The Final 7

I'm down to seven weeks to race time and, as I mentioned in my last post, that means a revision to the training plan was in order.  I know it's only Tuesday but so far so good with abiding by the plan!  My long run on Sunday (7 miles) was a great lesson in my true speed abilities; read on.

By the time I made it to the gym on Sunday (no, I didn't feel like running in the rainy, cold weather), I had just over 1/2 hour before closing time.  I started as usual with a 1/4 mile walking warm-up and then broke into a 12-minute mile run.  I soon realized however that my usual speed for long runs wasn't going to allow me to finish before closing time.  So, with every mile I completed, I upped the speed on the treadmill and ended up running mile 6 and 7 at a 9.5-minute mile pace.  My mathematical skills served me well and I had enough time to finish my run, cool down, and stretch before the staff kicked me out.

Jen threw together a delicious salmon with rosemary and black olives dinner and we concluded the night with a small bowl of ice cream.  Yum.

Even though I upped my speed out of necessity, it clearly demonstrated that I do not have the speed constraints I believed I had when it comes to long runs.  Knowing that is a breath of fresh air.  Test yourself in the same way - see what you can do.  We all have false beliefs built up within and we often find comfort in these beliefs (it was, after all, much easier to run 7 miles at a steady 12-minute mile pace).  Do whatever you need to do to push past it.  Go to the gym right before they close next time and see what happens.

Reinvigoration

It's amazing how much the environment can effect your mood and interests.  This past week broke through my previous post's weather expectations - we were consistently in the 60's!  That made for some great nights at the dog park and a few refreshing outdoor runs.

Taking advantage of this reinvigoration, Jen and I refreshed our iTunes library/iPods with some new tracks and I recompiled my training plan.  Revised, final-seven-weeks version below.

Good news and bad news

Bad news:  Thus far I am failing at the blog....

Good news:  The weather was finally warm enough this weekend to push my long run (6 miles right now) out of the gym and into the fresh air.  Ahhhhh, it was wonderful.  Rain is expected this week but the temps should remain in the 50's.