Peanut Butter and 5Ks

Random lunch share. This is my attempt at being healthy for the day. I know the proper food ratio would include more broccoli, but this is all I had left. Quinoa + chicken with Peri Peri sauce + broccoli

84 days until the marathon. I’ve got this.

I love Forest Park. So much green and so close to the city. 6.4 miles at a slow pace. I just joined a new gym and did all the classes this week. I like workout classes where you feel it three days later, and damn do I feel it. This is going to help my marathon training a lot though. The classes are a mix of treadmill and weights/bodyweight exercises. Ow.

4.0 miles this morning and 400 miles on these bad boys. My feet are slowly starting to peak out, just noticed that this morning. Maybe I should buy a new pair. Maybe I'll even try a new sneaker.... But probably not.

Didn't move for another 20 minutes or so. 12 Mile Marathon Training Run that was far too warm and, when combined with the Springsteen concert the night before, maybe not the best idea. Paced just under 11 min miles, which was better than I expected. Only fully stopped once, and that was to watch the first men's finisher fly by to the finish line (5 min miles!).

Look I’m wearing shorts! 5" inseam means no chafing. I have been searching forever for shorts that I can run in that aren’t obscenely expensive. These are from REI and I have been wearing them for too many of my workouts and definitely need to get a few more pairs. Highly recommend them. 2.5 miles at 9:50 pace!

6 miles of a morning run before the rain. I've been running, bits and pieces. I wasn't posting because I wasn't actually serious about it. But we're now 16 weeks out from the NYC marathon and it's getting real. Second marathon! Training feels easier, because I don't have to trek out to places to find hills, but at the same time more monotonous. This will definitely be an interesting training season.

I did it!! And I actually finished, no DNF for me. There's were only like 30 people after me, but it doesn't matter. I didn't stop and I climbed all the hills without falling to pieces. That was way more technical than I thought it would be. We ran up hills and ran down creeks. My knee was not pleased, but I mostly ignored it. 16:30 pace. Next year will be better.

Holy crap, it's finally here. I've been training for this race longer and more consistently than I have any other race and I'm still convinced I will DNF. If I do, I'll be totally okay with that. Boyfriend ran the 50k today and was absolutely amazing. One day, I hope to manage that. But for now, I'll just make sure I do everything I can to be as ready as possible for tomorrow.

Just a casual morning half marathon. As one does. But seriously, I'm very nervous about the North Face Endurance Challenge in TWO WEEKS! I wanted to make sure I could do the full half on relatively flat ground (500' vertical instead of 2k) at an acceptable pace. And I went way faster than I thought! I maintained just over a 10:30 pace for the first 10 miles before my knee and the crowds kicked in. Excited for another week of strength training before my final long run next weekend. I know I should taper, but I didn't run last week (85°on vacation, no thanks) so I need to. Almost there!

Didn't run this weekend, but did escape to the silence of the woods. Froze, but it was fabulous.

Unrelated, today was: 3.52 mi, 9:51 pace

This is only the second time I've gotten this badge! Good way to start the day. 3.41 miles, 9:36 pace.

North Face Endurance Challenge Training. 8.38 miles of gorgeous trail, mostly alone on the path. Beautiful day for a successful run. I have been very nervous about getting picked up by the DNF van from the Challenge, but given this pace, I should be fine. 6 more weeks.

Had an absolutely killer migraine this morning. One of the most painful I've had in ages, even after taking my medication. So that was not a good way to start my morning. But, powered through it and did 'the hill' that I hate by my mom's. 3 miles, 10:15 pace. Painful but done.

This is why I run.