MTP Week 8 and 9 Overview...

So I had two amazing revelations at the end of each of my past two training weeks.

Revelation at the end of Week 8: In the course of the next 6 months (starting with the St. Paddy's Day 10K I ran at the end of this week), I will run 100 miles worth of races!

Revelation at the end of Week 9: I only have three more long run weekends, followed by two weekends of taper runs, until my marathon!

Week 8 Recap...

Monday: 3.0 miles in 28:42...nice easy run to work out my muscles after the extremely hilly 16.0 mile run I ran the previous Saturday.

Tuesday: Stretch/Rest

Wednesday: 5.5 miles in 51:09 with a 3.0 mile tempo run in the middle at 25:42...ran 1.0 mile to warm up, then did 3.0 miles at 8:34 pace (and felt great by the way), then finished the run with a 1.5 mile cool down.

Thursday: Stretch/Rest...ok, so I was supposed to run 4.0 miles at an easy pace, but Gonzaga was playing West Virginia in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament and, well, a girl has her priorities!!!  And seeing as how Gonzaga blew WV out of the water, it's clear to me I made the right decision.

Friday: Stretch/Rest

Saturday: St. Paddy's Day 10K Run in 54:20...got to downtown Tacoma to be greeted by a blast in the face of freezing cold rain (it was actually snowing in certain areas that morning) and all the wonderfully bright orange shirts of my fellow Fleet Feet HFMT (Half/Full Marathon Training) members...

...We lined up at the starting line, the gun went off, and away we went.  It was extremely cold, and we were soaking wet almost immediately, but it was so wonderful to be racing along and see other members in orange shirts working hard just like I was.  We cheered each other on when we saw each other along the course, which was just the motivation I needed to cross the finish line with a significant PR (personal record).  I got a second wonderful surprise when I went to the computer monitors by the finish line to look up my stats from the race...

...and realized I had placed 11th in my age group (females 25-29)!!!  Overall, it was a fantastic morning, and not a bad way to start my 6 months/100 miles of races!!!

Sunday: Stretch/Rest

Week 9 Recap:

Monday: 3.0 miles in 29:10...felt fantastic after the success at my race on Saturday!

Tuesday: Stretch/Rest

Wednesday: 6.5 miles total in 62:47 with 2 x 2.0 tempo miles in 17:08 and 17:22 respectively...felt ok during the first 2.0 miles, but I was pretty tired for the second 2.0 miles, and had to run it a couple seconds per mile slower.

Thursday: Stretch/Rest...was supposed to have an easy 3.0 mile run, but we had our first track meet of the season and it went extremely late, so I wasn't able to get my run in.

Friday: Stretch/Rest

Saturday: 17.0 miles in 2:49:28...this long run was a great one for me.  I was able to run with one of the other members from the training group, and not only did she and I keep each other motivated, but we kept each other going at an appropriate pace, averaging 9:58 per mile.  I started to get pretty stiff at around mile 15.0, but was still able to finish without walking at all.

Sunday: Stretch/Rest: A little sore today and my knees are in a bit of pain, but with the help of my friend, ibuprofin, I'll power through!

My training is starting to wind down, but never fear, I still have a couple weeks to go, and after my marathon, I'll still have 70ish miles of races to train for, so I'll still have lots of stories to share!

Are you training for any special races?