The Need for Speed

Well it looks like Mathis and I will be running the half at Blue Ridge instead of the full marathon.  I was pretty bummed about it at first, but I've got plenty of time in my life to run more marathons.

I spent the weekend thinking about how I could continue to challenge myself even if I don't run another full marathon this year.  Enter SPEEDY Nicki! :)  These next few months (and possibly rest of the year) are going to be spent becoming a faster runner.  I'm know this will be a great challenge for me.  I've learned I can run the distance, but now I'll focus on running the distance better.

I'm going to be following a plan from Runner's World that aims to have you run a half-marathon in 2 hours.  The Shamrock Half-Marathon is relatively flat, and I figure I have a MUCH better shot of running a 2 hour half there than at Blue Ridge.  So now my sights are set more on Shamrock.  I still have NO idea if I can run a half-marathon at a 9:09 pace, but I figure I'll give it my best shot!  And I may have another challenge up my sleeve for the next few months in addition to focusing on speed. :)

Today's run was 5 miles at a 10:30 pace.  Easy enough, right?  WRONG!  It was REALLY tough for me.  I may need to break out the music again to keep me motivated.  Doesn't help that I have to run boring loops in my neighborhood just to try and find something relatively flat.  I had to stop half-way through to take off my jacket and get some water, but other than that I did it.  It felt really tough at certain points, and I wanted to give up.  I just kept pushing myself and in the end I came in a little under the time!  Afterwards I felt REALLY good, and I was so proud of myself.  This is the feeling I run for.  I really don't know if I'll be able to stick to the training plan, but I'm going to give it everything I have.  I'm excited for the push even though I know it will be a lot of work.

Miles: 5
Time: 52 minutes, 15 seconds

Miles this Week: 5
Miles this Month: 50