November 19-November 25

Once again, another week of REST! Not quite as much rest as the previous week, but I did manage to get some rest before the Atlanta Half-Marathon. That being said, the Atlanta Half was definitely not a PR. For starters, I was a little late getting to the starting line and to make matters worse, it started pouring at the beginning of the race. It rained a good bit (as we definitely needed it), but I got pretty soaked as well as the other 5 or 6 thousand runners. I read in the paper on Friday that about a thousand runners stayed home due to the weather. Wow!

Here are this weeks results:

Monday: REST
Tuesday: 6 mi/47:27*very nice tempo run
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: Atlanta Half-Marathon/1:46:35
Friday: REST
Saturday: REST
Sunday: REST
Mileage=19.1

As I continue to taper this week, I am hoping to get a bit more mileage in. I keep telling myself to just take it easy and do just what I am supposed to be doing, recovering! I am considering running The Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville on December 8. I am not 100% sure yet, but I will decide by Friday (11/30) of this week!

Hope everyone had a nice Turkey Day!
LJ

November 12-November 18

REST, REST and REST!! That's exactly what I did this week! It felt good to be able to sleep in every morning and not have to get up at 5 a.m. for an early run. I rested the entire week. On Saturday I ran a local 5k and was happy with my time. I will be taking it easy this week as well as I get ready for the Atlanta Half-Marathon.

Here are this week's results:

Monday: REST
Tuesday: REST
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: REST
Friday: REST
Saturday: 5k Race/20:43/L1-6:44/L2-6:20/L3-7:39
Sunday: 4 mi/32:21/L1-16:26/L2-15:54
Mileage=7.1

I am happy with my training this week. This week I am planning to run once or twice before the Atlanta Half on Thursday. I am not quite sure how I will tackle the half. Seeing that I ran a pretty hard 5k, I am considering taking it easy in the half. I have been noticing some increasing pain in my calfs and I am not sure as to why. I would like to believe it is coming from the marathon. The pain is not over-bearing or anything, but it is noticeable.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving this week!

Grateful!
LJ

Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon...PR Baby...3:37:31

November 5-November 11

Well, my week started off pretty good with tapering. However, I felt the need to just rest the rest of the week and do a little 2 miler on Friday, the day before my marathon.

I am proud to say that I had another PR on Saturday! I am so excited. What a race on Saturday. I was so excited that I probably ran the first 15 miles too fast. Actually, I know that I ran the first 15 miles too fast. As a matter of fact, I ran the first 21 miles too fast. I figured that I felt so good, why not. This is what happens when you don't stick to your game plan I believe. Around the 22 mile mark, I started getting pretty tired and after running mostly 8:00 miles with a few under 8:00, I started running 9:00 miles and therefore, it started to hurt me. That being said, I am still happy to report that I had a PR! Maybe Arthur Lydiard was right when he said that runners should peak two times in a calendar year. Well, I guess I did.

Here are this week's results:

Sunday: REST
Monday: 6.6 mi/54:07/L1-26:52/L2-27:14
Tuesday: REST
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: REST
Friday: 2 mi/16:38/L1-8:28/L2-8:10/AVG. HR.=140/MAX. HR.=160
Saturday: Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon/PR=3:37:31

I must say, I am very happy with my time. I was a bit dissappointed in myself for not pacing better, but all-in-all,
it was a GREAT run. I did not feel as though I had prepared as well as my previous marathon, but it ends up, I did!
Hindsight is always 20/20 and there are several things that I could have done differently, but I am not going to beat
myself up. I am very happy with my PR and with my time.

Not sure what marathon is next, but I will be running a half-marathon(Atlanta Half) on Turkey day!

Hope everyone has had a GREAT week of running!
LJ

October 29-November 4

Good week of training. I must say, it was much better than the previous week. That being said, I tapered all week and my runs were extremely enjoyable. It was really nice just taking it easy. I can't seem to remember the last time that I was able to go out and just run for the sake of running. Great week for running and the temperatures have just been wonderul.

Here are this week's results:

Sunday: REST
Monday: 5.9 mi/50:56/AVG. HR.=143/MAX. HR.=175 Ran with Kelly
Tuesday: REST
Wednesday: 7.6 mi/1:04:14/L1-32:12/L2-32:01/AVG. HR.=146/
MAX. HR.=169
Thursday: 4.9 mi/42:04/AVG. HR.=140/MAX. HR.=155
Friday: REST
Saturday: 10 mi/1:24:39/L1-43:01/L2-41:38/AVG. HR.=149/
MAX. HR.=160
Mileage: 28.4

All in all, I was very happy with my training this week. I am looking forward to the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on Saturday this week. Wish me luck as I am hoping to PR or better yet, just finish. I don't really feel as though I have trained as hard as I did for my previous marathon, but I hope that I can prove myself wrong come Saturday.

Hope everyone has a GREAT week of running and as always, KEEP RUNNING!
LJ
26.2