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Runtime Error: Man, these 20 milers are starting to get a little boring
(wow, that's a lot of calories)
Before I left the house today, The Wife ® told me:
"You're the boss . . . of running related things."
(Sorry, Stu, for my use of the ellipses)
So with that I trotted down the stairs from my apartment and headed out for 20 Miles into a gorgeous 50+ degree day.
And was hit in the face with 20 mile an hour winds. Consistently. For the first 10 miles and much of the second 10.
I am blessed (poor word choice) to have the Charles river 3 (three) blocks away and that I can use it as my back yard. But there is this strange phenomenon of always running into a headwind, both on the "out" and "back" on the Charles. I don't like wind. I hate it while bike riding and I don't like it much more when running. But I suppose no one does.
The good news is I got the 20 in pain free. Thanks for the tips, Internets! I had the usual aches and started slowing down towards the end but no sharp IT Band issues.
Next week is a 15 mile run and then my last 20 is the week after that. I think this is the real thick of it and I've been more tired and cranky than usual but the 3 weeks of taper before the race should do a lot of good.
Today's run was supposed to be at a pace of 20 seconds slower than my intended marathon pace and I failed at that by about 10 seconds per mile. I could blame the wind, or the time I spent at crosswalks but I'll take responsibility and just say that I am a bit run down from all the training and a lingering cold. Hopefully the adreniline on race day will help me get through just a smidge faster.
The FiRST program that I have been using has not failed me in the past for my half marathons, 10 and 5ks, and I've always run faster than my projected time so I will continue to trust in it. I am still a little nervous about having to go 6+ miles more than my longest training run and at a faster clip.
But I am psyched for the crowds, hopefully some nice weather, and rocking this thing in just over a month from today!
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