Week 11 and 12... the final push!

Well... here we are... the last week of my very first half marathon training schedule. One thing that is super cool.... my last long training run is behind me. YAY!

Ok... here is a crazy number!!! I ran 29 MILES this week! That is crazy!

Saturday it was time for some LSD! Yep... Long, Slow Distance. The long runs are supposed to be about SLOWING it down. They are supposed to be considerably slower than your average pace. Something I need to work on so I don't get so exhausted. But, I venture a guess that 11 miles is always going to exhaust me, eh? Me thinks. Here are some of the reasons to SLOW it down: "The purpose of LSD runs are to increase your aerobic capacity. By doing so, you increase mitochondria count and capillarisation in muscle cells, teach your body how to burn fat as fuel (since the human body has massive fat reserves as compared to carb reserves), and numerous other benefits that provide the base for being able to do actual speedwork later on." I find this stuff fascinating by the way :)

Yesterday I did my final long training run of 11 miles. I was WAY wigged out about doing it too. It turned out ok, but it's a LONG dang way. Mapping something like this out really puts it into perspective. In the end, I decided to go out to a bike path out west, and it ended up being a great decision. It was fairly flat and the pathway was cleared. My incredible husband rode his bike along side of me so I didn't have to do it all alone. We headed out around noon and it took me 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was very happy with my pace and time. I feel a bit more confident heading into next weekend after this long run. I added 2 miles this week... and next week I'll add 2 more but at sea level! YAY!

I have my plan of attack for fueling... I'm going to fuel every other mile... take water at every aid station (every 2 to 3 miles), and just plan a smart run. I'm really not trying to break any records... I just want to make it through and I'd like to run most of it. I'm setting a goal at 3 hours. That is a LONG dang time to run. I wish I were faster just so I could shorten this time... but it is what it is this run. If I hold the pace I did with this 11 miles, I should certainly do this in 2:45... but under 3:00 will make me happy. A girl's gotta start somewhere :)

One thing super cool that happened this week is my fabulous husband gave me an early birthday gift... my very own Garmin watch!!! And a fuel belt. I really wanted this certain Garmin and he took me out and bought it. He said he wanted to get me something special to help me succeed. He's such a great man! And I ended up loving my new fuel belt. I took both presents out on my last long run and the belt didn't bug me at all. The Garmin worked perfectly although it took me until the end of the run to change the setting to the current pace instead of average. Oh well.. the watch has a learning curve for sure, but it's the bomb! And my fuel belt is big enough for 20 oz of water... chewies... and my cell phone. Woohoo!!

So... the week coming up has 3 short runs... Tuesday I have 4 miles, Wednesday 2 and Thursday 2. How awesome is that!? And the best part.. eating carbs ALL week. Yippeee! Those are my favorite things in the whole world!

A few updates... by the time the weekend rolls around, I'll have been training for 3 and a half months. The miracle won't come in me completing this half marathon or even trying to complete it. The miracle has already happened! I have run THREE HUNDRED miles in 3.5 months! And I feel good in knowing this. I feel good in knowing that I have logged this many miles in this amount of time. There are many people (running people) afraid of running a marathon or even a half marathon like me. They think it's so far, too hard.. you name it. But the challenge isn't the 13.1 or 26.2 miles that you'll need to do on race day. The challenge is hauling your butt outside and logging the hundreds of miles you'll need to do it. I've done 95% of these miles outside in the freezing cold. I've wiped snot on my $100 running jacket. Much of this first training program hasn't been pretty for me :) But... in the 3.5 months I've lost 10 pounds. It doesn't sound like much for the amount of work I've put in but here's the good news... I've eaten SOOOO much! I've eaten everything I've wanted to and more! This training has made me crave burgers and fries and I've eaten a ton of both! Training like I've done makes you HUNGRY! lol... seriously hungry... not "oh, I could eat" but "drop that burger and hand it over before someone gets hurt!" I will say, for the most part, I'm trying to make wise decisions on food. Mostly to help my energy for running... and making sure I won't have to poo somewhere out in the middle of nowhere (yea, that's a fear of mine.) It's not because I am turning all "granola-y" on you all, I am just trying to be smart about this. My overall appearance is better I think, even though the scale should register a MUCH lower number in my opinion :D

Well... that's about all I have for this week. It's been a pretty decent week. Nothing hurt... everything is going well, and I got that long run nailed. YAY! I hope to post a very successful post next Sunday!

My Nathan Fuel Belt - It rocks!

Heading out for 11 easy miles! hehe