Things have been pretty busy out here of late. Between work, marathon training, attending weddings, planning weddings, planning a honeymoon, visa stuff – there is just no time left over to blog. I will get around to replying to comments and catching up with my favorite bloggers – but probably not this weekend. Because at 4PM today I’m heading out to Portland, OR, where I’ll be spending 27ish hours in a van with five other stinky runners. Hood to Coast, baby!
Our team will be covering 198 miles from Mount Hood all the way to Seaside. I’m running 12, which means I start last (probably at about 6-7 PM tomorrow evening) but I do get to cross the line and finish for the entire team. I think my total distance is a little under 17 miles (divided into three legs) and it’ll be a nice break from my solo long runs. I haven’t done any specific training for HTC, I’m hoping that all my marathon mileage will carry over. I’m pretty psyched about the whole thing – it’s the original relay running race and Oregon is one of my favorite states – plus we get to hang out by the ocean and party once we’re done.
I’m almost two-thirds of the way through my marathon training plan – the race is 6 weeks from Sunday. Holy crap! But I’m finally starting to believe that I can run 26.2 miles. I did my longest run ever (18 miles) on Saturday morning and it went really well. I felt pretty comfortable the whole way around (even with 700+ ft of elevation gain – curse you Salt Lake and your unavoidable hills). By the end I was glad to be done but not completely wiped out. It was the first long run I’ve done where I’ve thought “I think I can run 26 miles”. Amazing feeling! I have two 20 milers left to do but everything else is 12 miles max and then a three week taper.
I also had a pretty good steady state run on Wednesday. I like to push my longer midweek runs to get a feel for running at a moderate pace. This was a little over 9 miles and felt pretty comfortable. This marathon thing might all be coming together.
Saturday: 18 miles at 8.53 min/mile
Sunday: 8.3 miles at 8.38 min/mile
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 5.35 miles at 9.15 min/mile
Wednesday: 9.25 miles at 7.50 min/mile
Thursday: 5.6 miles at 9.01 min/mile
August is on track to be my highest mileage month ever – and last week (at 44 miles) was my highest mileage week ever. Gotta love setting new records.
Enjoy your weekend!
irishrunnerchick 
I can’t wait to hear about your marathon…judging from your workouts, you’ll be totally set!!
Have fun at Hood to Coast!
Wow, way to run!! Awesome splits!! Great 18 miles!!
Can’t wait to hear all about the relay-sounds like a blast!
Hood to Coast sounds awesome, good luck!
Hood to Coast sounds fantastic! I’m jealous! I bet your marathon training is going to really pay off. You will be great.
Nicely done this week, and I’m glad you wrapped your brain around being able to complete the 26.2. That’s the hardest part. Enjoy your weekend!
Awesome job! You are going to be great at both HTC and the marathon. There is no question. And you get to finish HTC on your bday!
You are looking amazing! Great work with your training. Your running adventure sounds incredible. Can’t wait for a recap when you get a chance. You certainly have a ton on your plate!
That is sooo awesome! I have a group of friends from here running that!!! If you see the ‘minions’ tell them I said ‘hi’. (I don’t know all of them, but several) Soo coool!
HTC sounds great! Have fun!
Hope you’re having a great time out there! Can’t wait to hear about it.
Woo hoo!!! I hope you had a great weekend!!! I can’t wait to hear all about this. 😀