Just Running....

On Monday evening, I was thrilled that everyone in the half-marathon program actually came back! And they even had to start paying their $5 a week this time. We talked about safety issues for runners and then had a hilly two-mile run. We went up a GINORMOUS hill toward the end. It is the kind of hill in which you at least THINK about walking, but I kept telling myself DO NOT WALK IN FRONT OF YOUR TRAINING GROUP! You know, if the coach can't make it up the hill without walking, something is wrong....

As for marathon training, this week is pretty light with 2, 4, 2, 4, and 9 miles. The first three runs are knocked out! I'm adjusting to running 5 days a week instead of 3 or 4. It's nice that running is a part of my life every day, as opposed to just a few times a week. I like having it as a regular habit--like eating breakfast or brushing my teeth. Hopefully, it will become second nature.

I have to admit I cheated on my run a little bit today. All my runs are supposed to be at an easy, conversational pace, but I have a 5K in 3 weeks. So, on my two-miler, I threw in a couple of 400's at 5K race pace. Couldn't help it. And WOW. 5K pace felt really, really hard. Uh-oh.

I will probably throw in a few 400's or 800's each week until the 5K. I may also experiment with ending my long runs on Saturdays with a couple of miles at half-marathon goal pace. I think as long as 95% of my running is at the easy pace during this base-building phase of training, it'll be ok.