Bring on Week Two!

Will I always be this excited about this marathon training? Like in week 12 or week 16? Maybe not. But so far, it hasn't been too bad! (Yes, I'm just finishing up Week One, but I'm a "the-glass-is-half-FULL" kind of gal.)

Week One ended with an 8-mile/5-mile training run. See, I needed to run 8 miles, but my half-marathon training group only needed 5. We were supposed to meet at the local winery at 7:00 a.m. for them to run 5 (or 6 if they were feeling frisky). This was their first long run as a group. So, I got there a little early and ran 1.5 miles. Then I ran 5 with the 17 folks who showed up. Actually, I wound up with 5.5 miles because I started with the leader and tried to work my way back to check on every runner, so I doubled up on the course a bit. (Then I worked my way forward again to see how people were doing.... Whew!) I ran my last mile alone after the runners headed home. I still didn't get to chat with every runner, but I tried! Seventeen is a big group!

My pace was here, there, and everywhere! I tried to match my pace to whomever I was running with at the moment. If a runner I happened to be running with walked, I walked, too. But then I'd try to catch the next runner ahead, so I'd find myself running at 9:30 pace for a few minutes, which isn't what I'm technically supposed to do on a long run.

I'll figure it all out. Eventually.

Body-wise, I've had some soreness this week--not from the gentle running, but from some over-zealous squats and lateral lunges on Monday. My hamstrings have never really bothered me, but this week, they've been tight and achy. They were feeling better until the hilly 8 miles with so many pace changes today. Hmmm. I'll have a complete rest day on Sunday (maybe some light stretching?) and an easy day on Monday. Maybe they'll be fine after that. Sure hope so!