Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 18 Weeks

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T Minus 18 weeks (Sept 5-11):

Miles ran:  16 (8mi, 3mi, 5mi)

Miles scheduled: 20

Cross training: Pilates x 2

My weight:  X-3 (3 lbs lost overall since training began)

Running song o’ the week:  Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.  Seriously, this makes it into my top 5 running songs. Ever.  A great push-through-the-pain anthem. “I wipe my brow and sweat my rust…. I'm waking up - I feel it in my bones.... Welcome to the new age.”

Audiobook: Finished The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  Appreciated it so much I ordered the book so I could read it.  Moved on now to Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Marathon Greatness by Scott Jurek.  I’m only one chapter in and I’m already loving this book in terms of its ability to motivate.  Really, it’s hard not to push yourself in a five mile run when listening to someone talking about how they found strength at mile 60 of the Badwater Ultra in Death Valley. 

For all of us who get discouraged about our pace...

General Notes: Real life just got in the way of my running schedule last week. I found myself getting frustrated that I wasn’t able to get out for all the runs I wanted/planned, but I figured out that “I’m sorry you and your husband are having marital problems, but I can’t watch your kids today because I have a long run scheduled” is not an appropriate sentence to say to a friend in need. 

Sigh.

In much better news, the hot weather finally broke! On Monday temps were in the low 70s for my 5-miler. I felt fabulous all the way through. I am hoping I have underestimated just how much a negative effect summer running conditions (temps in the 90s and humidity hovering at greater than 90%) has had on my performance. Let’s hope cooler weather brings faster times, or at the very least, more enjoyment!