MY legs!!

My week is all messed up cause I had Wednesday off - which I never do- and worked Monday and Tuesday. So Thursday morning I did my tempo run. I was scheduled for 5 miles (cause it's recovery week) but I had in my head 6. And then I figured if I did 7 that would be OK, thinking it was just one extra mile. And then, I somehow confused where I needed to turn around and ended up with 8.1! Could have gone a little farther even but I decided to walk the rest of the way home for cool down. Dan was doing his long run so he agreed to run my tempo miles with me. Here's the breakdown: 2 mile warm-up. 3 miles tempo: 7:29, 7:16, 7:16. 3 miles cool-down. Dan gave me some feedback on my effort and we agreed to look at Daniel's Running Book to see if I should change my pace strategies some. The 7:16 pace felt very comfortable and is probably appropriate for my tempo runs. I think 7:29 is just too slow. It was really great to be able to run with him. It's funny to think about now, but 3 years ago when I was training for the Chicago Marathon, Dan used to pace me through my tempo runs... and let's just say it was not fun for either of us! I would pitch a fit (who... me?) and cry and throw myself around in an affected "asthma attack". Meanwhile Dan, thinking I would respond to his drill sargent attempts, would shout orders about how fast I needed to be going, etc. It was not pretty. And it was not fun. Needless to say, I have matured in my running and not only am I faster than I was 3 years ago, I also have a better grasp on my goals. I am running for me now whereas before I think I wanted to be faster because I thought that was what he wanted. This time around- I want to qualify for Boston for ME. When I get to the start line in January it will be because I put in the effort, I set the goal and I worked my ass off. And when I cross the finish line--- well under 3:40--- I can be proud of my accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, I have a huge amount of support. I couldn't do this without my team: Cristina (massage), JA (personal trainer), Dan (emotional support and encouragement, daily feedback on training), Melissa (nutrition). But let's face it. Only my legs are logging the miles.

Anyway, off the soapbox: Today, since I overshot my workout by 3 miles yesterday, I only had a 3 mile easy recovery run. It was comical to even get out of bed for only 3 miles! But I am loving running in the mornings now, the weather is so much cooler. Tomorrow it's either 7 miles race pace or 10 mile long run. I'm debating which one will be easier to fit into my busy schedule on Sunday since I'm going to be volunteering all day on Sunday at SOMA. I am in charge of the run course! Should be interesting! Good luck to all those racing!