- Time Trial #1 - done on Woodland Rd. early in the morning. It was around 20 degrees with a windchill in the teens. My friends and I ran along the side of the road and had to dodge traffic on our makeshift track. It was quite the adventure and not one that I want to repeat. Even still, I ended up running two miles in 14:26. I felt pretty good about that.
- First family trip to Disney - the very next day, my husband and I took our two young kids to DisneyWorld. We hoped for a big break in winter, but instead got just a little sun, 50-60 degree weather, and some rain. We spent three fun-filled, jam-packed days at the various parks - Magic Kingdom, SeaWorld, and Hollywood Studios. I took a variety of running clothes, but didn't run once over the five day trip. There simply wasn't much time, let alone excess energy for a workout. I'm guessing by the throbbing in my legs when I got into bed each night, that we probably walked at least a few miles a day. At least that's what it felt like and what I had convinced myself to feel less guilty.
- Long runs, speedwork, tempo runs, and goal pace - after coming back, I settled back into my three day a week running routine. Tuesdays were speed, Thursdays were tempo or goal pace runs, and Saturdays were long runs. I did two 20 milers in March and stepped up the intensity in my other workouts. There were many crazy cold, snowy runs -- more than I wish to recount. With the winter we've had, I think it's safe to say this has been the most challenging marathon training I've ever done.
- Time Trial #2 - This Tuesday, I did my final time trial to help gauge where I'm at and help me determine a realistic finish time goal in St. Louis. I ran 14:22 - just slightly better than before and with better weather conditions. My only complaint was the headwind we faced on one side of the track. But, that also meant we had a nice tailwind on the other side, so it probably evened out and didn't affect my time that much.
That's pretty much it. Now I'm very much in the taper side of training and am trying to get my head ready for the race. The rest of my workouts will be easy. I'll still do some goal pace miles (around 9 minutes) between now and the race for extra practice.
My only obstacle is some foot/calf pain I've had the past couple of weeks. It's on my left side, not typically my "injury" side and it's something completely new. I'm seeing my ART chiropractor, Brian Holdeman, and massage therapist, Barb Rinne, to help loosen things up before the big day. The good side of this is that it helps keep the pressure off of feeling like I need to push it during the race. I'm sticking to my original game plan of starting slow and going by feel during the race. Still planning on running without my Garmin, but I will have Eladio pacing me in the first six miles so I don't start out too fast. I'll post more specifics on my race plan soon. I'm still processing it all.
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather. What a change from the winter we've had! Praise the Lord, Spring is here at last!! Happy Running!
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