[S]he Conquers Who Endures

18 miles in FL w 14 miles at marathon pace. 66F and 100% humidity at start, finished around 11:10am with 75F and 73% humidity. So, so hot after training in the north!! Marathon pace miles were 7:56 min/mi, and overall average pace was 8:00 min/mi. Wow, I couldn't have pushed harder in the end. I gave it my all. I felt so close to passing out from the heat. This is the worst it could be. Disney starts at 5:30am, so as long as I'm on track to finishing in 3:35, I should be done around 9:05am and not have to deal with this heat. Plus, I will gain some fitness and climatization from this run. Only 2 more long runs until taper!!! :)

11 miles at steady state pace. 7:34 min/mi average pace. Wow, I think the pre-taper madness is kicking in because I felt like this run wasn't good enough!! Gotta get rid of the negative vibes and claim back my attitude that I can conquer anything!! Now...how to do that...

4 miles at recovery pace with 6x0.1 mile strides. I voluntarily ran on the treadmill for this one!! I just needed a break from the cold, dark, uneven footing outside. This turned out to be a pretty enjoyable run. Entire run was at 1% incline. 9:13 min/mi average pace minus strides. Strides were at 10 MPH. It felt really, really good to force my legs to do faster turnover.

3 mile warmup, 4x400m with 200m recovery, then 2x800m with 400m recovery, and 2 mile cool down. I didn't have high expectations for this workout. I stepped on glass the night before and it went pretty deep in my foot and I woke up with a sore throat, ugh. Well, all my ailments miraculously faded as my speed picked up and even set a couple of training PRs! Paces were:

400m: 1:30, 1:31.9, 1:32.2, 1:26.9 mins or 5:56, 6:10, 6:10; 5:50 min/mi (had to hang on to the fast girls who have already BQed in the last split!)

800m: 3:16.2 and 3:10.6 mins or 6:32 and 6:22 min/mi (both of these were PRs for me, both surprising felt somewhat relaxed prob from decreasing speed after doing the 400s)

Every time I doubt myself or think I have some pain or ailment that will prohibit me from performing well I always surprise myself, yet I continue to doubt myself. I am getting so nervous for this marathon because it's getting closer and closer to the taper. I've hit all the training paces that predict a marathon time well below BQ pace. I'm sure these feelings are natural, I know I have to change my attitude and go into this race confident, pace smart, and I will achieve my goal. 9 days left of training until taper!!!

Oh and found out I have a 3 digit bib number for the marathon. Pretty cool because the bibs go up to 5 digits! Just hoping I get into the first corral. From experience I know Disney can start out slooooooowwwww because of the runners who don't focus on their time. 

Bikram! Active recovery day. Holy cow, heat felt more overwhelming than normal. That's fine, who knows the temps at Disney! Hopefully I increased vascularization. :)

Rainy and windy. 2.5 mile warmup at 9:18 min/mi pace and 3 mile cool down at 9:15 min/mi pace. 

This race was something else. I woke up and my head cold was pretty bad - a lot of head congestion, but luckily none in my chest. I knew it would be rainy and debated about skipping the race rest up. I decided I was not sick enough for that. Because of the weather and my cold, I had to let go of pressure to PR. The race was north on the lakefront with a 14 MPH tailwind that would turn into a tailwind coming back. My first mile was sub 7, whoops! Second mile around 7 flat, feeling pretty good. Dropped a guy that was hanging onto me around mile 2.5. Then, heading back, bam! Got slammed with that headwind. Just focused on fighting through. Just when I felt like I didn't have anymore steam, then the 10k met up with the 5k walkers. Great, now I have to run around people to boot! Kept pushing through and whittling away the mileage. Less than a mile left, the wind was just too much and I couldn't breath - my congestion was draining into my throat. Alas, I spot a guy running the 10k who passed me around mile 2. He was wearing a Boston marathon running jacket. At that point I decided I can't give up. I kept his jacket in sight and focus on my long-term goal...to earn that jacket. I hung on long enough and we rounded the corner picking up speed. With 100 m left, I decided to finish strong. Kicked past him as he tells me "take it". Love these kind of runners! PR-ed, by 2 seconds. Yeah, not a lot but considering the conditions and my training schedule (ran 18 miles at 8:00 min/mi pace Sunday, PR-ed in trackwork Thursday), I'd say that was a pretty amazing time. :) I will check that workout off my calendar with relish.