Tag: Akron Marathon

Akron Marathon Training: Week Five

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I think I go along with everyone when I say that the rain was putting a damper on my running. After 16 straight days of rain, I was so glad to finally see the sun. This week, well, I think I’d enjoy a few rain showers. I took off Monday to recover from my long run. I was feeling good, but on Tuesday my legs were a little tight. I tried to sneak my run in between the storms, but got caught in the rain not even a half mile in. It helped cut the humidity and felt good to cool off while running.

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Post rainy run

Wednesday was a completely different story. After a huge line of storms came in and about 50 text alerts, flooding became my biggest issue. We were hit hard and many streets, yard and houses were flooded. My little township of Montville was even featured on the news with how bad the flooding was, including some of the streets I ran last weekend, which had two feet of standing water on them. Luckily our home was bone dry, but unfortunately many of our neighbors weren’t so lucky. I knew I wanted to do some hills, but finding some dry land was a challenge. I lucked out and found a smallish hill and decided on 10 repeats. They went quick and I was feeling good. The hill was just big enough that I could feel myself slowing down by number 8. I felt really good working on some hills, but not so much on my warm up and cool down, something I need to work on.

Lake Medina parking lot with a few feet of water

Lake Medina parking lot with a few feet of water

 

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: 3.25 Miles, .75  Mile w/u, 10 hill repeats, .5 Mile c/d

Thursday: Off

Friday: Off

Saturday: 16 Miles

Sunday: Off

Total Miles: 21.25 Miles

Saturday, long run day, was quite the experience. I’m going to go ahead and let you know now that it was a great run. I originally sent out an invite to MCRR inviting anyone to join me for 16 miles. When no one showed up Saturday morning, I was a little bummed out, but now, I’m glad I had another solo long run. I mapped out a new route that included some challenging hills and some roads I’ve never been on. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I figured it was better than doing my old route over and over from last year. I started through some expensive homes that back up against Lake Medina. The views of the lake are worth the pain of a steady incline for a few miles. I then headed out to some country roads with some beautiful rolling hills. I was feeling really good, consistently hydrating, taking my salt tabs and eating my sport beans. The downside to being so far out of town, is that there are no sidewalks, so I had to hug the white line a few times after cars wouldn’t move over.

I started to head back in town around mile 8 and attempted to take a Gu. I took two bites of the peanut butter flavor and had enough. I knew it wouldn’t sit well if I kept eating it. I was also at the point that I needed to refill my water so I stopped at Dunkin Donuts. Seeing all those donuts, I immediately regretting not sticking around for a while, but I had to keep running. For the next two miles I had sidewalks, but that also meant I was stop and go at stop lights. I liked being able to stretch, but I hated that once I found a good pace, I was stopping again. Around mile 10, I had made it to the square. The farmers market was out, which was also tempting to stop for, but instead I stretched in the grass for a few minutes and planned out my last 6 miles. I had originally found a loop that would bring me to 16 at my door, but at this point, my legs were starting to ache and I wanted to be closer to home. It was also part of my dreaded long run route from last year, which would be mentally tough to run. I took the back road out of town and followed it until I came upon a cross roads. I had 4 miles left, I could either head out and loop back home or I could cut down the development and create a few out and backs to hit my mileage. I decided on the longer loop. The more I did now, the less I’d have to do once I was home. It was also at this point that I realized I only had 4 miles to go, something so easy, and short! I suddenly had  some energy and was picking up  my pace.

I found myself on some of the flooded streets from Wednesday, the sun was out, debris was scattered and they smelled so terribly bad. It took everything in me not to gag, but I kept going. I was heading back  uphill towards home and noticed I’d still be short so I did an out and back into the first development I ran. I was at 14.5 miles and my body was now hurting. I was tired, my legs were sore and I was getting pretty hot. I was out of water and knew that the only thing between me and 16 miles was a nice gradual hill. I gave it everything I had, turned the corner and followed my street. I hit my doorstep at 15.30. I knew I had to hit 16, so I chugged some cold water and slowly jogged around my neighborhood. My Garmin beeped, and I was done. Best 16 miles to date.

Hills for breakfast

Hills for breakfast

I honestly felt great for 14.5 miles of this run. I kept a decent pace, never going over 10:25 and sometimes saw myself down at 9:40. I powered up those hills like I was on the heel of a PR and never once thought of walking them. Most importantly, never once did I wish I was back in bed instead of running. Ok, well, maybe the first few minutes, but I loved that run, and I can’t remember a run were I’ve felt so solid for so long. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d actually be able to train for a marathon, mentally or physically. And I’m sure some readers doubted I’d actually stick with my plan or get my long runs in. It feels good to see what I’ve done in five weeks, and even better to imagine what I can do in the next eleven.

This next week I have a 10k that I’ll combine with my 18 miles for Saturday. Does anyone know how to race a 10k, cause I sure don’t.

What I Learned:

  • Hills are so empowering. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. My elevation change for this run was 828 feet. It may not seem like a lot, but I know it’s making things that much easier come race day.
  • Even though I’m only running three days a week, I think it’s best for me. My body is feeling good and I’m staying injury free. I’ve debated adding a fourth day, but think I’ll just play it by ear.
  • I’m having less headaches than I used to, and I’m thinking it might be from all the running I’m doing. If not, it’s still nice to have a few weeks away from migraines.
  • I’m not a huge fan of warm ups and cool downs, this needs to change. Besides, it’s only a mile each time, it should be easy!
  • I miss yoga. Last week was the holiday and this week I had plans, so I haven’t been in two weeks. I’m so excited to get back to it this coming week.

Did your runs get rained out this week? Do you prefer running on sidewalks or the edge of the road?

Akron Marathon Training: Week Four

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This week didn’t start off so great, but it finished exactly where I  needed to be. Tuesday’s run was short and rough. I had a hard time breathing from the humidity and felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. Still a little nervous about running two days in a row, I moved my tempo run to Thursday and ran the Twin Sizzler 5k. I’ll post more on the race later this week, but it was quite humid by 7:30 and made for an interesting race.

I had hopes of running with MCRR on Friday, but with a lack of sleep, I knew I needed to let myself get some rest. With a busy weekend and even more lack of sleep, I pushed my long run to Sunday morning. I knew that I had 14 on the schedule, but decided I’d be satisfied with 12  because I only hit 10 in my last long run. Last year I  made the  mistake of doing the same route for all my long runs, this year I wanted to mix things up so I set out for some back roads hoping to find some peace in the country. I also didn’t want to have a repeat of the dehydration issue so I set up a game plan of staying hydrated and full of energy.

  • Drink water at every mile marker
  • Take a few sport beans every 4 miles
  • Take Gu around mile 6
  • Take salt tabs once every hour

I started out easy and kept my pace around 10:15-10:30. It felt slow, but I knew I’d need the energy later on as the miles went on. It wasn’t too humid yet, and the sun kept hiding behind clouds about every other mile, not bad for an 8am run. I had some rolling hills, but was enjoying my time out on the back roads. I also knew I had a huge hill coming up, so I tried to relax as much as I could.

So much peace

So much peace

I really do enjoy moments like this, with no cars, no other people, and just the pure beauty of the land.

About a mile later I had found my “heartbreak” hill. From 963 ft to 1037 ft in less than a quarter of a mile, followed by an additional 50 foot elevation gradual change over the next half mile. It  may  not sound like monster, but my legs were hurting pretty bad when I got to the top. Fortunately I felt strong and never once thought about giving up on that hill. I continued on my way and started to have some heavy chest pains. I was at a point in my run where I could turn and go further from home, or I could make a slight change and stay within two miles of home. I decided to play it safe and stay closer to home. I quickly had to crunch some numbers and create a new route that would still get me over double digits without doing the same loop over and over. The pains went away and decided it was probably from the heat and my body was caught off guard by the hill.

I eventually figured out a plan and was getting close to 9 miles when I could feel my body starting to get sore. I was close enough to home that I could stop, refill my water bottle, stretch and head out for the remaining miles. And then I had my first incident with a car. Classic case of driver looks right at me, stops for a moment, and continues a right on red while I’m in the middle of her car. Luckily I had my eyes on her and moved out of the way at the last minute. *Drivers, please, please be cautious of runners, walkers, cyclists when turning right on red.

I made it home in once piece, but I could feel my hips and legs getting tight. I spent some time debating if I should continue my run or save the rest for later tonight. I only had 3-5 miles left, which at the point wasn’t much, but felt like it would have taken forever. After stretching, re-hydrating, snacking and mapping out what would be next, I headed to the lake for some softer ground. With an out and back on crushed gravel and grass, my legs felt so much better. By mile 12 I was feeling the pain and ready to get back home. After doing a few loops in my development I approached my front door with 14 miles for the day, my longest run since last October. It was tough, but I felt strong, and finally felt like I was really training for a marathon again.

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Twin Sizzler 5k

Friday: Off

Saturday:  Off

Sunday: 14 Miles

Total Miles: 19 Miles

This week had it’s ups and downs, but I survived. I’ve got another long run this weekend, and I’m actually looking forward to it. I also have another tempo run that I may turn into hill repeats. Because hills, actually aren’t that bad!

What I learned:

  • Long runs are all about pacing. In the beginning I always feel slow, but the pace will eventually work itself out in the last miles.
  • Staying hydrated is key. I felt so much better using salt tabs this week.
  • Hills make or break a run. When you feel strong on the hills, you feel stronger about your run.
  • Always be cautious of your surroundings. Drivers, animals, pedestrians or cyclist may be in their own zone and not see you. When you lose touch of everything outside you’re run, that’s when you get hurt.

How was your holiday weekend? Have you ever had an incidents with cars while running?

Akron Marathon Training: Week Three

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Well, this week was interesting and low on miles. Going in, I knew I wouldn’t have much time to run this week. And getting a long run in over the weekend would  be next to impossible. The lack of miles wasn’t for a bad reason, but for a wonderful one. Darren’s little sister got married and so instead of running the rolling hills all weekend, we were running all over to  make sure everything was perfect for her big day. I’m pretty sure I got a good workout in from dancing though, so that counts, right?

Such a beautiful bride, and worth skipping a run to celebrate!

Such a beautiful bride, and worth skipping a run to celebrate!

Anyway, the two days I did run were great. I ran Monday with Elayna at Mastick. Mastick has always been one of my favorite places to run, and with the heat, it was the perfect place to stay in the shade. Tuesday was an intended day off and Wednesday was supposed to be my tempo day, but with some many things to do before we left for the weekend, it turned into a second day off. This left me with the option of running Thursday morning or Thursday evening before driving 2 hours South. So Thursday evening I decided to challenge myself and run my tempo run on the hills, and what a challenge it was. Hills can be tough in general, but trying to keep the same pace, both uphill and downhill for 5 miles straight is hard. Add in the humidity and it made for one of my hardest workouts yet.

Hills anyone?

Hills anyone?

Monday: 4 Miles

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Tempo-5, 9:34, 9:51, 9:36, 9:18, 9:29

Friday: Off

Saturday: Off

Sunday: Off

Total Miles: 9 Miles

I’m really looking forward to this week, not only is it a 3 day week followed by a 4 day weekend, but it’s race week and long run week! The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, so naturally I will be rocking the ProCompression 4th of July socks on Thursday at an early morning 5k. I also have 4 days to get my long run in, which leaves me with plenty of time to enjoy the long weekend.

What I learned:

  • Life happens. Sometimes things get in the way of running. I knew ahead of time this would be a low mileage week, so I planned ahead. You’re not always able to get in every run, but that’s life.
  • Tempo runs are still hard, I’m doing better at pacing, but I should be hitting my splits closer together. This is something I still need to work out.
  • Hills aren’t bad. A year ago, I despised hills, now I enjoy running them. Any time I can power up the hill and still feel good at the top I know I’m getting stronger. The more I do now, the easier they’ll be come race day.

Are you running a race on 4th of July? How do you celebrate the holiday?

Akron Marathon Training: Week Two

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Week two of marathon training is complete and it was a much better week. Last week was a shock to my body by adding so much mileage, this week I think I handled it much better. I started the week with an easy 4 miler. I’ve started doing out and backs with my smaller runs to keep things simple and to see how much my pace changes. This route included rolling hills, but I somehow managed to negative split each mile. Talk about improvement.

I followed up my awesome run with some speed on Wednesday. It’s been quite some time since I spent some real quality time on the track so I was curious with how my mile repeats would go. I was supposed to hit my miles around 9:09. I knew I could get at least one down to that time, but wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do all three. I started my on my first lap and noticed I was at 7:42. (Ummm,  hello, you can’t go that fast!) I quickly started to slow my pace and reminded myself that this wasn’t a race. Apparently I didn’t do that good of job because my first mile was 8:22. My second mile was a little slower at 8:33 and I could feel some of that good sprinting pain in my legs. I didn’t think I could go any faster for my last one, but gave it a shot and tried to go as fast as I could. Third mile, 8:18. Good to see I’ve still got it.

Thursday was my normal yoga class and Sunday was my long run. I got up at 6:45 and was out the door by 7:30. I had hoped this was early enough to avoid some heat, but unfortunately the humidity was thick. I started off feeling pretty good and kept myself around a 10:00 pace. The heat was getting worse and I could feel myself sweating more than I was taking in fluids. I had some Sport Beans at mile 4 and felt pretty good after that. I started cramping at mile 6, but focused on my breathing and got rid of them quickly. At this point my water was hot and running low so I stopped at Starbucks to fill up and take advantage of some AC. I got back on the roads, headed towards home and was straight in the line of full on sun. Without any shade I started to struggle. I slowly made my way up one hill, but walked up the steeper one. Luckily at the top there was a bike path in the woods. I ducked inside and tried to stretch out and cool down. I was at mile 8, and only had 2-4 miles left to go. My body made the decision for me when it decided I was way too dehydrated. I wasn’t sure if I was going to pass out, get sick, or worse. I almost got out my phone to call home, but remembered there was a porta potty about 400 feet up ahead at the intersection. My goal was to get there and then decided what to do. I started to run again, and eventually got myself under control, passing up on the porta potty. I slowed my pace down a lot and kept drinking water, stopping to stretch and catch my breath whenever I needed it. I somehow made it home right as  my Garmin beeped for the 10 mile mark. No way I could do another two in the heat, so I called it a day.

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: Speed- 4.5 Miles ( W/U, 3×1600-8:22, 8:33, 8:18, C/D)

Thursday: Yoga

Friday: Off

Saturday: Off

Sunday: 10 Miles

Total Miles: 18.5 Miles

I followed the rule and didn’t add too much more mileage this week. I felt good for most of my runs and I know I gave it all I had. This next week is supposed to be my 14 miler. However, I’ll be out of town for a wedding Friday-Sunday so I’m switching my long run with next week’s easy 6 miler. It’s still early in the training cycle, that switching a weekend shouldn’t be a big issue. Plus, I knew this would happen at least twice, so I’ve made sure to move things around where I can still fit everything in.

 

What I learned:

  • I need to hydrate better on my long runs.  I’m always so fearful for the sloshy belly, but in this heat, it’s necessary. I’ve even thought of running with my Camel Back because I feel like I’m running through the desert. I’m not? Oh, alright then..
  • Running at 7:30am isn’t early enough. Last year I was fortunate enough to do my long runs along Lake Erie, with a breeze. This year, there is no breeze and all heat. Either I run earlier or I head indoors.
  • I can definitely see an improvement with yoga. Not only am I doing better in class, but it’s helping me to calm my breathing during my runs. I may or may not be addicted to yoga now.
  • Sometimes I miss track. I never thought I would, but now I get excited for my track workouts. Favorite track workout? 200’s! Can’t wait for those!

How are you dealing with the heat? What’s the earliest you’ve gotten up to run a training run?

Akron Marathon Training: Week One

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Week one is officially in the books, and I’m still a little surprised that I’m training for another marathon. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect this week considering my mileage has been pretty low going into training. I figured I’d give it all I had and see what I could do. Monday’s easy 4 was just that. I ran a familiar out and back and included a half mile incline on my way back in. I felt strong and it was the perfect run to kick off training.

Wednesday’s tempo run was a bit challenging. To make sure I kept my pace even, I headed to the track. Unfortunately, once I started to run, I had the instant feeling that I needed to go fast. I was supposed to stay at 9:49, but didn’t even come close. To bring my pace down, I decided to head for the streets. I was still going pretty quick until I got lost, and then suddenly my pace dropped as I crept around trying to find my way back to the main road. I finally made my way back and finished up on the track, still under the 9:49 pace. These tempo runs will be one of the harder things during this training cycle, because I’m horrible at pacing. But I know how important they are, and hopefully one day I’ll figure them out.

I followed up my tempo run with Yoga on Thursday, with a focus on legs. I could feel my muscles burning and left knowing I had a good workout. My long run was tricky this weekend. I had a bachelorette party to attend Saturday night, so I knew if I ran that morning, I’d never stay awake. I had thought about running Friday night, but after a long work week I found myself on the couch with a glass of wine. I pushed the run to Sunday and looking back, it wasn’t the smartest idea. I was extremely tired and thirsty, but still met up with a friend to run the first three miles. They were slow and we both struggled. It was about 83 degrees and the worst time of day to run. I knew that this run wouldn’t be easy. I finished up the last part on my own and thought running the additional seven wouldn’t seem as daunting. Not even a mile in I was sweating more than I ever thought I could. The miles continued and I kept feeling worse. By the time I made it to mile 5, I knew I couldn’t do that much more. I made my way back home and felt extremely disappointed in myself.

Monday: 4 Miles

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Tempo Run-6 Miles, 9:00, 9:39, 9:22, 10:45, 9:28, 9:18

Thursday: Yoga

Friday: Off

Saturday: Off

Sunday: 6.5 Miles

Total Miles: 16.5 Miles

So in review, the first half of the week was great. I hit all my miles and I kept a decent pace. The second half of the week, not so much. Just for fun I looked back at the past few weeks of my runs to see how I compared. I actually ran more miles this week than the last two combined. It’s not saying much, but I think my body took a toll from amping up my mileage. I’ll need to take a look at these first few weeks and possibly cut back on the weekday mileage if I want to last for my long run. Also, I don’t recommend saving your long run for Sunday night, especially the day after a bachelorette party.

This next week brings my first speed workout, which I am actually really excited for. I’ll also have a normal weekend so I can get my long run done at a normal time.

What I learned:

  • Don’t go overboard on mileage if you’re not ready. I went from running 6-8 miles a week to over 16. The increase is way too much and can cause injury. There’s not point in pushing myself to the high mileage so quickly if I can’t benefit from the workouts.
  • Stay hydrated! I’ve been really good about staying hydrating during the week. This weekend, I failed miserably. The weather is finally staying in the 80’s so staying hydrated is key!
  • Tempo runs are challenging, but the feeling after finishing them is awesome!

Have you recently started a training cycle? What are your tips?

And so it begins….

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It’s here again, and it came a lot sooner than I had originally planned. In just 16 weeks, I’ll be running my second marathon, something I didn’t think I’d do until 2014. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided I wanted to give it another shot this year. Today marks the first day in a 109 day journey. I know what to expect this time around, and I know what to change. I’m looking forward to seeing how I can improve and what else I can learn from this challenging distance. I’ve come up with some important training goals for this round.

1. Follow the plan. I want to drop some major time off the marathon and PR, so I need to follow my training plan exactly. I can’t skip on the long runs or the track workouts. Plus, I want to show up at the starting line with no regrets.

2. Eat Healthier. If it weren’t for running, I’d probably gain 50lbs easily with all the junk food I put in my body. I definitely need to cut this out and start eating more fruits and veggies. The better I eat, the better I’ll feel and the better my running will  be.

3. Cross train. I really can’t remind myself enough about this. I fully believe I managed to stay injury free this year based on the fact that I cross trained. I can tell yoga is helping, but I need more personal time with the weights and the bike.

4. Listen to my body. So important. My body will let me know exactly how training is going and I need to listen to it and not ignore it. If I don’t listen to it, I could end up injured, something I don’t want this time around.

5. Run with friends. One perk of joining a run club is that I have access to group runs. I can’t make them during the week due to my work schedule, but weekends will be open to joining the group for some long runs. This is something I definitely want to take advantage of.

6. Plan ahead. Planning my routes for the week will make it easier to just get out there and run. There will definitely be days that I’ll want to lounge on the couch, but if I have a set plan, I’ll be less likely to back out. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll plan a few weekday morning runs when it gets too hot.

7. Switch it up. I usually run the same routes over and over and over again. I burn myself out by doing this. I want to mix up my routes and find new ones. Hopefully this will keep  me motivated, especially on the long runs.

Alright, so there are a few of my goals. The only one missing is my goal time, which will eventually show up as we get closer to race day.

463.2 Miles

463.2 miles of training

Only 109 days to go….

One Hill of a Time

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Better late than never, but here’s my recap of Akron. This past weekend I spent time with some amazing Muskie ladies. Friday after work I headed down to Akron to meet up with Team Muskies, Party of 5. We explored the expo, I even made it through without opening my wallet. Score! We even got a picture with our “M” flag.

After the expo, we headed up to Bravo! for some pre race pasta binge. I’ve never been to Bravo, but it has been added to my list of top restaurants. The next thing on our to do list was our team meeting, our captain Kimi did a wonderful job getting things ready and organizing everything! We set our alarms for 4:30 am, which came quick and we were out the door by 5:00 am ready to go.

Our goal was to finish by 11:00, giving ourselves 4 hours to do the full marathon. Kimi had the first leg, and she did great. I almost missed her because she was ahead of her projected time, way to go! I had the second leg, 5.7 miles. It was such an odd feeling jumping in after t he race started. Some runners already looked beat, so I was a little nervous for what I had ahead of me. I also found it hard to figure out my pace, just not knowing where I was or the pace of the fellow runners around me through me off.

I felt good, and my knee wasn’t too sore, but my legs were a little tired from racing for the past two weekends. I also noticed that there were many hills. Hills that I don’t train on. My guess, 90% uphill. But it was good to train on, and I finished in under my projected time! I passed my wrist ban off to Jessica, and met up with Kimi to race to the finish line.

While we were stationed at the 26 mile flag, Jessica, Jen and Molly were running their legs, bringing us to a solid victory. Our team did great, we all ran under our projected time, and finished at 3:54. A whole six minutes under our projected time! Go Muskies! We even had some pretty awesome race gear to make us run super fast!

Black and Magenta

Akron was a great experience, I met some amazing ladies who share the Muskie bond, and now share the Akron Relay experience. They also persuaded me into wanting to run……a marathon. Yes, its official, but not this year. That’s a story for another day.

Akron, Are you ready for some Muskies?

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Saturday will be race weekend number three in a row. This one is a little different though. Saturday is the Akron Marathon, but I’ll be running the relay race with four other Muskie Alums. I’m really excited about this because the last time I ran a relay was in college, when I ran the 4 x mile relay. This will be a little different, and just a bit longer. I’ll be running the second leg, 5.7 miles, and apparently it’s the hilliest…why didn’t someone warn me, hills aren’t my friends!

I originally wanted to run Akron as a half, but when I asked for advice on if this was a good race to run, I was easily persuaded to join a relay team that consisted of some Muskie ladies, Kimi, Molly, Jen, and Jessica. Our team, MC Party of 5, is honoring the old name of Muskingum College, now known as Muskingum University. What makes this even more exciting is that being the youngest of the group, I’ve never actually met any of these Muskies except for Molly, who I briefly met at the Cleveland Marathon Expo. They all graduated before I started, so I’m definitely the baby of the group. But the great thing about a Muskie, is that when you find a fellow alum, you instantly have that special connection. It should be a good weekend and I hoping to learn more about everyone…GO MUSKIES!!!

What’s Next?

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Now that I’ve started my fall races, it’s good to see what I have coming up so I can mentally prepare myself. Crazy, but after this past weekend’s half, I was considering doing the Sandy Ridge Half Marathon. I love the feeling after I finish a race, so yes this idea came up the day of the River Run. The reason I like the Sandy Ridge Half is because it’s close, but it also passes the house I grew up in. I remember watching runners go by for many years in this race. Plus I’d have a great cheering section from my parents. The decision is still undecided, but I have until Friday so I’ll see how this week goes.

In less than two weeks I’ll be doing the Akron Marathon Relay with some fellow Muskies! I’m sure you’ve seen a few of their posts about this race, don’t worry, mine will be coming up soon. I’m excited for this, it brings back memories of the mile relay, except the distance is a little longer, and apparently has more hills.

Then less than five weeks from now I’ll have to Columbus Half Marathon. I’m really looking forward to this once because I feel the River Run gave me some training so I’ll be more prepared. And I plan on doing some harder training before then as well.

After that I’ll be done for the year, unless anyone knows of any other races that I must sign up for. I’ll be getting ready for 2012 races: four half marathons!

And the question that I keep getting, now that I’ve done another half, am I intrigued by a marathon? Nope, still no desire, but the utmost respect for all of you marathoners!