Finally, a good run! Twenty miles today in the rain but oh-thank-you-Jesus it was a blistering 51 degrees outside which meant no need for gloves, double shirts, jackets, handwarmers, ear muffs, or an ice-scraper. Sheer bliss.
I haven't posted a lot about my training for the Myrtle Beach marathon because frankly, between the snow and ice and holidays, it hasn't been going great. My training partner Christie and I tried a tempo run on Thursday last week and made it a half-mile before Christie slipped and fell on ice. We solidered on for another 1/4 mile before we looked at our watches and realized that with all the walking we had to do to avoid ice patches, we were doing a 10-minute pace. Add in book signings and snowstorms and holidays and let's just say I've spent more time with my treadmill this winter than I think is healthy when preparing for a marathon.
Today, however, was glorious. Twenty miles of outdoor running with friends and I still had gas in the tank at the end. I looked like a drowned weasel, but the legs were good. Given that the last decent run I had was also in the rain, I'm starting to think it's in my best interest to pray for rain on February 19th. (Wait, make that rain, 50 degree temps and no wind, thank you very much.)
I can't believe it's only 8 weeks until the race. I need to be religious with the rest of my training and diet if I'm going to break 3:40. It's do-able, but in kind of a "the planets must align, you must stop all negative thoughts and sacrifice a goat in order for this to come true" sort of way. So we'll see.
Meanwhile, I'm hoping to carry forward the good mojo of today's run to this week's 10-mile tempo run. Ten mile tempo?! Uh, hello, Furman people? Enough already with the madness.
Cheers,
Dena
