3.89 miles

Easy peasy.

Did my usual neighborhood loop today at an 8:15 min/mi pace. The hills seemed petty and I felt unstoppable. For one of the first times during this whole mess of training, I feel strong and confident. BLAMMO.

13 miles

After practically not running for a week.....

(I know, I know...)

I ran 13 miles today along the beach. It was flat, sunny, warm, and relatively easy. I again struggled through the first 3 miles with my breathing but after that it was fine. Ran at a 9:04 min/mi pace. When I reached the halfway point, requiring me to turn around, I felt like I could keep on going. Even the final, massive hill was easily conquered and I kept up my flat beach-trail pace all the way up!

Booyah.

I tried to consume one of those "Gatorade Recovery" drinks afterward and it was barely consumable. It was like drinking a thick, sugary syrup. The flavor was lemon-lime-orange. I do not recommend it at all. I think I'll just stick to regular Gatorade which seems to do just fine at replenishing my electrolytes.

Damnit

Really bad week at work. No motivation or drive to run. I'm realizing how truly difficult it is to get in training runs when you just don't feel like doing anything at all. I feel crappy and don't want to run...but then feel even worse when I skip a run because of guilt. If I skip a night for something fun, at least then there is an excuse (kind of?) Now I just feel lazy and sadface. I really have no excuse other than being in a sour mood...

ARGHHHHHHH

ZOMG crazy day

Woke up early this morning and met up with my friend and headed down to Palos Verdes, a very hilly area we determined would be perfect for training purposes. Mapped out a 13.1 mile run and went for it. Chugged along at a good pace, even through the hills. I'm finally feeling strong now on hills, even when they drag on forever. I didn't need to use my inhaler until the end of our run and amazingly my legs did not feel sore at all during/after. I tried out some of those "energy jelly beans" that Jelly Belly makes. I have no idea if it made a difference or not. I'm going to try and do a similar run next weekend without them and see how I feel. I haven't really thought much about how I'm gonna get calories in during the big race...I've heard mixed things about Gu.

After our run, we stretched and had breakfast and then I had to scramble to pack because I'm going to Colorado tonight for a snowboard trip! Wooooo, adventure time!

Mixed feelings...

Sometimes training for this marathon makes me very sad. Not sad in a tear-jerking sort of way, but sad in the "wow, where have my evenings gone" sort of way. Often I have to re-arrange plans or cancel them entirely so that I can fit a run in after work. I don't work a 9-5 job and I have a commute on top of it so by the time I'm home it's a crazy rush to fit everything in before bed.

Drive, work, drive, run, stretch, shower, eat, sleep.

I've realized that if I have plans and need to fit in a run beforehand, I get incredibly stressed out. I can't seem to relax during the run and feel like I'm on this tight schedule. Due to that feeling, I usually just try to avoid planning things so that I don't have this cramped evening...but that obviously leads to me feeling like I'm not seeing my friends and/or having down time.

I've thought mapping a run near work before heading home...but I'm not sure I want to sit in my car for almost an hour after a long, sweaty run, lol. Maybe I should just suck it up and start running in the mornings. Did I mention I'm not a morning person? Yeah. Not at all...

7.3 miles

Did another hike as an alternative to running. I figure cross-training is just as important so it's good to change up the routine a little. I'm sure there are people out there who will argue about that, but whatever. The hike was an intense uphill for 3.5 miles (3000 ft elevation change) and back down 3.5 miles. My quads, calves, and knees are all sore now. The air was crisp and it felt wonderful being outdoors.

Good week

Once my sickness went away, I started feeling really great and felt like running practically every day. Kept on my training schedule this week and have been really putting away the miles. Breathing has been getting more regulated, but my knees are still pretty sore after my runs, regardless of the length. Still just using ibuprofen to fix that issue...

I'm wondering if it has something to do with my shoes. I've been running on a pretty old pair of Newbalance sneakers for a while now...it might be time to replace them.

4.7 miles

Did a hike today with some pretty decent inclines. Still feeling pretty sick, but at least I'm getting in some form of exercise.

Sick

Feverish with chills. Haven't been working or running. This sucks....

3.16 miles

Ran tonight in the very cold weather without proper protection. Felt cold the entire time and just couldn't warm up, despite hauling ass at an 8 minute flat pace. I ate a huge pasta dinner afterward and still felt odd. I think I might be getting sick...