Living in Runner High Land

I had been a little 'uncontent' with my running lately. Something was missing. So on a whim, I signed up for the Route 66 Marathon (in 11 weeks) on Nov. 18.  Just as I thought, it has bounced me back into Runner High Land.  I love living there...

I quickly put together a training plan {see here} that takes into account all the other races I have already committed myself. Luckily, everything seemed to fall into place perfectly on the calendar.

Today was week one of vamping up the mileage on the long run. I have several friends training for marathons in Sept/Oct and today was their big 20 miler.  I have not built myself up properly to hit 20 yet. Nor should I after my recent toe injury. I argued with myself over what I wanted to do (go 20) and the smart thing to do (no more than 18).  I comprised and ran 19.

The awesome women I ran with today. (I was hiding behind the camera!)

It was a pleasure to see eight smiling Sole Sisters this morning at our meeting spot. We began with a 12 mile loop, mostly on paved trails. The temperatures hung in the mid-70's, but it was muggy and humid from all the rain we've had the past few days. My clothes were soaking wet by time we finished the first loop. After a quick refueling stop, a handful of us continued to tack on 7-8 more miles. We made a nice city loop down to the zoo where I haven't run in quite some time.

In all, I felt pretty darn good the whole run. I had to wear what I call 'my heavy shoes' since they have the widest toe box and more cushioning for my injured little toe. When I run in those shoes, my legs feel a little weighted, but my paced ended up being decent considering the miles. Overall, I'm super stoked at how well my legs handled the jump in miles. I can't express how excited I am to be marathon training again! And my little girls were so happy to help with ice baths again!

19.2 miles in 3:19

Avoiding the biggest mistake I make in marathon training, I came home and did not pig out!! Instead of allowing myself to think "I earned it," I made myself a healthy chef salad when what I really wanted was a big fat juicy burger.

Num-Num... Get in my belly!