More than Half Way

I officially have 6 weeks left in my training and I am $59 short of my goal. I'm excited because honestly, when I signed up, I thought, how in the world am I going to hit a $1300 goal, but through some very generous people, a yard sale and I like to think my blog had something to do with it, I am almost there.

This past week, I ran 9.4 miles which is my longest run to date. I did it in 1:38:31 which isn't a great time BUT thanks to Holly, the awesome trainer who put the run together for stoic runner (more on that later), we had to climb these horrendous steps which slowed me down AND I HAVE PROOF OF IT. One of my awesome christmas presents was a Garmin Forerunner 305

It is so awesome and I found out how it tracked my runs. As you know if you read previous blogs, I run 4 minutes on, walk 1 minute off when doing long runs. So as I looked through my information on my new years eve run, it showed each interval as a lap. I was averaging about a 9 minute mile when running and then my walk slowed me down, but that helped keep me at a 10 min mile pace throughout the 9.4 miles. The only time it was under a 9 min mile was when I was obviously climbing the steps, then it dipped down. I was so excited to see that my pace was steady throughout AND I could've done another lap. So, I have 6 weeks left but feel I am prepared to run 13.1 miles today. That is great! Yesterday, I did my tempo workout which was 7 minutes on, 5 minutes off. During that 7 minutes, I averaged a 9 min mile which was really good since the time was extended to 7 minutes. I start to slow down the longer the interval is. I know that I'm not a super fast runner, but what I am excited about is the fact that I have been fairly consistent in the 10 minute mile pace as I increase distance which is key. My goal for the race is to finish in under 2:20 and to be able to walk afterwards, because last time, I was not. I have made it this far in training injury free, and I'm improving significantly. Yay!!

My biggest issue I have right now is staying hydrated. I'm not as motivated to drink water since it's cold outside, but I can absolutely tell a difference in my run when i'm hydrated and when I'm not. So, over the next 6 weeks, my focus is nutrition, staying hydrated, staying flexible through yoga and stretching and continuing to follow my training plan. Holly even sent me a 20 week marathon training plan which I plan on starting after I finish my half and rest. I signed up for the NYC lottery but if I don't get it, I'm going to find another one. I know with the training I've been doing that I can definitely go the distance.

I want to especially thank Brian and Jeanne Boughner because 1) they've donated a lot to my Cancer fund which I appreciate, 2) in addition to supporting me financially, they've also supported me with their time. Jeanne helped me with my yard sale and so did my mom, Terrie Walker, my aunt, Pennie Huggins, and my grandmother Dee Huggins. Without those 4 people, I wouldn't have been able to do it and 3) because of their words of encouragement. Brian and Jeanne have helped me with getting mentally prepared for running, they've helped me when I've gotten discouraged, all of those things. So I am grateful to have them as friends

I also want to thank my family, mom, Aunt Pennie and Grandmama for helping me with the yard sale. It was a lot of work and I really needed them to help me put it together.

Lastly, I want to thank Holly Di Giovine for providing me with words of encouragement, an oustanding training plan, and advice on staying injury free. She's a great trainer and although she's away now, serving her country, she'll be back. You can visit her website, http://www.stoicrunner.com/, a place for people to start running. She has another one as well and all of her information is on the website above.