"Speedy" Gonzales

Welp, I'm 24 days from the OC Marathon...and tomorrow is going to be my LONGEST run of this training cycle, 20 miles! I'm nervous and excited to meet and beat the challenge.

I am thanking the Weather Gods...forecast for tomorrow:

For Phoenix in April, that's simply amazing. I might even get crazy and wear a t-shirt vs. a tank

So wild.

This is the first week of this training I have felt like all I do is run. And really, I don't. Not even close. My max mileage is 38 miles this week...which is nothing compared to "real runners". But for me, it's a lot...I'm happy I'm able to do it, and I'm actually getting excited for the actual race. After being injured and taking over 2 weeks off, slowly building my miles back up and being overly cautious to avoid irritating the injury, speedwork went by the wayside up until this week.

Man it felt good to run fast. (OK maybe not fast for some people, but for me, yes)

It was hard and I was really tired when I was done, but it felt glorious. I have been loosely following the SmartCoach plan from Runnersworld.com the last few weeks in an attempt to get my ass in gear (sorry Hal H. you are forever my #1 homey) and this speedwork sesh was new to me.

Tuesday - Speedwork

Dist: 6 miles
Warm; 1 mile
3x1600 in 7:59 w/800 jogs
Cool; 1 mile

My 6 mile easy run on Wednesday was anything but....my legs really felt this little challenge, they were heavy and I was literally dragging ass. But like they say "you gotta run fast to get fast". After the OC I plan on incorporating a speedwork back in on a regular basis and working on my 1/2 marathon PR.

I'll be pounding water today, eating bland and taking the day off of exercise to prep for tomorrow's 20 miler. This is my professional plan to avoid shitting my pants. Classy.

Wish me luck!