18 miles!

I ran 18 miles yesterday. That is crazy. Normally I don't think I even travel 18 miles over the course of a week. I actually felt great during the run. Admittedly I got really bored at mile 14, but I pushed through and completed all 18. Turns out that running that far is pretty darn exhausting not to mention sweat inducing. When I got home my roommate asked me if it was raining out. Nope. No rain. All sweat. Yup, it was pretty nasty. I was also in dire need of some fluid replacement. As you can see I had a wide selection of water, gatorade, and chocolate milk.

Post-run beverage selection

All in all, what is most crazy, or exciting I suppose, is that the marathon actually feels like it's within reach. Sure, I've still got another 8.2 miles to run the day of, but I actually think I can do it!

I completely forgot!

I can't believe I forgot to post this in my blog yesterday! It must have been the sheer exhaustion of running and my brain was protesting. While I was out on the river I passed Julia Stiles riding her bike. That is my first ever celebrity sighting while running! For those who may not know who I'm referring to...

Julia Stiles filming her movie in Boston!

Or if you're like me, she'll always be the girl from 10 Things I Hate About You

A slow start...

Got a late start this morning. Fortunately it was cool outside. Unfortunately about 1 block from my apartment I got a horrific cramp on my left side, which meant I was off to a slow start. I suspect this was because I was super dehydrated and did not drink nearly enough water yesterday. I had visions of this being an awful 12 miles. Luckily the cramp subsided, but it was quickly replaced with a general, full stomach cramp. As you can imagine, those first few miles were not particularly fun. A couple miles in that general discomfort also subsided and then it was pretty much smooth sailing. It actually ended up being a pretty decent run. Not as good as my 16 mile run last week, but I suppose they can't all be quite like that.

I also decided last minute to head home this week for Yom Kippur. I'm very excited to be home, but this definitely throws a wrench in my training for this week. I think I've got a solid plan in place and it doesn't even require me to bring my running gear home! Here goes...

A day of rest

When I woke up yesterday it was very gloomy out. It had POURED the night before. I made a very quick decision to give myself what I deemed to be a much needed day off. My knees and quads definitely thanked me. I also got to sleep for an extra hour and a half which was greatly appreciated. My impromptu break was much enjoyed.

This morning - 8 miles. No complaints.

Today my knees hate me

On Saturday I ran 16 miles and felt like a million bucks. This morning I ran 5 miles and my legs are having none of it. It amazes me what a difference 3 days can make (well that and 11 miles). Seriously, my legs are tired and achy. My quads feel like jello. And worst of all, my knees hate me. Ugh. Fortunately I bought Advil in bulk in anticipation of days like today.

You win some, you lose some

Lose: woke up bright and early today to head out for my 16 mile run. It looked a bit ominous outside, but I wasn't overly worried. I grabbed my raincoat and was ready to go. Then I took one last look out the window before leaving and realized it was actually pouring.

Win: I just ran 16 miles! And it was awesome! I ended up waiting about an hour for the rain to pass. By the time I left I didn't even bring my raincoat, and when I finished my run it was a gorgeous, sunny day. Last week 15 miles kicked my butt. This week I kicked 16 miles' butt. Make no mistake, I am exhausted, and I won't be setting any Olympic records any time soon, but it really was a fantastic run! Now off to eat. A lot.

A glorious 8 miles

Yesterday's run was a surprisingly pleasant 8 miles! The time just flew by. Almost as quickly as I started I had covered 8 miles (note: this is simply how it felt; rest assured I did not run fast so it did actually take quite a bit of time).  Maybe the fact that I actually got 8 hours of sleep the night before (versus the 6 I've been getting) helped?

It's amazing to me how far I've come. When I first started my training my long run was 6 miles. Now my mid-week runs are longer than that. And I can do it! And then go to school for a whole day. It really is awesome!

Let's hope this positive energy sticks around for my 16 miler tomorrow.

Holy LONG run

Wow, 15 miles is a LONG way! And it's the furthest I've run continuously. EVER. Today's run was really hard. It was hot out and I ran VERY slowly. In fact, 15 miles is so far that I'm pretty sure I ran to the end of the earth. My back hurts, my legs are tired, and I don't know which part of me to ice first. My lower extremities are not very happy with me right now. I also can't decide what is grossest - the sweat, the salt, or the dirt that I'm currently covered in. It's scares me to no end that the actual marathon is another 11.2 miles on top of the distance I ran today... But I'll worry about that later. For now I'm going to sit back, relax, and enjoy the fact that I ran really damn far this morning.

Tired!

I was less than thrilled to get up for my 7 mile run this morning. Over the last several weeks there have been times where I wasn't feeling it, but nothing quite like this morning. Running 7 miles was pretty much the last thing I was interested in doing. I sucked it up and head out, and while it was a LONG and SLOW 7 miles, it got done. The last couple miles were actually better than the first. Not in terms of pace, but they didn't seem nearly as painful as when I started my run.

I forgot how absolutely exhausting and time consuming business school can be. Running the marathon continues to be a priority for me, and I will get in my training, but I am definitely concerned. I've got 15 miles coming up this weekend. Fingers crossed

Oh, the weather

The weather has been surprisingly cooperative this summer. Sure it was hot and all sorts of humid, but it really didn't rain all that much. With the exception of 1 long run where I hit a few patches of rain and 1 weekday run where I got caught in a torrential downpour, I've been pretty fortunate over the last several weeks. I was able to run outside pretty much whenever I wanted.

Sadly, yesterday the weather disappointed. I set my alarm so I could get in a 4 miler before my first class of the year. And what did I wake up to find...rain! And this was no light mist. It was some serious rain. I opted to go back to bed and am planning to get in my run on Friday. Of course when I did finally get up it was no longer raining so perhaps I could have braved the storm. Oh well, better luck next time.

A slow start...

Off to a slow start this morning. I left for my 10 mile run a bit later than I had hoped. Then my watch decided to take it's sweet time locating satellites. Then Songza decided to have connectivity issues so I couldn't listen to one of their playlists. Fortunately I loaded a bunch of music onto my iPhone yesterday so I was able to listen to that. But naturally I pressed the wrong button at first so I listened to the same one song on repeat a few times before I realized and fixed the issue. Because of all this my first mile was a bit slow. After that, it was pretty much smooth sailing for the next 9 miles.

Sadly, I came home to a new blister on my toe.

My newest blister, though this picture does not do it justice

I guess I'll wear sandals today...