Week 19: He was right!

So it seems Chris was correct--things WERE back to normal this week. We had sore muscles, a lack of desire to run in the early morning hours, and somehow the fortitude to run 12 miles when our longest previous run was only nine. It is weeks like this that convince me a large part of marathon training is mental; telling yourself you can do something, manage one more mile (or even half a mile), has as much to do with success as the conditioning of your muscles and lungs. I was quite tired at mile 10 of our long run, and I really could have stopped---but my mind wouldn't let me. I had to keep going until I collapsed or threw up. Neither of those things happened, so I kept on going.

I also have to mention how crucial the support of a partner can be, especially on those tough long runs. I was strangely up and ready to go Saturday morning, while Chris slept on; I felt terrible waking him but wanted to beat the heat. He told me that I kept him going in those early sleepy miles, but I was extremely thankful for his support on those final few miles. His wonderful words of encouragement only solidified my own desire to finish strong (ie, still jogging and not crawling)!

Weekly stats:

Tue 8/7       3.05 miles in 30:05  (Chris had to miss this one due to a long workday. I went out midday and luckily the weather was nice!)

Wed 8/8     6.02 miles in 1:04:25  (we hit the trails and finished in the dark)

Thu 8/9      1.40 miles in 15:00  (we headed out late and got caught in a heavy thunderstorm--we were supposed to run 3 miles this day)

Sat 8/11     12.1 miles in 2:14:18  (a nice run on the Baltimore/Annapolis rail trail)

Total miles:  22.57

Thanks for reading!