post failed marathon blues

I started the week recovering from extreme illness before/during/after the Wrightsville Beach marathon. Then felt extremely motivated to redeem myself by succeeding in the next marathon. I kicked butt on the paces prescribed for Wednesday and Thursday. But then had no motivation to complete the long run on the weekend. I turned 42 years young on Saturday.  Read below for details on each day of this week, a summary of accomplishments, highlight of the week, and goal for next week.

Monday:  Rest Day. Thankfully my tummy felt a little better this morning and my sister and I were able to drive home from Wrightsville Beach, NC, without me having to stop for emergency bathroom breaks. I was still quite weak, and depressed, though.

Tuesday:  Rest Day.  Still feeling weak, but a little better than yesterday.

Wednesday:  Ran 4 miles in 43:39; 10:54 average pace.  Coach Josh planned 4 miles at an average of 11 minutes/mile pace.  I ran to the Bonfield's house and returned home, which is exactly 4 miles. These hilly miles kicked my butt! There's no way I can maintain this pace for a hilly marathon... unless I have a miraculous transformation in the next 31 days...  My mile splits were:  10:52, 10:40, 10:47, 11:20.

Thursday:  Ran 5 miles in 52:32; 10:30 average pace.  Since I'm training for my next marathon, which is a hilly course, I knew that most of my runs from now on need to be on hilly paths rather than flat. Earlier this week when I looked at the runs Josh prescribed, I doubted I could hit those paces on hills. As usual, he was right and I was wrong! Today's run was supposed to be 5 miles in 54 minutes. I pushed the pace early on thinking that I would need to bank time for the later miles. I was wrong again. I think this is the first time I've run at Mountain Park without walking up at least one hill per lap. Go me! Mile splits (total surprise and probably a record pace for me at this location): 10:30, 10:23, 10:31, 10:33, 10:35.

Friday:  Swim 1000 meters.

Saturday:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!  I was supposed to run 4 miles, but didn't have the time. Kyra and Bryn sang Happy Birthday to me first thing; how sweet!  (Bryn spent the night with us last night.)  Most of the day was spent running errands. We ate breakfast and then went for emissions test, paid taxes for car tag, went shopping for Zoe's birthday present, bought a perfect tea maker for my birthday present, etc. We walked several miles, I think, in the mall. We came home to find that our dog Riley (golden retriever), had eaten two of Kyra's brand new shoes (pictured at the top of this blog post)!  ARGH!!! I was so mad!!! How many times have I told her to keep her shoes out of his reach???  After dropping Bryn off at her house, Kyra wanted to take our dogs to the park. So we did, and walked two miles (two loops) around the park. It was so cool to see the baby ducklings!!! If you look closely, you can see them in the background with their mom in this photo (Kyra is the human pictured).

Sunday:  Long run fail...  Ran 4 miles in 50:18; 12:34 average pace. I was supposed to run 18 miles, but that just didn't happen. I had to squeeze in my long run while Kyra was at Zoe's birthday party. I had 3 hours. I dropped her off and then started my run. My plan was to run for 2.5 hours on the street, then return home and finish on the treadmill so I would be home after the party/when she got home. But... the wind was strong and dark clouds loomed overhead. I just wasn't into it. I returned home after only 4 miles and thought about finishing the run on the treadmill as it began pouring rain outside, but I just wasn't into it. questioning my decision to run marathon in a month. hoping motivation will return next week. Splits: 11:45, 12:13, 12:34, 13:46 (lot of walking up hill).

Weekly summary:

• Days run this week:  3
• Miles run this week:  13
• Highlight of the week:  Wednesday and Thursday runs, hitting/exceeding the planned paces despite the hills. Total surprise to me!
• Goal for next week: complete the long run