and then a crummy one

So after feeling pretty good about my first long run yesterday I had a big bumer of a tempo run today. I thought this week's would be better than last week, which was awesome, but that definitely was not the case. I went right after work and my legs just felt kind of heavy and my goal pace, which is usually comfortable, felt like sprinting. I got in the two tempo mile runs and then just hit the wall. I was tired, my breathing was heavy, and my left shin was really starting to hurt. I started the two mile cool down and decided to just listen to my body and cut it short. So instead of doing 6 miles with 2 at tempo pace I did 4.5 with 2 at tempo pace. I'm a little bummed about it but am trying not to dwell on it or let it stress me out. Like all the other bloggers say, some runs are great and some are not. I think in the future I should not run my tempo and long runs on consecutive days as these are the two hardest runs of the week. Live and learn, I suppose.

As a side note, my eating has been okay, but not great. Right now, I am stuffed from making dinner and nibbling while doing so but I would still love to go stuff my face with ziti and garlic bread. Recognizing a problem is the first step to solving it, right? I'll take that.

1 down, 15 to go

I successfully completed my first week of marathon training. This past week I ran four times including an 8 mile long run, my first ever tempo run, a before work morning run, and an hour run with hills. Add to that 3 days of Bikram and I would say we're starting off with a bang! I did my long run on Sunday night at White Rock and it started off miserably. The weather was nice but a little warm and the scenery was beautiful but my earbuds kept popping out of my ear and I just wasn't feeling it. The mile markers there are a little spotty so I planned on slowing down a bit and just running between 72 and 80 minutes. I'm pretty sure I started off too fast which is probably why I wasn't feeling it but around 32 minutes in I slowed myself down and it just clicked. My pace was better, it wasn't as crowded, I got to a beautiful part of the lake that was mostly bridges over the water and my ipod was alternating between John Mayer and Third Day songs. From then on I loved it. I timed myself at a clearly marked two mile distance and was holding 9 minute miles which is about 40 seconds slower than my goal pace. I'm pretty sure this is how fast you are supposed to do long runs but I will reconsult the four hour marathon book to make sure.
So far I am pretty happy with my progress but hope I can continue fitting in all my runs and not get hurt. I'm also nervous that I am not going to make the pace I am shooting for. I'm trying not to focus on that too much so I don't get overly anxious and freak myself out. Plus I still have 15 weeks and a pretty solid training plan so I just need to relax and get it done. Go team!

tempo tuesday

First ever tempo run today. Rocked it. Two of six miles were sub-8 minute miles. Hell yeah.