So, when last I left you I was taking a forced rest week from running. SIX full days of no running. I think the last time I did that was in January after the Houston Marathon.
Sunday 11/18 - slow run around Lake Pflugerville, lots of walk breaks. Feeling ok but not 100%. 5.5 miles total.
Monday 11/19 - 3 miles around the hood before our drive to South Padre. Legs are incredibly tight.
Tuesday 11/20 - rest
Wednesday 11/21 - 5.3 miles on the beach 52 minutes, 9:51/mile avg. I did not wear my Garmin at all while on vacation. Instead I wore my sport watch and just did out and back runs on the beach. I had my 'Map My Run' app on my phone to track my total miles when I was done but I didn't' look at it until I stopped. I felt ok during and after this run, was a nice break to run on the beach.
Thursday 11/22 - Thanksgiving! 5.5 miles, 50 minutes, 9:20/mile avg. Felt great! Lots of people on the beach today made for interesting sights to see. I spent a lot of time rolling my legs with 'The Stick' and a tennis ball.
Friday - 11/23 - Rest. I was going to run but the kids actually all got up at the same time so I convinced everyone to go out to breakfast instead of running. We ate a great meal beach side and had a wonderful morning together.
Saturday 11/24 - 3.5 miles, 30 min. I'm guessing about the distance on this run. It was so windy that I quickly changed my plans of running 5 miles to 15 minutes out and back. We drove the 6 hours back home today and my legs were so stiff riding in the car. My butt was the sore.
Sunday - 11/25 - My Birthday! and long awaited longest long run! Jennifer and I drove down to Austin and started from the Lady Bird Trail and headed North. Running along part of the Austin Marathon course to Shoal Creek to meet Monica was much hillier than we are used to. But we were both glad to have run together and catch up after the holiday. And even nicer Monica joined us in the middle miles for extra entertainment. We finished 20 miles in 3:08:33, 9:26/mile avg pace. I gotta say, this was a good training run. It wasn't easy, I didn't feel like kicking ass at the end, but I wasn't in pain either - WINNING!
When I got home from the 20 mile run I iced my legs and got ready go to out for lunch with the family. The kids made me some really sweet birthday cards and John got me an iPad that I am super excited about.
Now this is where things go south for the Mills family. Unfortunately Maddy was not feeling well and was going to make us all miserable. And John wasn't feeling great either. They both stayed home and I took Jack and Gwen out for lunch and to pick out an ice cream cake. Over the course of the day John and Maddy did not get any better and it looked like they would be spending Monday at home too. I was a bad Mommy and went out with Jennifer and Christina to see Twilight (which was great) and have a beer for my birthday. But I had just spent 9 solid days with my family, so I didn't really feel bad at all. ;)
Monday - 11/26 Rest day. It was a planned rest day after running 20 miles, but as it turned out I would not have run anyway. I am starting to feel a little tickle in my throat, but John is getting really sick. Gwen, Jack and I escaped to work and school and left John and Maddy to enjoy their sick day together. Maddy had a great time, John not so much.
Tuesday 11/27 - Rest/Sick day. I'm sick. Sick enough to go to the doctor and beg for drugs. Normally I would suffer through a sore throat but I'm running a marathon in 2 weeks!!!!
Wednesday 11/28 - Rest/Sick day. John is scaring me, I am terrified to get what he has. What I have is bad, but he is way worse off.
Thursday 11/29 - Rest/Sick day. I joined a conference call from home in the morning and while I was croaking on the phone 3 people emailed me to ask if I was ok, because I sounded like hell and they were worried about me. I am not getting better. So it really is true that antibiotics don't do anything for viral infections.
Friday 11/30 - After a full night of sleep I feel better today. Turning the corner friends!!! I did a short run around the lake today and felt ok.
9 days until the marathon and how do I feel? I don't know. I took a week off, ran at 1/2 capacity for a week and then took another week off. I know I'm supposed to taper before a marathon, but this is not a controlled taper to the plan. I'm cautiously optimistic I can still run a 3:34 marathon and qualify for Boston in 9 days. But do I go all out balls to the wall for it and perhaps push myself too far? Or do I make a call that morning to run it easy and try again in January in Houston? Or does running 26.2 miles really just screw me anyway and it will take me 2 months to recover if I run hard or easy anyway?
My plan this week is to get lots of sleep, eat reasonably well, hydrate, and think positive thoughts.
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