Training has gone pretty well. I ran a couple of 16-milers, an 18, and a 20. I finished the 18 and 20 strong with my fastest miles in the last three miles. I have finally figured out the KEY to the long run is to start out really slow. And stay slow. Then finish strong.
In fact, that sounds like a pretty darn good marathon strategy! I am NOT looking for a PR. I would love to beat my times in my last two or three marathons, but we shall see.
My former speed (what little there was) has not recovered from my adrenal fatigue/getting old or whatever happened last fall. That's ok though. I've really rediscovered a love for road running that I didn't see coming back. On trails lately, I prefer to hike, mainly because of a good friend and my husband both severely injuring themselves during trail runs this fall/winter. Maybe I'm angry at trail running? Scared of injuring myself? I don't know, but I feel like I could hike for days and days. (Maybe I need to sign up for a 48-hour event on a beautiful trail and just hike until I drop??)
I'm also recently newly obsessed with the Appalachian Trail. I'm not the thru-hiker type, but I wouldn't mind doing sections at times. In fact, I got to hike on it just a few weeks ago in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee! I also read Becoming Odyessa recently, the story of Jennifer Pharr Davis's first thru hike. Some gals and I are toying with a week-long AT hiking trip in the future.
Overall, I'm in a good place in my running world. Not everything is perfect, of course. There are always bumps in the road (first-world problems....). Another one of my dear friends (and running buddies) is moving away in two weeks. She makes the 4th friend/trail running buddy/road trip companion to have left in the past 11 months! They were all stay-at-home moms who could run during the day with me. I see many lonely solo miles in my future! I just prefer to run when the kids are at school, so I can be home with them in the evenings. Also, my knees finally rebelled against all of the road running. I noticed three weeks ago a catch in my left knee during my 20-miler. That grew into a dull and sometimes sharp ache. Runner's knee. Patellar tendonitis. I am backing off the runs for the next two weeks, and am just going to coast until the marathon. I'm doing other things to treat it: stretching, foam rolling, strength training. It'll be fine. Or it won't, and it'll hurt for 26.2 miles. I'll live. :-)
