26 Or Bust!

Saturday’s run was hard and a little disheartening. Before my injury, 11 miles was easy. Saturday, 14 made me feel like a truck ran over me. It was discouraging. Last night’s training however brought some hope that I will be able to get myself back in shape and running well again in time for the marathon.

Pacing was the focus of the night as we covered a four mile course. The goal was to keep each mile pace within a 10 – 15 second window. I ran with a girl I met on Saturday’s run who turned out to be a bit faster than me, but at a pace I could keep up with. We didn’t quite hit the goal of the run, but instead managed a negative split, which is the second half of your run being faster than the first. I was a little shocked when I looked at our split times of 9:19, 9:24, 8:50, and 8:39. The impressive part was that the last mile of the course was the hardest with a fairly long, steep hill. I didn’t feel like I was going faster that last leg of the run, but instead contributed my higher effort and heavier breathing to the hill.

To finish the workout and find I ran it better than I expected was a huge boost to my morale. I felt again as I had earlier in the season, that I was undertaking a challenge I could manage. On Saturday, I wasn’t so sure about myself or my decision to run this marathon. Today, the enthusiasm is back and I’m looking forward to this weekend’s long run. At least mentally, I’ll be ready for it.