I Like the Way it Hurts

Endurance is leaping around and dancing to Rihanna with one boy in your arms and the other hanging off your back on the Sunday afternoon of a weekend when you've run 38 miles at a sub-8 pace.

But that's alright because I like the way it hurts (love the song too).

Kids are a great source of cross training.  I'm just glad they didn't pay attention to some of the lyrics!!!

Saturday was a great run for me.  I've chanced upon a golden seam of running form and had decided beforehand that I was going to hit it hard, and I did.  I ran 8 miles by myself and then met up with everyone.  I didn't want to be anti-social, but I was also aware that I needed to be running at a faster pace than the group were going, so I took off by myself again.  My goal was to keep my average under an 8 minute mile, and I finished 22 miles at a 7:55 average, with a nice negative split thrown in for good measure.  If I kept that average for another 4.2 miles, that equates to a 3:27 marathon.

And I was still feeling frisky when I finished.  Very happy with that.

A nice hour of yoga Saturday night stretched me out nicely for another 16 miles on Sunday. 

So it's now Tuesday, and I did 10 miles at a 7:35 pace this morning.  I keep hitting these pace targets, and I credit that to the consistency of a written plan and the accountability that entails.  It all boils down to a simple matter of repetition and these pace targets are getting easier to hit.

I'm already at 48 miles for the week, and I think this is going to be my biggest mileage week for a long time.  I'm so glad that I signed up for White Rock because it's really given me the extra drive and focus that I needed to kickstart my running for Rocky Raccoon.

I haven't trained specifically for a goal marathon in years, and I'm looking forward to laying it out there in Dallas and seeing what happens.