Halfway Point

Well, here I am, halfway through training.  I'm halfway done with week 9 of 18 training weeks.  At this point, I'm getting better at visualizing myself actually running a marathon, but I still get the heebie jeebies a bit.  Let me check.  Yup, still 26.2 miles that I'll have to cover on that day.  That's far.  Very far.

So it's been a while since I wrote anything, what's going on with me?

Next week's training puts me in a whole new place.  The long Saturday run is supposed to be 15 miles.  Well folks, I have never run that far before.  Although let's be honest, I'm not running the whole time.  I'm sure there will be at least 4 water breaks in there.  But I'm learning that while I want to stop running during those long runs, I really hate how much time I lose when I slow down and take a break.  It's putting a definite crimp in my final time!  I don't run fast enough to make up for those walking breaks.

Last weekend, Gary and I were able to do a "preview run" of the half marathon that we'll be running on April 30th.  It was a great way to get our 13 miles in for the day and it was also nice to see where the course goes after the 10Kers break off and head towards the finish line.  (That's as far as I've ever run on this particular course.)  Lesson learned on that course: Head to the port-a-potty line early before the race starts and don't assume that there will be a port-a-potty on the course in case you don't want to wait in that line at the start!  (Although thankfully, one was spotted before I got too incredibly desperate.)

Things I need to work on in the 2nd half of my training:

Run OUTSIDE.  Don't be a wuss because it's a little windy or a little rainy or a little too cold or because I don't have anyone to run with.

Run FASTER.  It's training, not a cake walk.  I really need to learn to push myself a bit.

Sleep MORE.  Self explanitory thing.  I don't sleep enough.  But when I'm trying to push my body to do things that I don't normally do, sleep is pretty important.

Eat SMART.  Probably another self explanitory thing.  Don't eat junk.