Week 10

5, 8, 5, 16 (modified to realistic version 8, 5, 15)
Autumn has arrived and brought with it the cool crisp evenings. For both the medium and short runs I figured that I would warm up enough during the run itself that I could still go out in shorts and tanktop. At the end of both of the runs, I was still relatively cold. Parts of me warmed up, but other parts never did to the point I think I slightly injured both my quads and calves by pushing too hard when they weren't warmed up enough. I'm definitely going to start watching the weather closer in the upcoming weeks to determine if I need my jacket and gloves. I don't have any longer leggings for running (yet), but it seems that if I keep my upper body warm then the movement of the legs can go to keeping the legs warm.

The long run was a disaster. I only managed 6 miles in 80 minutes instead of 15 miles. Its normal for me to have a bit of a headache when I go out for the run because I don't drink coffee on the weekends, however, it normally clears up after a mile or two. This time the further I went the worse the headache got. Throw in some stomach issues and it just got unbearable for me. So instead of sticking it out I just went home and rested. I then told myself that I would go out Sunday and do the remaining 10 miles (I figured I could go back to 16 since it was split over two days). Sunday came and my knees just hurt too much.

With only 6 weeks remaining, I'm seriously starting to question my ability to go the distance. According to the training plan the long runs remaining are 16, 18, 18, 9, and 8 (the last two are for tapering). Given that I've now only done 13 miles I wonder if I will be able to do those few remaining long ones and if I do - will they be enough? The only light of hope remaining is that the time cutoff for the marathon is 7 hours which is a 16:02 pace - that is entirely walkable. So, worst case, I could just do a fast walk for the entire thing. I know the only goal should be to finish the race and not worry about time, but part of me still feels like if I don't finish under 6 hours (a common cutoff for other races) then I've failed since I've done little more than walking.

Next Week
5, 8, 5, 16
Once again I'm going to modify it down to not include the first short run - my knees just can't handle it. For the rest, I'm going to try my best to do them all including the 16 miles. I will try to do the entire distance even if I need to walk a majority of it just to practice that as well.

Race Prep
With the race coming up quicker than I would like, I still have a number of details to work out.
1) I haven't reserved a hotel room or figured out parking day of. There are only about 2700 spaces for the 15,000 racers (between the 3 distances) and an unknown number of supporters & volunteers. I suppose I could get up really early and get there, but still no guarantee.
2) I don't know what I'm going to wear. According to their website, the typical high for the day is 60. However, last year it got in the 80s and humid so I really won't be able to tell since it could probably be anywhere between 40 and 80. Thus I need to prepare for both ends of the spectrum.
2.5) I need a snazzy saying to write on whatever shirt I'm going to wear. I originally thought "I run for cookies" but it was pointed out that my saying has been "I bike for cookies" so I should do something different for running. Feel free to suggest things.
3) At some point in the next couple weeks I need to swap out shoes for my new ones since they are reaching end of life and I want to have the next pair broken in in time.