Marathon Pace team

I have a little hope that maybe I can make this goal, maybe. I signed up with the Cliff Bar pace team for the 3:40 marathon time. They say that as long as you stay with them then they will cross the line within that time. So at least now I don't have to only rely on my Garmin, I'll have actual people to run with and motivate me. That was huge news for me. Also I went to a meditation class last night and met a girl there who ran both SLC and St. George. She missed Boston by 30 sec. last year but she did say that her time from SLC improved by 20 min. for St. George. I haven't run St. George since 2005, so I'm hoping maybe the same will hold true for me. Hoping. I just finished my 7 mile tempo run. 1 mile warm up at a 9min pace, 5 miles at 7:40 and then 1 mile cool down. I'm tired but am feeling pretty good. Now I just have to spend some time with the ice and my knee.

First 20 mile run

Yesterday I did it, the dreaded 20. I've been building to get there. 17, 18, and now 20 miles and it hurt. I decided to drive to flatness so that my 20 miles could be hill free, and I wore my new super cute running skirt that I LOVE...so worth the $50. :) My mom was nice enough to ride a bike next to me for those 3 long hours of nonstop running. It was so nice of her to be there for company and also for protection from the random scary men that walk the Parkway. Not that my mom is much for protection, I mean we're both about 5'1, and so not scary, but at least I feel better on secluded river parkways, to have someone with me. To my surprise those 20 miles actually flew by and I felt really strong and really good. My end time was 3:06 which was not what I wanted, especially because there really were no hills to tire me out. To make my 3:40 marathon goal I am going to have to do it MUCH FASTER. :(
I hate the discouragement of not doing what I want to do. But I keep telling myself it was just a training run. Then I give myself all my justifications as to why my time isn't where I want it to be. 1. It was just a training run. 2. There was no competitiveness, no one to beat. 3. I was talking a ton with my mom which makes me slower. 4.My knee was hurting.
My knee...that's a whole different story that I'm hoping magically goes away on it's own. Otherwise I am going to have to take another trip to Costco and buy the Bulk bottle of Ibuprofen again. Blah. But anyways at least I'm doing it. Only 6 more weeks till it's here.

18 miles

Well I'm getting there. Friday I ran my 18 and did much better than my previous 17. I still feel like training alone is not fun, not fun at all, but at least I'm getting there and sticking to my schedule. There was a random guy who was running ahead of me and I thought I'd challenge myself and try and pass him. For about a mile he remained ahead of me, but I kept closing in on the distance until finally I passed him. That was a needed boost for the run that morning. I have always had that streak of competitiveness in me, well more than a steak. I am competitive and I like to compete. And I really like to win. :) The only bad part of my run was when my knee pain started. It lasted a few miles, but I ran through it and it went away. That of course scared me because I was injured for my last marathon. So I'm just hoping I can keep all parts of me feeling good for this one. Next week is 20. Not thinking about that yet though. :)

Another tempo run....check

Today I took my 7 mile tempo run outside. First of all have I mentioned that tempo runs to me are torture? Wednesdays are my I hate running day. Reason 1: Tempo runs kick my butt. Reason 2: Wednesdays are garbage days which means I get to smell the stank of rotting garbage throughout the entire run, not to mention that stupid truck following me everywhere. Reason 3: Today the wind. Reason 4: The hills, the many, many hills. But despite my extreme hate for Wednesday runs it went really well. To my suprise I did most of those 7 miles under 8 min. miles with 3 of those miles below a 7:40. So I was very happy with my time, and even more happy to be done with the run today. Maybe Boston is back on the plate. Now if I could only start eating more healthy, now that would be helpful.

Last week recap

My running "journal" had to take a backseat last week, but here's a quick recap.
Let's see the big 16 mile run was last Saturday and it was pretty brutal. Mainly because my 16 mile run turned into a 17 mile run. Not good when that happens. Actually I was doing pretty good until about mile 14, then the hills started getting to me. As I approached the last mile and a half (straight uphill to my house) I realized that I just hit 16 miles and the wall. The "wall". I've heard of it, I've kinda experienced it in the past, but it wasn't until I hit 16 miles and still had 1 extra to do (that my mind was in no way going to allow)that I truly understood what the wall was. I barely could walk/run that last mile. Somehow I got home and as I approached my driveway, I just cried. Yes, it's the emotional part kicking in of the feeling of I can't do this. Sure I can run the distance, but run it at a Boston pace, now that I just don't know if I can do. I had a very bad week following that run and thankfully it was my down mileage week. So I only had a few 5 and 6 mile runs to do. Now I'm back to it and am still not sure how I'm feeling. I have a hard tempo run on Wed. and then 18 miles on Friday. Boston is seeming a little out of reach right now. I'm wondering if my goal needs to be altered. :(