Marathon Training

Wasn't expecting much from this race and I ended up with a new PR.  I also beat my boyfriends and dad's half marathon PR.  There was so many fast people in my age group though, so I didn't place.  I was still very happy though with my time.  I have been working 50+ hr weeks and haven't been putting in as many miles as I would like.  I put on 5lbs from eating office junk food.  I have also only had 1 speed workout in the past couple of months (last weeks 5k).  Race day was windy, but the tail wind was the second half of the run since it was an out and back.  My second half was 2min faster than my first.

This race was a great motivator for me.  I now know that if I do increase my mileage, drop some weight, and incorporate some speedwork in my training, I will be able to do a 1:35 half marathon.  This will be a great goal for next fall/winter.

Ran with a group of 5 other runners.  Average running pace was 8:53, but we did make a couple of restroom/water stops.  Another runner wearing a Garmin had hers running the whole time through the stops and our average total pace was 9:11, so we had about 6min of break time.  My legs were feeling a bit stiff the last few miles, but I felt good after finishing the 20.  I had some muscle milk, took an epsom salt bath, and took some bromelain.  No muscle soreness the next day :)