty much the mental conversation).  Honestly the main thing that kept me going was seeing the kids at every mile and giving them high fives.  Thinking about what they had gone through being sick.  This was just running.  Their battle was much more significant than what I was going through.  I made that my goal for the rest of the race, smile, give high fives and just be done with it however I did it.

Mile 26-end - Arena District - Definitely felt like the longest stretch.  I was mad at my Garmin for being ahead of the mileage and beeping when I wasn't quite there.  I ended up finishing with 26.56 miles.  Which I guess wasn't bad.  I tried to mainly run the tangents.  But I also didn't want to miss the kids.   I saw so many friends cheering me on.  You get your name on your bib so once you approach the end there are so many saying your name.  You can't even look at everyone because there are so many.  Definitely needed that support right there.  Saw a few of my friends at that spot and was so grateful to them.  I thought I might cry when I crossed but I didn't.  I was just so happy to be done that I got the medal, went into the finishers area and enjoyed sitting down.  I figured I walked long enough, I can sit down.  I know you're not supposed to right away but I just couldn't any more.  At this point it said it was close to 80 degrees.  When the race started it was 61.  It was hot, sunny and so many challenges.  I did not get a sub 5 hour race, but it's ok.  I did finish which was goal #1.

Later I will talk about how I felt post race.  I am so glad I did this and battled that little voice in my head telling me to stop.  I think that last 6.2 miles is something you have to experience to believe.  It's a mental and physical battle with yourself. The support is amazing at this race and I'd like to do it again.  Not sure I'll do the full again (but I never say never).  But I could see doing the half next year.

Week 17 - Taper continues...

Want to say something really important:

I'm tired of the expectation that when I, as a woman, go outside to do whatever, I have to be careful. I think this is a direct result of the culture we perpetuate, and support through certain public figures that convince us it's ok through their actions/past comments. They act like their comments were "locker room talk" or "no big deal, I've heard others say worse." Yesterday, being out later in the day (7-8:30pm) with a group of 2 other strong women, we were running on the road and a car full of men/boys shouted, yelled and honked. Then, they turned up the path we were going. I was immediately worried. The reason why is because I now have to live my life in expectation of these things, that immature men/boys think it's ok to do this. They were never taught this is a problem, and if they were taught, they don't care. They think it's funny. Then we watched to see where this group went and they parked at the gas station. I remember thinking how absurd it was that we had to keep our eye on them, just in case. I remember being mad that it crossed my mind that I need to look into concealed carry or having a taser, whistle, etc. Why should I have to do that? Because I'm afraid of some men's actions, men who exist in our neighborhoods? Then I looked back and thought about how I pretty much expect to be harassed, and double think my actions and where I'm going just because I happen to be a small female. Or if I'm wearing running clothes that are tight or short. The fact that this happening of getting honks/yells from groups of men is just commonplace. I think about all the past runs when I see a group of men coming and I think about whether they will do something or not. And then I think about the times that I was so used to it that it didn't even cross my mind to challenge it. And that is the scary part... if you made it this far, thanks for caring enough to read.

Now, the runs this week... because I'm not going to stop running even if there are awful people out there.

5 miles Monday, 4 Wednesday, 4 Thursday, and 8 Friday.

Decided to do the Friday run because I wanted a break from getting up so early.  Ran at night (see rant mentioned above) and despite a few unpleasant moments, I really enjoyed it . The moon was beautiful and even though I went a bit faster than I planned, it felt fine.  

My runs during the week have all been pretty close to a 10 minute mile.  The runs Wednesday and Thursday were sub 10 minute miles.  I think some of my speed has returned after fatiguing my legs with the really long runs.  

So this is a really good sign.

I go into the last taper week thinking about my goals.  I am going to stick with my plan of finishing my first goal... under 5 hours a subgoal, under 4:40 would be really awesome (but not expected).  I'm planning my pacing and have a pretty set plan.  Just need to really think on it and make sure it's ok.  Also have to keep an eye on the weather as this gets closer.  

I really can't believe it's almost time!  Feeling pretty excited about the expo too.

Week 16 - First Taper week

This week was a tough one due to the expected fatigue experienced after completing the 20 mile run on Sunday. I did feel better Sunday than I thought I would.  But then Monday was not the best... nor Tuesday.

Decided to take Monday off to let myself rest.  That was a smart plan, but then I decided to do the three short runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Tuesday was just a 4 miler and it ended up being a tough one because some soreness remained.  But things felt good enough to complete it.  Same with Wednesday which was longer, a 6 mile run.  Noticed some weird feeling in the arch of my left foot but I also changed shoes due to trying a new brand/style since all my shoes have so many miles on them.  I learned my lesson and Thursday went back to my standard brand/style (Saucony Triumph ISO, the original not the version 2) which made that feel better.  Never do this, thinking changing shoes this late in the game is a good idea.  Just don't do it.  It's never a good idea.  Just for reference I went with Saucony Triumph ISO 2 but the men's size equivalent.  Sometimes I can get away with wearing men's shoes but this time it didn't work out.  Time to give these to a friend...

Decided that it was worth it to order 1 more pair of my usual shoes and  that way I could use them for the 14 miler Saturday and the runs next week to somewhat "break them in" for the marathon.  They don't really need broken in, most likely, but it will make me feel better to have at least 20-30 miles on them.  That way I know that they've been tested a little bit and seem good to go.  They are the brand/style I've been running in so I'm thinking they won't need too much getting used to.  My main hope is that they will be a little more "springy" than the 3 pairs I already have in that style that have each 300ish miles on them.

Here's a tangent... my foot has always been rather picky.  Once I get used to something, it's hard to get a different shoe.  I start to notice little creeping up pains and have to go back to what I'm used to. My first running shoes were Mizuno Wave Rider... then switched to Brooks Ghost... then to Adidas Supernova (I think?) briefly because I liked the boost foam... can't remember the style.  Then Saucony Ride... decided maybe I need more support.  Around summer 2015, I discovered Saucony Triumph ISO.  I have continued to buy pairs of these for over a year now, but they are endangered!  They keep trying to improve it and are now on version 3.  I haven't tried version 3.  But the original is the best.  I also am trying to get used to something else so I have Mizuno Wave Creation 17 and Brooks Glycerin 13 that I really want to like after the marathon... Mizuno's are actually pretty good but feel a little bit harder in the heel.  The Brooks feel more soft and I'm not sure about them yet.  ok end of tangent.

Thursday's run in my "standard" shoes, I averaged 9:59 mm on my 6 miler.  Looks like a little bit of speed has come back since Sunday's 20 miler.

Tuesday and Wednesday's runs were both close to 11 mm.  But that's ok.  I expected that.

Saturday was a 14 mile run and I have to admit I wasn't really feeling it.  I wanted to just cut it short because I was pretty tired from this week.  Others doing slightly different training plans went down to 12 or 13 miles.  Decided if I needed to do that, I would.

New pair of shoes were here, so used those and was able to stick with the plan.  Got to the running store early and did 5 miles, then did 9 with them for a total of 14.  At the beginning of the run I was solo and then once I got to the running store I was solo again for a little bit (with people around me, just all doing slightly different paces).

Then part of the group broke off and I had the opportunity to run about a 10:45-11 pace with someone who was about 20 years older than me and a very experienced runner.  She had run several marathons, a few at Boston which she did the whole BQ process twice.  She told me she was just naturally fast and it worked out that she ran a 4 hour(ish) first marathon.  Definitely got some good advice and the rest of my run went quickly. Almost didn't notice it was 14 miles.

Felt ok for most of the run but noticed some odd knee pain on the downhills so tried to walk those when needed.  The rest of the day I was imagining phantom pains and things that would cause me to not be able to run.  I know this is a part of taper, this fear of unknown injuries developing so I tried to let it go and see if things returned to normal.

Felt better Sunday so with any luck things will continue to stay feeling ok.

Next week is a much easier week... 5/4/4/8... 21 miles.

Overall, it was a good week.  The recovery from the long 20 miler was as expected.  I'm hoping this will give me some idea of how I'll feel after the marathon.  But I'm sure I can't even imagine it yet.

Week 15 - last week of heavy training... then taper time

This was a good week with some variation in running paths and temperatures/humidity down a little bit in the mornings.  Afternoons have still been hot, but that's expected for mid to late September.

This week started out with a 7 mile run, followed by a 6 and a 5 mile. The 7 mile run was a little bit faster (10 mm) and the others about 10:30 mm.  Did some changes in my course to make it more interesting.  This will be my last 7 mile weekday run for a while because next week is taper.  Changed taper a little based on some new knowledge about not decreasing miles too much. 

The last run of the week was to be a 20 mile run.  Decided to do it on Sunday instead for just a change of pace, a chance to stay up a little later Friday night, sleep in a little Saturday morning.  Met up at 6am Sunday and the day was beautiful.  A little dark at 6am but we did bring our headlamps.  A few of the group wanted to start as early as 5am but I didn't feel like I could get up that early (plus the trail was a good 30 minutes from home) so I opted for 6.  When I got there, one of the two ladies continued with us and we stayed with her so she could finish her 20 and then we finished ours.  I never thought 20 miles could go that fast, but it did.  Even running at a slower pace.  I'm glad I ran it at a slower pace.  I feel like the "time on my feet" was better to estimate marathon feel.  It was all about the temperature and it finally felt good (55-65 degrees).  I really felt like I could have gone a few miles longer, even so I definitely can say I feel I've done my best in preparing for this marathon.  I head into taper feeling pretty pleased.  Now my goal is to try to rest up and hopefully do well with taper.  A little step down is sometimes good but there is something called the 'taper crazies' that many runners dread...

https://getgoing-getrunning.com/2015/01/31/the-causes-of-the-taper-crazies-and-how-to-get-over-them/

I'll have to read this later when they take full effect... for right now I'll enjoy the present moment.

Week 14 - 4 day running streak and Air Force 10k

So I'm getting sick of running the same routes all the time.

Decided to venture out of my comfort zone this week a little and set up a few new neighborhood paths to try.

Monday was a 6 mile run and it felt considerably cooler.  I tried a new neighborhood and did have to consult google maps to find my way back at one point.  I am certainly directionally challenged!  This neighborhood had a few different entry ways so when everything looks similar it can cause me to get turned around.  Managed about 10:26 mm pace for this one. 

Wednesday was a little longer at 7 miles . Had to cross a kind of busy road which I don't really enjoy doing, but it was the only way to get to a few new neighborhoods. I reevaluated the decision before the run, and since it's busy but only has 2 lanes and I'd be running during the daytime I felt ok about it.  I usually will not run on a road without a sidewalk just due to my own fears of cars hitting me.

But I looked at how long I'd even have to be on it and it wasn't long.  Basically just enough to get to the next turn for the following neighborhood.  So I decided on best practices during those runs, only on the left side of the road, no headphones in my ears during those times.  And I always wear a road ID bracelet.  The new neighborhoods felt like unexplored territory which was nice.  I had mapped out which roads and approximately how many miles.  Also, there is only one entry into each of the neighborhoods and the rest were cul de sacs so I felt like it would be hard for even me (as directionally challenged as I am) to get lost.  Managed a similar pace of 10:29 mm.

Thursday was a 6 mile run again.  Ran a 10:07 mm pace on a not very exciting route (mostly main streets with sidewalks). I was able to get negative splits so that felt good.

Friday I hadn't planned on running because I had a race scheduled for Saturday and was figuring out how I was going to get 12 weekend miles.  The race was a 10k so I randomly surveyed some of my running group and luckily someone was available Friday afternoon.  I hadn't run with her before and she has a faster pace but she was nice enough to slow it down for me.  She had run a trail race Thursday and was ok with that.

However, did not anticipate the heat which made me have to stop several times.  I apologized but she didn't mind the stops.  Then a train crossed the road we were running on which made for an unexpected break.  Finished this one at about 10:09 mm pace which wasn't bad considering I had to stop a few times.

Saturday was race day.  It was a bit complicated as this was the Air Force Marathon, Half, 10k all starting on the same day.  The 5k was the night before.  I drove Friday night to my friend's house.  She had picked up all of our stuff for us so that made it easier.  It also was good to have a place to stay.  The next morning we got up early at 4am because our plan was to catch the shuttle over to the race start line.  We heard thunder at 4am but were hoping the storm might leave before the race.

We got ready and left at 5am after eating something, We arrived for the shuttle around 5:20 and got on.  Then the shuttles didn't move for an hour.  No one told us what was going on so I checked on my phone.  Start was supposed to be at 7:30.  However, there was still lightning in the area, so the start was delayed until 8am.   Eventually around 6:15 the buses moved to the start.  I didn't mind too much because I was sitting.  I'm not sure how fun it would be if you were standing on the bus.  They had asked everyone to stay in their vehicle due to the storm.

I was sitting next to a person running the full so we talked about his training and how he was hoping to finish today.  The ladies I came with were sitting on a different part of the bus due to lack of seating.

Once we got there it looked like the storm was gone.  The sky started to clear and we found a place to sit in one of the tents with tables and chairs.  Things got underway, and I enjoyed the course, especially the two Ospreys that flew over before the start.  We did a 10/2 interval plan which was my friend's goal and finished better than she expected.  The water stops were frequent which was great.  Also got a really awesome medal, shirt, patch and a hat.

(Our commemorative patch)

(Shoe selfie!)

(Front and back of medals)

Would recommend this one to others.  It does tend to be  hot time of year so as long as the weather cooperates, it would be enjoyable.  The only downside is that it's not very shady being on base and on main roads a lot of the time.  But it was cloudy most of the time for us, so it wasn't too bad.  The humidity was a little bit high but it wasn't full sun.

Next week is a bigger week mileage wise.  7/6/5/20 total of 38 miles.  Then it's taper time!  I may revise my taper plan a little upon getting some new advice about cutting back mileage 20% the first week of taper and 25% the second week.  More on that later.

Week 13 - You know you're a runner when you buy stylish compression socks to wear with your work outfits

Monday was a 6 mile day but was also Labor Day.  I signed up for a community race several months ago and forgot about it somewhat.  Then I saw packet pickup was on my calendar and remembered.  So I made a plan to meet a new person I haven't run with before at the start of the race about an hour beforehand.  Enjoyed running with a new person, always makes for new conversation.  I did 2.3(ish) miles to warm up for the race with her (avg pace 9:57). I remembered that when I ran this race last year it was only 3.8 miles instead of the 4 miles it was billed to be.  I had a really great result last year and it would have been a PR.  But I was hesitant to count it last year because it was significantly shorter than 4 miles.

This year's plan was to push it pretty hard and maybe even to the max of my comfort level to try to PR again.  I am typically competitive with myself when I'm running a race I already did (can current me beat younger me kind of thing).  My hope was that it would be closer to 4 miles this time. I discovered upon arrival at the start, that they changed the course slightly and moved the start to a farther away location.  This made the race 3.91 miles... according to my watch anyway.  Once again I pushed myself more than I usually would.  The first mile was really fast (for me, anyway) and I looked down and saw 8:42 at the beep.  The day was far cooler and less humid than last year's same race.  The next 2.91 miles I had between 8:57-9:04 but basically was able to hold a pretty good pace.  I've decided to count the new PR for 4 miles but I'm not sure if it's really accurate.  However, I asked the question "Had I not been wearing my watch, would I have counted this as a 4 mile PR?" I probably would have.... So I will... but it's unlikely I'll be beating that one for a while, if ever...

I hadn't run a race where I really felt compelled to go fast in a while.  Usually my body and mind are screaming at me to quit running so fast if I get that pace in a training run.  I've also been training in extremely hot/humid weather and since it's a marathon distance with long runs 13+ I've been working on pulling the pace to a slower and more comfortable level . So with this in mind, I wasn't actually sure if I could do a less than 9 min/mile pace for any longer than a mile at this point.  I found myself pleasantly surprised.  The weather being better certainly helped.

This race prompted me to think about post marathon goals.  I signed up for 3 relatively inexpensive 5k's (Thanksgiving Day, December/holiday themed, and New Year's Day).  Other than that, I only have one other race (a mid January 7.5 miler) planned for 2017.  I have a half marathon in late March/early April in mind but so far no registration opening for that one.

So, I'm thinking after this I need to chill out some.  That doesn't mean I'd never try to do another full, but maybe it would be better for a milestone birthday coming up...

It crosses my mind periodically that I'd like to run a sub 2 hour half marathon some day.  Then I start to wonder if I'd really be able to hold that pace for that long.. another thought for another day... maybe a new training plan required for this goal.

Ok, I digress...

Wednesday did 7 miles which was a step down from my midweek run last week which was 8 miles.  I welcomed the break and ran at a decent pace. (10:18)

Thursday felt some fatigue and the heat/humidity was awful so was able to do about 5 miles just over 11min/mile.  I realized that after the race Monday and then 2 other fast(ish) runs this week that I needed to have a more relaxed pace.  I also tried running in a new neighborhood for about a mile and found out that it was hilly and the lack of sidewalks made it mostly unpleasant.  Not sure I'll be going there again.

Saturday had a 19 miler on the schedule and agreed to meet at a different trail because as mentioned earlier, I'm getting sick of the same places and same trails.  Met some other runners getting 19 miles as well at 6(ish)am, but now it's dark at that hour so I brought my headlamp.  I didn't realize it was so low on battery so the light was kind of eh... But it got me through the first 3.5-4 miles until the sun came up, and we met up with a local running group at 7 who were planning on 15 miles.  I really enjoyed the trail and it didn't seem that bad.  It was a shady trail for the most part.  There was one spot where the sun was out that seemed unbearable, but it was over after a few miles.  19 miles actually went rather quickly, considering...as quickly as 3.5 hours of running can go.  Kept a decent 11 min/mile pace.  Considering it was 73 degrees and high humidity when we started, I was happy with this.  It was nice to run with a group again because the 18 miler was tough to do solo.  Distance PR!  Until the 20 mile run in 2 weeks.

Next week is a shorter long run . Then one last week with a long run until taper...

Week 14 will be: 6/7/6/12  =31 miles.  I might need to break the 12 miler up into two 6 mile runs due to my weekend schedule.  But that's ok.  I could use a change.

Week 12... a fun week with great weather

I really enjoyed this week of training.  And the reason why was that I tried some new areas to run and just focused on getting it done.

Temperatures and humidity were far better this week.  My pace saw a dramatic improvement.

5 miler on Monday... modified a neighborhood path a little to make it slightly longer and a little more interesting.  10:29 pace... felt nice and not too rushed.

8 miler on Wednesday, ran out and back a different route.  I had been going to the metropark but decided to try something different.  Not sure if I actually liked the route or not, but the run felt good.  It was hotter at that point though.  Pace was 10:42

5 miler on Thursday, a good pace day (9:53).  Same path as Monday . But I like this way enough that I might keep it as a regular rotation for 5 mile possibilities.

13 miler on Saturday (had to make it 13.14 though because that seemed better to run a half marathon distance... yes, I'm weird like that).  10:18 pace which I was really happy with.  I haven't run that fast on a long run in quite a while.  The nice part was it felt great during the whole run.  Didn't even think I was really pushing it because I didn't look much at my watch . I love those kind of runs.  A funny thing did happen to me, though.  At the running group Saturday we typically take a weird route to get to the park.  I forgot where the turnoff was due to my spacing out during a good song and missed the point I was supposed to turn into the woods.  I found myself looking around, and all the condominiums there look pretty much the same.  Found a way to get back on track but it was a weird feeling.  I get lost sometimes, I admit it...

Next week I increase again... doing a 19 miler (wow) next weekend.  Already planned with someone else training for the marathon where we're going to meet.  It will be a different trail but that's fine with me, because my old hangouts are getting old...

Next week: 6/7/5/19...37 miles... another high mileage week.  Going to take this long run a little slower on purpose.