2013 HOOD TO COAST RECAP, PART II

Scene from the party at the beach as the sun was setting on Saturday night.

The next few hours are a little blurry in my mind. I was getting pretty tired towards the end of my teams' second 'shift.' I hadn't slept at all and the sun was rising. Once Libbie was done we headed toward a sleeping village Dick's Sporting Goods had set up. They set up a bunch of tents in a field you could crash in to get some sleep... sounded really nice! Problem was, they were packing it up as we rolling in around 9am. Ummm, hello, a lot of Van Twos just finished their legs and would like to sleep now, what are you doing? Anyways, that was disappointing.

We then decided to head to the next major exchange, Exchange 30, where we would be starting our final legs. The drive there ended up taking almost two hours, during which time I nodded off and on in the car. I could tell I was really unattractive nodding off but I couldn't help myself. The exhaustion just kind of overtook me so I let it go. It actually felt kind of nice. I think at some point along the way we stopped at an exchange because I ended up eating a plate of pancakes and sausage for six bucks. Damn it was good!

Me flying on the last leg!

That food must have perked me up a little bit because by the time we hit the major exchange I was feeling semi-awake again. There was a sleeping field though and I needed to try and catch some winks, even if it was almost 11am. I set my alarm for noon and laid down on the grass. The field was right next to the volunteer with a bullhorn shouting the upcoming teams into the exchange area though. "FOUR FIFTY FIVE! .... "SIX OH EIGHT!" "TEAM THREE TWENTY TWO!" every ten seconds. Ugh. It was so annoying. You know what though? I feel asleep in the broad daylight with that going on. That's how tired I was. I ended up getting about an hour here and it felt good.

So after what I guessed was a total of 90 minutes of sleep between nodding off in the car and the field I was ready to run my third leg. It started around 1pm and I wasn't too worried about it because it was only four miles and mostly downhill. My body felt remarkably good for 12 miles in on that little sleep.

That final leg was a lot of fun! I definitely could feel that my body was tired but I knew I only had to run four miles and the majority of it was downhill, so I was flying. My goal was to get under 7:30/mile pace so I was really pushing it. No point in leaving anything in the tank at that point, I was almost done.

The leg itself was fairly unremarkable, just downhill along a highway in the forest. The last three quarters of a mile or so were uphill, so I had to chug up that, but I knew that going into the run and I knew the top of the hill was the exchange point so that was pretty motivating. I could hear the sound of cowbells as I rounded the corner and saw the exchange. This was it! I sprinted into the exchange and slapped the bracelet onto my teammate. I was done!

Leg 31 ("Medium"): 4.00 miles in 29:30. 7:22/mile.

Finish line team shot. Saved By The Cowbell!

After I was done all that was left was to cheer on the rest of my teammates to the finish. I was feeling surprisingly awake and didn't even nod off in the car or anything. The atmosphere got more and more festive the closer we got to the beach. We were almost done! Finally it was Libbie's leg and the rest of the team hustled to Seaside to meet her at the finish.

We had a little miscommunication at the finish as the announcer never called our team so Libbie ended up waiting by herself for a little bit, but I think it was only a few minutes. Eventually we hooked up and crossed the finish line together. We finished around 6pm at night or so. After getting our official team picture we headed straight to the beer garden. I still felt pretty good for the amount of sleep I had, so I ended up drinking three beers and listening to the band (The Hit Machine, which I've heard before and are pretty good!). Eventually we wandered back to the hotel and ordered some pizza for dinner and continued the party up there. Around 10 or 11 most of us crashed.

Final team results. We ran for fun and we won!

The next morning was pretty chill. We just woke up, recombobulated ourselves, and then headed out to breakfast in nearby Cannon Beach. That was fun (mimosas!) and then after some shopping (ugh) and then finally back home to Portland. I ended up getting home shortly after 5pm and then just slobbed around the house. I was pretty beat and the night before was definitely catching up with me.

What an experience though. So much fun! I am so glad I did it and will definitely do it again in the future. Crazy to think the twelve of us ran from Mt. Hood all the way to the ocean. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Overall: 16.21 miles in 2:05:08. 7:43/mile.

2013 HOOD TO COAST RECAP, PART I

Team Saved By The Cowbell (sans Teena and Bryan) at the first major exchange in Sandy.

My first Hood to Coast is in the books and it was a TON of fun. Honestly it was a lot more fun than I expected it to be! My team had a blast and I ran really well. The whole event was just basically one big moving party. I guess I just didn't realize the camaraderie between teams and the celebratory atmosphere that encompassed the whole course. A very unique and awesome running experience you can't really get any other way.

Our van met around noon Friday at our team captain's house. I knew two of the people on my team pretty well and then had met the other three real quick at a dinner one time. The first van started the race at 10:30am up on Mount Hood but wouldn't be done until about 4pm in Sandy. We decorated our van (still kicking myself for not getting a picture) and made goody bags for the volunteers in addition to generally getting ready. We then drove to the Sandy Safeway, where the first major exchange would take place. I saw so many people I knew at that exchange it was crazy. If you weren't doing Hood to Coast this weekend, you were definitely being left out!

Van One flew through their stages, which were mostly downhill, so we ended up being about twenty minutes ahead of pace by the time they rolled in. I was running Leg 7, so I would be the first one in my van out to run. I had no idea what my Leg 6 runner looked like, so when she came running in and they announced our team (#806) I had to check the bib on her just to make sure, haha.

Me during my first leg. They were telling me
to slow down for the pic (yeah right!)

I was definitely nervous on that first leg. I felt the same way I do when I was running a race! I really thought the multiple leg relay format would make me care less, but honestly it didn't. I still wanted to run hard and do my best. Unfortunately about 200 feet into my run I got stopped at a crosswalk for about a minute. D'oh! Once that light turned green though, I was off! My first mile clocked in at 7:08. Excited much?

That first leg ended up being a little more challenging than I thought due to the rolling hills, but not too bad. The hills weren't the problem, the pace I wanted to go at was the issue. While I wasn't going totally balls out like I would for a 10k, I was still going pretty darn fast. My goal was to average under 8:00/mile on each leg and this first leg was clocking in around 7:40/mile. I figured I should build some cushion as my body would get even more tired.

Anyways, nothing too special to note on that first leg. Some people were out in their yards with hoses spraying us or set up sprinklers we could run through, so that was fun. Before I knew it the leg was over and I handed off the "baton" (slap braclet) to my teammate.

Leg Seven ("Hard"): 6.32 miles in 48:33. 7:40/mile.

Then came the authentic relay race experience. Racing from exchange to exchange, cheering on runners as you passed them on the road (cowbells!), stopping along the side of the road to cheer people on and provide support to your own runners. Taking in hitchhikers at exchange points whose vans were having issues and needed to get to the next leg. Just one big giant rolling party pretty much. Good times. We cheered all our runners on and finished sometime around 8:30pm just as it was getting dark.

Our team had the luxury of stopping off at our teammate Stephanie's house, which was on the way to the next exchange point. So instead of stopping in a field and passing the time there, we got to shower off, eat dinner (she made pasta) and then try to catch some winks on the couch/beds. It was awesome! Needless to say, I didn't catch any sleep. We tried to sleep from 10:30pm to midnight, but I wasn't tired yet, so I mostly just laid there with my eyes closed. Eventually we were on the the road again to the next exchange point to meet Van One.

My next leg started around 2:40am. I can't really explain how crazy it is to be running at 2:40am with a bunch of other people. Luckily there were always runners in sight. The race didn't really get spread out like I thought, so while it was dark, you never felt alone. There was always some blinking light ahead of you to catch up to.

Since I don't have an actual picture from my second leg,
this will have to suffice. Looked about like this.

Honestly, this was my favorite part of the race. I was running in the middle of nowhere in the forest on some narrow curvy road at three in the morning. It was the definition of crazy and it was so much fun! This leg was definitely hard, my legs still felt good, but it was even hillier than my first leg. It ended up being my biggest "roadkill" run as I caught and passed 13 people along the way (I had 32 on all three legs). I don't remember a ton about this leg other than I was really sucking wind from the hills (mostly uphill) and couldn't really see where I was going. I was carrying a flashlight, so I just tried to find the pavement and keep charging forward.

Leg Nineteen ("Very Hard"): 5.89 miles in 47:05. 7:59/mile.

After getting done with my leg around 3:30am I amazingly still felt pretty awake (I did just run, so that makes sense). Anyways, I was having a fun time cheering on the rest of our runners and being part of the sea of vans snaking our way towards the ocean. I didn't really get tired until Libbie's leg started and it was getting light outside. Luckily, when she was done our van handed off to Van One and we went on a mission to get some rest.

To be continued with Part II tomorrow!

HOOD TO COAST PREVIEW

(Filmforthought / WikiMedia)

Well, this weekend it is time for something entirely new... the Hood to Coast Relay! It is the largest team running relay in the world with 12,600 runners and 1,050 teams. I also believe it is one of the oldest such relays in the world, starting in 1982. My dad participated for a number of years in the early 1990s (and then once again in 2006 or so) so I've known about the race for a long time and always wanted to do it eventually so the "Graf Legacy" could live on. It starts at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, running 198 miles through Portland and then onto the Oregon Coast, ending in Seaside.

For those not familiar with this particular race, it is basically the same thing as a Ragnar Relay Series race. Teams are 12 runners a piece, broken into two vans of six. I'll be running the first leg on Van 2 (thus Leg 7). Libbie is also in my van along with Megan from my running group. So it should be really fun! The other three people seem really fun too. I have the 2nd hardest leg in the van, but compared to all legs in general it is about in the middle in terms of length and difficulty (they really pile on Van 1).

Normally being trapped in a van for 32 hours with five other people doesn't sound that appealing, but I think it will be a fun experience. My only concern will be a lack of sleep. For those that know me, lack of sleep does not fly well with me! I just don't function well when I don't sleep and I can't really fake being peppy and with it when I am tired. So I might not be totally with it on Saturday and that final leg will probably suck, but I'll get it done!

My team is a "mixed co-ed" team consisting of four men and eight women (I think. My van is two guys, four girls). Our name is "Saved by the Cowbell" and we are known for ringing our cowbells as we cheer. We aren't competitive in the least, so the whole thing is for fun, which I like. I am going to run hard, but I am not going to kill myself. The race should take us about 32 hours. Van 1 leaves Mt. Hood at 10:30am Friday and we should hopefully roll into Seaside around 6:00pm Saturday evening.

Our van will start around 4pm on Friday after Van 1 is done and hands off to us. I'll be running that first leg out of Sandy, OR. The leg is 6.32 miles which shouldn't be a problem. The only issue with this leg might be the lack of shade at 4pm, as it is pretty exposed. The heat doesn't look like it will be too bad tomorrow (78 tops) so hopefully I can make this leg fly by.

I then get to cheer the rest of my van on and we'll be done with the first "shift" around 9pm. My next leg won't be until around 2am, and we are going to stop off at someone's house in Portland to shower and rest. I won't be tired enough to sleep at this point, so this will just be a relax and recoup period. I have about ten hours between each leg so the 16 miles over 24 hours won't be too bad.

Preview of my second leg? (Filmforthought / WikiMedia)

My next leg will be in the pitch dark at 2am through the country/forest near St. Helen's. Yay? This leg is rated "Very Hard" by the race organizers and is described as a "long leg over challenging up and down hills on paved back country roads." It doesn't look that bad honestly. There are rolling hills, yes, but nothing major. 100 feet up/down at most. There is a 150 foot hill at the very end of the leg that will be a bear, but I can get through that. The leg is 5.89 miles long.

After that I'll be cheering on the rest of my team until somewhere around 7 or 8 in the morning, when our last runner will finish their second leg. At this point I am going to be super beat. We then will drive to an area they have set up for runners to rest/shower. The problem is it will be LIGHT outside by the time. So despite being absolutely exhausted, I am expected to sleep on a tarp in the daylight. Uh, yeah. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully I can sleep a couple hours. The other van will take about 5 hours to complete their leg, so by the time we drive here and shower we'll have probably three hours tops to sleep. I'll be surprised if I get two.

My final leg will start around 1pm or so on Saturday. Thankfully it is only four miles long and it is the easiest of all my legs. It is also downhill most of the way, although at the very end there looks to be a sizable uphill. Likely due to that uphill it is rated as a "moderate" difficulty leg by the race organizers. Normally it would be a breeze, but my body is NOT going to be happy at this point in time. Not after 12 miles and little sleep over the previous 20 hours or so! Anyways, thankfully it is short and mostly downhill. I should be done in 32 minutes or so. I can handle that.

Once my final leg is done I'll be struggling to stay awake in the van as we cheer the rest of the runners to the finish! We'll all run the final stretch of leg 36, the last leg, onto the beach. Afterwards there is a giant party at the beach with music and beer and whatnot, but I am pretty sure I won't be feeling much like partying. My team rented a suite at a nearby hotel and I will likely be crashing pretty soon after. We'll drive back Sunday morning/early afternoon.

Anyways, I'll let you know how it goes! I think it's going to be really fun. My only worry is the lack of sleep and how crappy I am going to feel on Saturday, but that is all part of the relay race experience I guess! I'd like to average under 8:00/mile overall on my three legs, but we'll see if that happens. My main goal is to have fun!

Leg 1: 6.32 miles. Small hills. Exposed in sun at 4pm.
Leg 2: 5.89 miles. Rolling hills. Bitch of a hill at the end. Middle of the night.
Leg 3: 4.00 miles. Mostly downhill. Should be the easiest, but annoying hill at end plus lack of sleep.

21 MILE DEATH MARCH ON SPRINGWATER

My twenty one mile "death march" on the Springwater Corridor Trail. Home base is circled in green.

First off, I'll start with some good news. I feel much better and am almost back to 100% after my illness scare. Almost immediately after posting about being sick I started to feel better. I went on a nice easy run that evening and felt great afterward and when I awoke the next morning I felt almost normal again. So hopefully that crisis has been averted.

On Saturday I set a new record for longest run... 21 miles. Why 21? Well, I don't remember why. When Alejandro and I were originally planning to do a long run I could swear he wanted to do 21, but was planning routes for 20 miles. So eventually I planned a route we both liked and tacked on an extra mile. I guess I really wanted to set a new "longest run."

We ran mostly on the Springwater Corridor Trail. It is a long, 21 mile pedestrian/bike path that runs through SE Portland and into Gresham all the way to Boring, OR. At one point I wanted to run the entire length... now I am not so sure. Not because of this run, which was painful, but because it really wasn't all that scenic. It is a nice path with limited road crossings and I really appreciated that. There just wasn't a ton to look at. It also was pretty exposed, which isn't good when you are marathon training in the summer. Our "home base" was the same spot I ran my 15.4 mile run from last June.

Part of the trail we ran on in SE Portland (Matt.Picio/Flickr)

We did a twelve mile out and back east (so six each way) onto the Springwater Trail all the way to the Lents neighborhood of Portland at SE 122nd Street. We started at 10:30am and it was fairly sunny already so I could tell it was going to be a tough run. My body also wasn't feeling so great depsite going slow (9:45/mi). I was already feeling kind of beat at the mile six turnaround, which was surprising. I ran six miles Thursday night at the same easy speed and felt AMAZING the whole time. Then took Friday off. So I am not sure why I wasn't feeling it Saturday.

I had to pee from miles 2-11 so that wasn't fun. I could have ducked into the bushes but it wasn't so bad that I felt the need to do that. Plus, the trail was fairly populated, but it was mostly bikers. I'd put the biker/pedestrian ratio at about 10 to 1. Maybe most runners aren't stupid enough to go running on the Springwater Trail when it is hot. I finally got relief at a bathroom about a mile from the car. At this point I already really wanted to be done.

When we got back to the car we refilled our bottles and took a short break before heading back out. This time we'd be running the final northern leg of the trail up to OMSI and back. It was 4.5 miles each way, which I thought make be it pass by faster. Only 4.5 miles! Ugh. Around mile 14 I really wanted to be done. My body started to hurt and the sun was really beating down on us (ended up 84F when we finished). When we finally hit the turnaround at OMSI (took seemingly forever) we took a short break and I stretched on the sidewalk. My muscles felt really sore and used. Not a happy camper.

Eventually we started the trudge back. Those last 4.5 miles were a real bear. Some of the hardest of my life. I was in a fair amount of pain and it took everything in me not to stop and walk. Alejandro eventually ended up about a minute ahead of me and I was okay with that. Being by myself allowed me to make pathetic noises and swear at nobody in particular. This really, really sucked. It was hot, I was low on water, my body hurt like a motherfucker, and the trail was ugly and seemed to go on forever.

You know what though? I finished the damn thing. I ran that MFer into the finish. I think my body even felt a little better than after my twenty mile run a month ago. I was in a lot of pain but very proud of myself. Alejandro and I sat and stretched and recovered for about ten minutes before hopping in the car to drive away.

Summary of my last three months of training. Pretty good!

Lessons learned? Well, first of all that long runs in the summer can really suck on the wrong trail. I am not about to wake up at 6am for a training run, so I'll need to choose other, more shaded routes when I do a run of this length. However, I did it. I am capable of running 21 miles in that heat. Come marathon time, it will be a lot cooler and my body will be a lot fresher. So this was great training. I am capable of pushing through the pain and finishing. I was running for 3.5 hours yesterday, which is about how long my marathon will take. So I can run for 3.5 hours, I'll just be doing a faster pace.

This run also solified that I will be doing three 20 mile training runs in preparation for the marathon. I was having visions of doing four, but I've discovered they suck. So three should do! :) Also, after Hood to Coast next week, I really only have 5 more weekends of training, and the weekend before is a taper. So squeezing two 20 milers into there is not going to happen, especially since I will likely need a "rest week" after HTC.

All told: 21.03 miles in 3:24:39. 9:44/mile.

AND I'M SICK...

Well, I am sick AGAIN. I got sick in Vegas, and then when that finally cleared, got sick again (which I blamed on cheese). For someone who used to brag about their immune system, 2013 has not been a banner year. This will be the third time I am going to have to hack and cough and decongest whilst in the middle of training runs. Oh joy.

Back when I was relatively inactive I hardly ever got sick. It pretty much happened once a year, and when it did, it was a doozy. I rarely just got the sniffles or anything, but when it was time for my "annual sickness" it would kick my ass. So far in 2013 I have gotten away from that pattern. Well, Las Vegas really was like the days of old, because that absolutely kicked my ass five ways to Sunday and back. Once I had conquered whatever stomach demon was inside of me though it transitioned to a head cold. Took me a couple of weeks to shake that. Then I got sick almost instantly again, another annoying head cold. Took a couple of weeks to shake that. Now, I basically think I have another cold (WTF it's summer). Three in a year!

Either a) I am slowly withering away and dying, or b) running more is changing my immune system. I am hoping for B. I have a theory that my body is now constantly recovering from my runs, especially during marathon training, and it can't really spend the time to fight all these little bugs and once in a while one takes hold. So while running is strengthening me and making me healthier in general, it is also leaving me susceptible to stupid little colds. I'm going to go with that theory over the declining immune system one. Just sucks to be sick.

All this has arrived just in time for a 21 mile run on Saturday. Wohoo! Alejandro and I will be running an out and back on the Springwater Corridor Trail and I'm going to make him slow his ass down. He is faster than me and his body recovers A LOT faster, so he's been running his training runs pretty much all at his marathon goal pace. He needs to adjust his goal if he's running 16 miles at 8:30 and feeling awesome. Anyways, I need to do my long runs at 9:30s or above, especially these longer ones, so my body can recover faster and I can continue to do good training. Anyways, I'll let you know how it goes!

A BUSY AND SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND

Dramatic capture by Laurel at Crawfish.

Weekends should never start at 6:30am, but mine did on Saturday. I had to be at the Crawfish Crawl at 7:15am to volunteer directing runners on the course. It was an abrupt and unwelcome wake up call, but once I got moving it wasn't so bad. I was actually on time and had a half hour or so to kill once I got my vest and flag and wandered to my place on the course.

Volunteering was a lot of fun! It was nice that it was only a 5k, as I suspected, the last walker was done about an hour after the race started. I was in two different spots during the race, one on the way out to direct runners into a park; and another up the road a couple blocks with the runners on the way back to make sure they didn't turn a street early. It was fun to cheer them on and the police officers blocking the road near me were really into it too and one guy was hilarious with his commentary as the runners flew by.

Anyways, once that was over I went out to breakfast with Laurel (back in the States for a bit!). My Sunday morning had just opened up, so I wasn't trying to squeeze my twelve mile run in before my Hood to Coast meeting at 1pm anymore. Laurel did great at the race and got a 31:40, beating her goal of a sub 32 minute 5k! She'll be sub 30 before we know it. Anyways, once I dropped her off afterward I didn't have much time to kill before my Hood to Coast Meeting.

The Hood to Coast meeting was fun but uneventful. It was in Clackamas so it was a bit of a haul to get over there. Once that was over (4pm) I had the rest of the night to myself (yay!) and really contemplated just getting my run out of the way so I could sleep in on Sunday. The early start was catching up with me though, and when I got home and turned on some sports games of interest it just wasn't happening. With that Sunday morning slot available the motivation just wasn't there. I drifted in and out of napping for the next six hours or so before finally stumbling upstairs and going to bed.

Sunday morning I woke up and was shoving Cheerios in my face around 9:55am minutes before heading out for my twelve mile run. The phone buzzes. Well, turns out my morning plans were BACK on (I could have opted out, but didn't want to) so I guess the run wasn't going to happen. The rest of my day was filled until about 8pm. The only slot now to run would be in the dark late at night. I doubted that would happen. I began trying to think of how I could run 12 on Monday.

The next part of the story is something I am very proud of. Anyways, I get home around 8:30pm with my belly full of about three pounds of Mongolian Grill (one of those places where you put all your noodles and veggies and sauces in a bowl and then they cook it up for you). It was all you could eat and I went a little overboard. I was very gassy and wanted to watch Breaking Bad at 10:30pm (the HD channel is all f**ked up with times). I had exactly two hours to do twelve miles. You know what? I got my ass out there and did it. It was a burpy, uncomfortable run but I got my miles in dammit. My first night run in at least five months or so and it was kind of fun. I just did my 10k loop twice since it was on the streets and not through shady parks.

I got back with 2 minutes before the show started. I laid on the floor and stretched while I watched (LOVE that show!). Anyways, I went to bed around midnight feeling SUPER accomplished. I got my twelve mile run in even though I could have easily just pushed it off.

Pretty decent splits for feeling like I wanted to puke the whole time.

GOOD (BUT WEIRD) RUN

What the hell is this for? Read on!

Yesterday was a really odd run. I had taken Tuesday off like normal and then my sister had a birthday party on Wednesday. So I had two days of rest, which I rarely ever get. To make up for it, I'll be running three straight days; yesterday, today, and then twelve on Saturday.

The run yesterday was weird because my legs felt GREAT. During marathon training they have mostly felt very heavy and sluggish. Normally when I am running my legs are the thing giving me the most complaints (the usual leg/lung balance). Yesterday, however, they felt much more rested than normal. Now, I had only had two days of rest, so there were still a couple sore points and pangs of "use," but for the most part they felt awesome. Really gave me confidence that when I taper for my marathon my legs will be able to recover and fuel up for the race.

What held me back yesterday was my lungs. When I go out for an "easy" run my lungs are usually the last of my worries. My easy pace yesterday ended up being 8:24/mile including a mile that was 8:14. For my perceived effort, that type of pace was quite surprising! It was a little weird that my lungs were feeling it, but I guess I was pushing it past marathon pace and when you run a marathon your lungs will be feeling it a little bit. Which, by the way, I think I have settled on my marathon pace. 8:30s for a sub-3:45 marathon. That is for another post though.

I'm volunteering at the Tualatin Crawfish Crawl 5k tomorrow morning. Should be fun! I'll be directing racers on the course. I am about a quarter mile out and will have two different spots to patrol, one on the way out, and other on the way in. Should be fun and a lot less of a commitment than the Hippie Chick Half Marathon since it is only a 5k. Slowest competitor should be about an hour as opposed to four hours at the half. Hopefully I can get out of there reasonably fast as I need to fit in a twelve mile run before my Hood to Coast meeting at 1pm. Oh vey!

THINGS EFFING MY S UP

Our 16 mile adventure on Fanno.

Been awhile since I posted. Trying to avoid the summer doldrums! Last Saturday was a "down week" so I ran sixteen miles with my friend Alejandro from running group. We ended up running the entire length of the Fanno Creek trail from its southern start to its northern terminus. That last mile or so to the north was all new territory to me as I never took the time to cross Allen and wander the two blocks to where it started again.

Overall the run went really well. Having someone to run with made the time go faster but it also pushed me to run faster. He's been doing his long runs much faster than I have, so we ended up running the sixteen miles at a 8:52/mile average pace. The last time I ran sixteen I averaged 9:19 and the time before that 9:35. So I guess that is a good thing that I can run the same distance but faster? The last two miles did suck, AGAIN, but I was able to power through it. It was a challenge though. That being said, if I only feel crappy during the last two miles of my marathon I'll be thrilled.

I felt a little "used" the next day but really no worse for the wear. A potential right foot injury seems to be fading now that I am using my new pair of shoes. That was pretty stupid of me to go 500+ miles on the last pair. I can tell the difference while running so I'll have to make sure to not delay the switch that long again.

Recently I've been battling my schedule and trying to get the runs in. Normally I'd run tonight at running group, but my sister is having her birthday dinner tonight so I'll be doing that instead. I'll have to see what time I get home from that and if I feel like running, but chances are my run will be pushed to tomorrow. I then feel like I need to run on Friday so I get my ~18 weekday miles before my long run. So if I run Friday, then with the long run on Saturday that is three straight days of running, which I am not used to.

I was supposed to run 20+ miles on my long run this weekend but that is NOT going to happen. I am going to be volunteering at the Tualatin Crawfish Crawl 5k in the morning (7:15am, ugh) and then have a meeting with my Hood to Coast team at 1pm. My Sunday is busy too, so there is really no way I can fit in 20 miles. So I am going to squeeze in a 12 miler at some point (likely Saturday evening) and push my long run back a week. Alejandro has a 21 mile route he wants to try and agreed to do it the 17th of August, so I'll shoot for that. The weekend after is Hood to Coast, and then the next weekend I might try to do another 20 miles depending on how I feel after Hood to Coast.

Anyways, it was conflicts like these that lead to some major slacking last summer. This August, however, I am training for a marathon, so that will NOT happen again. I'm determined to still get my miles in even if I have to move a few things around. I really think they need to create another weekend day. Then things would be a lot easier. They should get on that.