My workouts continue to taper before the race.  I tried to push myself on Monday, but as always, the first mile is a warm up for my legs and they never seem to want to go all out in the beginning.  I picked up the pace at the end and finished with a sub-10 pace, which isn't terrible.  I'm aiming for a 10:00 pace for the first half...I know I can't keep that up for 26 miles.  I'm shooting for 11:00 pace for the whole thing.  We will see.

I continued my Tuesday ritual - gym circuit - and am happy with my results.  I'm doing more of every exercise in each 30 second bout than the previous week.  I'm up to 13 pushups in 30 seconds.  I had a tempo run on Wednesday on the treadmill.  I ran two 10 minute runs at 8 mph or 7:30 pace.  Lots of sweat, but definitely gives me some ideas for summer workouts.

I had to dive again this week, so I considered 3+ hours of cleaning windows and the bottom of the hippo pool as enough to cover the prescribed workout.  And to round out the week, a nice, relaxing 6 mile jaunt past a pond with a six(?) foot alligator in it.

I'm happy he didn't come out of the water...and amazed that I noticed him only on my second lap.  :)

I'm feeling excited and anxious for the race.  I've prepared well, but it's been a long 4+ months of training and a lot has happened in my life.  I can't wait for London!

I was dog/house-sitting again at the end of last week.  Kristin's newest addition is the little squeaker to the left, Fiona.  She is precious!

After last week's big 20 miler, this week was a piece of cake.  I have now entered what is known as "the taper" in the running world - or at least, the training-for-a-marathon world.  Not the zoo kind of tapir (of which I have a tattoo), but taper as in less than before.  The distance that I will now run each week will be less than the week before in order to give my body time to recover before the marathon.

I had a 50 minute run to start the week and I'm not sure why, but I did run slower than normal.  Eh, what can you do?  Not every run is the same.  I biked for 30 minutes on Tuesday and sprinted on the treadmill on Wednesday - 7:30 per mile for 20 minutes.  That's the fastest I've run for the longest period of time in years.  It took some mental fortitude to push through it, but I did.  I had to go in on my day off to help clean the hippo pool (scuba time!) and I got up early to get a 10 mile run in before the heat got too hot.  ;o)  All in all, a good week, but I'm ready for the race to be here already!

This week ended with the "Big One" - 20 miles.  But, before that...

The week started with an "easy" 60 minute run.  I ran at 9:55 pace.  Honestly, the beginning of this week feels so long ago that I don't remember much of it.  I think I ran the loop behind my apartment, at night?  In any case, the Garmin says I did it, so I did it.  :)  After work on Tuesday, I did my normal gym circuit.  Despite skipping it last week, I'm almost to where I was pre-surgery with the push-up number.  I'm at 12 in 30 seconds for the first go round.  I started dog/house-sitting for a friend on Tuesday night, so on Wednesday, I ran around the local golf course.  I tried to push it because I know it helps for the longer runs.  I ran at a 9:27 pace.  I lifted weights on Friday and then did not prepare well enough for me 20 mile run (in my opinion and in retrospect). 11:48

I woke up at 6 am on Saturday and fed the doggies, then headed to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail for the run.  Fortunately, a handyman left his headlamp at my apartment last week, so I had something for the first few miles - it was still dark out (and 64 degrees - red flag #1).  I wasn't the only crazy - there was one other group of runners, and I did see the ranger on his Toro putting the water out and clearing the trail.  I did have a bit of bad luck early on - at mile 3, my low battery indicator for my Garmin came on (red flag #2) - I squeaked another 6 miles out of it though and was able to find mile markers and time everything just right so I could figure out (and keep track of) the distance I was running.  The first 10 miles were pleasant - I watched the sun rise at mile 6.5.  And despite the sun disappearing behind clouds at mile 13 and remaining "cool," it went a little downhill from there - the run, not the terrain.  I needed to re-fill my water bottles at mile 14 (they lasted me 18 miles two weeks prior) - red flag #3.  I also stopped to use the bathroom at mile 15.5 (I kind of needed to go and I was advised to try it since I'm probably going to have to go during the actual marathon).  Side note: I've run three half marathons and never used the bathroom once each run started.  After each time I stopped, however, it was harder to get back into the running.  I pushed myself mentally until mile 18 since I knew I had run that distance before and even though I tried really hard to keep going, it felt like once I hit 18 I lost all steam.  I started walking at about 18.2 (I'm guessing since no Garmin) and walked until the end.  Even with the walking, I calculated with the time I had on my iPod that it was an 11:48 pace.

I have several thoughts about this run.

One, I suppose it is good that I experienced all of these red flags now and not for the first time on race day, but it was still a little disheartening.  Two, I realize I should have concentrated more on fluids in the days leading up to the run.  I did feel I ate well the day before, the morning of, and during the run (energy gels).  I just think more water would have helped...because...  Three, it was 20 degrees warmer than my 18 mile run and that didn't help at all!  I didn't even consider this because 18 came easier than I thought it would.  Four, London will help a lot - the crowds, the sites and the fact that it's an actual race, with other people running with me, and it's for the rhinos.  Considering all that, I'm happy, but I would have liked to done unbelievably well to give me more confidence.  But, then again, like I said, maybe I got all of this out of the way now to help me on April 13th.

This was a really good week - filled with a lot of running.  On Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, I stayed under 10:00 per mile.  I did the cross training as well - more of my circuit and weightlifting - I increased some of the weights on the machines and free weight exercises.

I was anxious all week for Saturday - the 18 mile run - what was (and is) the longest distance I have ever run.  The weather could not have been better - at 7:30 am, when I woke up, it was 42 degrees!  Very similar to the temperatures I will be experiencing in London in April.  I made the short drive to Flatwoods and started the run.  I felt shaky for mile 1 - this always happens, just my body getting into a rhythm.  The next few miles felt great - I ran the first half of the loop and sidetracked out to the Bruce B. Downs lot, then turned around to finish the first loop.  At mile 11 (the end of the first loop), I still felt good.  I had been drinking water every mile and had my first energy gel at mile 9 (when they give you the same thing in all the half marathons I've done).  It wasn't until mile 14 that I started to have to push myself mentally.  I had another energy gel at mile 13, but it was not filling me with anything extra.  I had enough in my tank to finish - it was just a mental challenge.  I kept telling myself not to look at my Garmin because I would look at it in disbelief that I was not farther along...i.e. I seemed to run 0.2 miles in like 12 minutes.

Regardless of my troubles, I finished.  I ran 18 miles in 3 hours, 9 minutes and 47 seconds (average of 10:33 per mile pace).  I also ran the half marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes - a personal record!  Extrapolating from my time for 18 miles, my marathon time would be 4 hours, 35 minutes and 6 seconds.  However, my pace slowed the entire run (with the exception of a "surge" of speed at mile 11 and 12).  I'm aiming for under 5 hours as a tertiary goal.  Primarily, I want to finish.  Secondarily, have a blast.

Slightly less involved workouts next week.  :)

This week was tough.  I was immediately tired at the start due to the schedule shift of last week - my distance run was moved from Saturday to Sunday because it didn't fit the schedule for the Gasparilla Distance Classic weekend.  So...after running a half marathon on Sunday, I didn't want to change any more of the schedule, so I stuck with a 50 minute run on Monday, which was at a much slower pace than normal.  I guess this should have been expected, but I did take two dogs (Sherman and Stella) with me, so it wasn't all terrible.  They helped pull me a little bit.  :)

I was so tired on Tuesday after working 10 am to 6:30 pm and I was still dog-sitting, so I skipped my cross training for the day, headed to my apartment as dog-sitting had ended and went to bed early (in my bed!).  I think the not-my-bed part of dog-sitting maybe hurt me this time.  I usually sleep well at Kristin's, but I think with the race, I was just extra tired.  Wednesday came and I really tried to do the "Tempo A" workout - 20 minute run at a fast pace - but I didn't feel on top of my game, so I opted for a "Tempo B" - two 10 minute fast runs with a 2 minute brisk walk in between.  I was able to do that.  I rested on Thursday as prescribed and hit the weight circuit on Friday.

I headed to Flatwoods on Saturday morning and despite it being really sunny, it was a pleasant 8 miles at just over a 10:00 per mile pace.

This was my first full week training post-surgery, but it was also abnormal because I had signed up for a half marathon on Sunday - my one true "rest day."  So, instead of the training plan-recommended 16 mile run on Saturday, I decided to do a 3 mile run (followed by 9 hours walking around Disney) and the race on Sunday.  The half marathon was good.  It was warm when I left the house at 5 am with almost 100% humidity and it stayed the way through the race with the cloud cover.  I ran with a (slower but still awesome) friend for the first half of the race until I calculated that I would be running an extra 30 minutes if I stayed at that pace.  That did not sound fun to me, so I politely excused myself from his company and ran ahead on my own.  I pushed myself pretty hard - hitting 8:53 pace for a mile, then averaging out to about 10:00.  My pace for the whole race averaged to 10:47 - not bad for running at 12:00 for half the race.

Before that, I did pretty good at the beginning of the week.  The runs went well and the gym circuit was good - it kicked my ass, but I did the normal 3 circuits (30 sec activity, 10 sec rest - for 12 exercises).  I did lose a bit of endurance in the two weeks I was off.  For instance, I was up to 12 pushups in 30 seconds...and I slipped back to 10 this week.  I expected to lose a bit, but I still pushed through it to try to normalize as soon as possible.  I was exhausted on Thursday, however - which also happens to be my "Friday" at work - I went to bed before 6pm.  And I honestly didn't feel great on Friday, so I decided to rest.  I'll blame it partially on the weather...it's been 70 and humid every morning for the last week.  Hopefully, next week will be better.

My recovery period ended on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, thunderstorms ruined what would have been my first run outside in two weeks, so I ran on the treadmill at my apartment gym.  The first mile was easy; the second mile was hell; and the third mile was the last mile, so I powered through it.  My chest hurt a bit and I was staring at a wall.  Not the best return, but I did 3.09 miles and was happy to do that.

Better weather arrived on Thursday and I was thrilled to get back on the road - my loop.  I started jogging and one mile into it, I glanced at the pace - 9:06!  I really felt that I had been going so slow, but this was one of my fastest starts.  Weird.  I felt good, so I tried to keep that pace and finished with 9:21 per mile for 6.44 miles.  Score!  I did my normal weight circuit on Friday and was able to lift normally.  My incision site has healed and despite having a tight feeling there, I completed the workout.  It feels better every day.

Today, I was babysitting my "niece," Skylar - my friend's adorable daughter - and I had my 8 mile run.  I decided it was safer (for both of us) to go to Flatwoods.  I studied the map after I got lost the last time, and we found our way with no problems today.  It was a little tougher pushing a ~20 lb. baby in a ~30 lb. stroller...more of a workout than expected!  I should invent something to attach to my waist and the stroller so both arms are free to move (as opposed to one of them holding onto the stroller).  I was able to keep my endurance run pace - 10:00 per mile.  We saw a lot of vultures and two bucks - DEER!  Skylar pointed all the animals out to me.  We had a nice lunch at Panera afterward.

I'm looking forward to a full week next week - including the Gasparilla Half Marathon.

Monday was my last day of dog-sitting, so I took Stella with me (far right).  It was our first night run together, and she was alert!  Her ears were up almost the entire time, but she was good - I only almost ran her over twice.  We were just under 10 minutes per mile - for an hour - and that did not seem to tire her.  When we got back home, she started wrestling with Sherman (the other big one) immediately.  Crazy kids!  I did my usually Tuesday circuit/sweat-fest and Wednesday was my first "Tempo B" workout - 10 minutes fast (talk in short, choppy sentences), 2 minutes brisk walk, and another 10 minutes fast.  I ran on the treadmill at the work gym - 8 mph for both 10 minute sessions.  That is a 7:30 per mile pace - the fastest I've run a mile (and more) in over 10 years.  I was very happy to do both 10 minute session that fast.  And also tired.  :)

After leaving work early on Thursday, I picked my parents up form the airport, went to Moffitt for my lymphoscintigraphy, we ran some errands including picking up the paint for the rest of my apartment makeover, and had dinner at Gino's.  Surgery was Friday, and I'm recovering today.  To read more about it, head over to my Life Blog.  Training is most likely suspended until my follow-up appointment on Wednesday.

I got the week started off well with a 50 minute run at an average pace of 9:38 per mile - according to my Garmin Forerunner 110.  Very nice.  :)  I hit the gym the next day to do 40 minutes of my cardio circuit (30 seconds exercise, 10 seconds rest for 12 exercises, 2-3 times - already explained this, go read an earlier post.  My second "tempo c" workout of my training - I did 8.5 mph for the first 5 minutes and 8.0 mph for the second and third 5 minute sessions.  Pretty intense, but I remained upright on the treadmill.  I was able to rest on Thursday and I lifted weights on Friday.

Today, I got up "early" and was ready to run.  I neglected to look at a map of Flatwoods before I left - first mistake - well, pretty much my only mistake.  I asked people while I was running where to go - they told me the right answers, I just wasn't asking the right questions.  Argh.  Anyway, I ran onto what I thought was the main road, which it was - just not part of the loop.  I ran all the way to the Bruce B. Downs parking lot, realized where I was, turned around and headed toward the loop - I had run about 4 miles at this point.  I was feeling good, came to a crossroads and asked people if the Morris Bridge parking lot was down this way - yes.  Okay.  Well, I didn't know there are TWO Morris Bridge parking lots.  Oops.  I ended up finishing my 10 miles at a pace of 9:35 per mile.  Excellent.  But, I then had to walk about 5 miles back to my car.  A lengthy cool-down walk, for sure.  But, on the plus side, I now know how to properly navigate the park and look forward to 12 miles next Saturday.

It's hard to believe my marathon is only three months away.  Yikes - get donating, people!  ;)

I finished up the week with a 40 minute weight circuit at the gym for cross training and my endurance run was an easy 6 miles this week.  It was 73 degrees and rainy, but still enjoyable.  A friend said to me, "You're going to run in the RAIN?"  I was like, "Uh..yeah...I'm going to run in whatever."  It is supposed to be a more relaxed pace than the other runs and according to my Forerunner, it was - just about 9:59 per mile (that 1 second is important!).  Monday's run was a chipper 9:28 per mile.  It was only my second run with the Forerunner - it is indeed water-resistant, and found the satellites within minutes.  A+ so far.  More adventures await.

And I wasn't just trying to get you to shamelessly click on my link...I did include an awesome video.  Take it away, Waffles!