They Can't All Be Good...

I've had my share of ups and downs with my training  - the humidity that killed me all summer and made me cry more than once, the GREAT 20 miler in Central Park, that other great 20 miler, some short and fast tempo runs....luckily the bad didn't outweigh the good and I can keep a positive attitude when I just can't get it together, or else, you know, I would have had to kill people :)

Sunday I ran the NYRR 18 Mile Tune-Up race in CP.  This is a tough course - 3 loops which include the northern hills of the park.  Luckily I only had to run 13 miles which meant 2 loops/not as many hills, even though I LOVE hills, my legs needed a break.

Running in the park is always such a great experience, it has been a boost to my training and because I maybe only head in once a month or so I'm not too bored of it yet. There is always something new to see and people to meet... I met a bunch of guys from Racing for Recovery which was pretty awesome, I hung with them for maybe 3 miles chatting, eavesdropping and just having fun.  I don't normally listen to music on my long runs, especially runs in the city since there is always so much going on, so hanging with them was a nice bonus to help break up the miles.

I felt AMAZING.  Like so good it was a little cray.   I have to go back and look, but I believe my average pace was 9:45 (or 50)  and my splits were pretty even!  This was yet another boost I needed to mentally get me in the game for Chicago.  I'm still not sure if I will make my 4:30 goal, but I feel confident that I will PR.

Ok, so that was the good...

Now for the not so good...

Last night I met some of the new girls for a 6 miler.  I ran a mile beforehand and started to feel a little woozy, not terrible just not great.  I probably should have eaten a little something before I left but didn't even think to since I had a lot to eat during the day.  Thankfully they wanted to take it easy so we went super slow, but man, that 10:20 pace felt hard, nothing like my fast 5 the day before or my long run on Sunday.

I was happy to get through it, and I'm not going to dwell on it, it's just another training run under my belt.  Good or bad, it's miles in the bank and a bad run during training does not equal a bad run on the big day (that's been my motto and I'm sticking with it!!). But man, it sucked!

I'm leaving it in the past and I'm going to focus on quality for the rest of the week.  Tonight I'm at the gym for "World Champion Workout" led by one of our champion weight lifter instructors.  I signed up for the series and I'm pretty excited for it!  The first class was set up like a circuit and KILLED my legs, looking forward to what she has in store for us tonight.  Tomorrow if I do anything will be either yoga or an easy spin class.  Sat is my last long run before the marathon (8 miles), then Sun I'm running the Tunnels to Towers.  Lots going on, but I have to mindful of my legs, I am technically in taper mode...

10 more days!!!!