"26.2 Mile Weekend"

Well it’s about three weeks into marathon training and the miles are rolling right along now!  This week started slow as my Sunday run was nearly 10 miles short of my average but I ended with a bang topping 10 miles per run on every day this week.   That totaled up last week over 50 miles again and I set myself up for another good week with Sunday mornings 16 mile long run with Bill and Shannon… let’s get more into that.

I woke up Sunday Morning with both ears clogged shut, sore throat and burning legs and hurting right foot.  Not exactly the combination I would have wanted for a 16 mile long run (my longest ever).    I’ve had a cold for the last week or so and not surprisingly the previous 4 days and 40 miles had taken its toll wearing me down.   Needless to say, going into the run I was a bit nervous, the fact it was once again down to zero with the wind chill added to my anxiety.  Once into the run the first 5 or 6 miles were not very fun as I still felt like crap and kept thinking of my foot.  Lucky for me, as it normally does, the run got better close to mile 7 as I let loose and stopped worrying so much.   We ran a new route heading west of town toward the industrial center and looping back hitting some new hills.  I was impressed with the nearly 1000 feet of elevation as the route didn’t seem so bad (until the end haha).    I finished the run feeling just awesome that I did it and feeling even more of an accomplishment knowing I did it in less than ideal conditions… I’ve said it time and time again but it’s on days like today when you don’t feel like getting out of bed that it’s so important to have running partners to keep you accountable and encourage you to hit your goals. 

Lastly, on a totally different note, my buddy Scott gave me a heads up on a great deal on a Xterra Wetsuit.   I’ve been shopping for a good triathlon wetsuit for months and I really struck gold with this one.  I got the Xterra Vector Pro, listed as the #1 wetsuit for ironman and ironman 70.3 events, it has great buoyancy and flexibility which will help keep a natural form; with the coupon code I got it for about 60% off ($260 savings)!!   I’ve been slowly accumulating my own tri gear over the last couple years, I’m advancing from Sprint to Olympic distance this year with the goal of doing the 70.3 ironman in 2015.   It will be nice to have my own gear to train with rather than having to worry about borrowing supplies as I did in the past.   Now I’m just waiting for Trek Fest in April to land my new road bike and I’m off to the races!