67 days.....

Why do we second guess ourselves? I really hate when my mind goes to those places. Live with the decision and get going! I think I must have gone there since my activity over the weekend was totally NOT running related and no real training occurred. Thus I have been having those what am I doing moments and saying things like You can't run a marathon. I DON'T LIKE THAT!!! I don't say can't! The hike on Saturday was good, but being the sweep is a test in patience. I had some women who were painfully slow that I had to prod a few times to pick up the pace. Thus rather than getting the 9 miles I wanted done, I ended up just shy of 7. ARRRRRRRRHGGGGGGGGGHHHH. But it was a beautiful day and all hikers had a great time.

Sunday, I was up at 4:30 am to go get donuts and coffee to take to my tri club's tent at the IronGirl Tri in Columbia. It was great to watch an all women's event. I got to see some friends who were racing finish. I saw the first and second place para triathletes finish - INSPIRING. The weather was a good temp, but it rained off and on all morning. One of my friends said at one point during the bike she couldn't even see because it was raining so hard. KUDOS to all that raced in the pouring rain.

After I left the triathlon, I got home showered and had to run to the fairgrounds to pick up my daughter's art work that she had entered in the fair (she won a couple ribbons too) then off to meet up with 3 friends for a late brunch and some spa time. We were celebrating my friend Katie's birthday. Brunch was awesome and then we hit the Red Door. It was a great afternoon. Very relaxing. I actually began to doze off while I was getting my facial. LOL I was so tired. I was in bed by 8:30 - 9:00 on Sunday night.

Monday - I was going to get up to run, but I got up to a stuffy nose and just felt gross. I think the grass and weeds are getting to me. Time to get the allergy meds rolling again. Last night I went to a stride clinic at my local Fleet Feet. I got some great information from this session and will work on getting my running form better. I got told I run like a cyclist with strong quads. LOL I need to focus on my glutes and hammies doing more work when I run - like a runner. Good to know as I am now in the moving all the miles up and up and up. I want to get through this !!

AND I HAVE TO BEAT THE BRIDGE!
Beat the Bridge: Runners must maintain the 14 minute per mile pace to reach the 14th Street Bridge and successfully "Beat the Bridge" just after mile marker 20. The 14th Street Bridge will reopen to vehicular traffic making it unavailable to runners after 1:15 p.m. Any runners unable to "Beat the Bridge" will be required to board the straggler buses and be driven to the event finish area.

If I can keep my LSD pace of 12:30 from miles 1- 20 this won't be a problem. YIKES! I guess I will see how things go in the next few weeks with my long runs. Sept 18 will be a good test as that is a 20 miler Saturday for me.