Feeling Stronger

We are officially in week 8 of training which shocked me when I looked at the calendar this morning...I feel like I just started running! Over the last weeks I have seen minor improvements here and there but this week, for the first week, I felt really strong and that real improvements were being made.

I know I have said this in other posts but since this my first race in a few years so I am starting from scratch. Though mentally I know I can run 26.2 miles and I have to trust the training process, my body doesn't believe me yet. Every week, I have been huffing and puffing my way through runs (I mean, the 95% humidity may have something to do with that!!).

On Tuesday of this week it rained and I mean RAINED the whole day. I was already thinking this was going to be a day I would have to skip because as much as I feel like a warrior running in the rain (and I do!), I wasn't going to START a run in the rain...not THAT CRAZY! Well, mother nature was on my side this week, because as soon as I got home the rain stopped. I ran with my friend Nicki and we killed it! Because it had rained, the temperature had dropped to the low 80s and I got my first inclination of what it's like to run in "normal" weather.

I learned early on in training that if you can survive the heat and humidity of summer runs, running in the fall when it is much cooler will be manageable.

Wednesdays I have my personal trainer and since I got into the marathon we have focused on my lower half. My hamstrings have always been a weak spot for me so I determined to build them up. After many squats, bridges, lunges and some other creative things my trainer has come up with that I don't have names for, I am starting to see the difference.

I ran my fastest mile in probably 4 years; a 10:20 mile. And yes, it was on a treadmill so that has something to increased pace but I couldn't have run this mile a few weeks ago. That may not be fast to the average person but it is fast for me. Keep in mind, to meet my goal in the race, I am going to try and keep a 12:30 pace so close to 10 flat is very fast.

Working on speed in addition to endurance is crucial throughout training.

Even though my alarm is set for 4 AM tomorrow, I am looking forward to a strong weekend run as we crack double digits with our first 10 miler!

Cheers to a great run!!!

P.S. I am really enjoying sharing my training experience so I hope whoever is reading this (fingers crossed there are a few of you out there), is enjoying it also.

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Every Damn Hot Mile

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