Did it!

Saturday morning I was up and out the door early for my 20k training run.  It is one of the bigger mental hurdles involved in this training plan.  I did it last year and remember it feeling like forever.  This time happily it went really well and I felt pretty strong all the way through.  Nothing hurt too much and I wasn't too tired at the end.  I was definitely running out of gas but I made it.

This week is rest week and I'm planning to love every minute of it.  I'm running a couple short runs and 10k on the weekend. 

Next week will be my absolute longest run ever.  22k!!  It's longer than the race which I think will remind me that I can do this race.  If I can run further than the distance I can certainly run the actual distance.  I'm strangely looking forward to the 22k.  I haven't run a new distance in a long time so it's exciting.  

I'm officially signed up for the race, it's happening whether I'm ready or not, so I guess I better be ready!! 

Spring has Sprung!

The weather is finally warming up!!  This Sunday was gorgeous.  I started it off with my 16k run, then did some grocery shopping and finally read a book in the backyard.  It was wonderful.

The run was okay.  It was tough.  Probably due in part to the fact that I had a glass of wine (or 3) the night before.  We had company for dinner and while it was super fun and delicious I learned that I can't do that the night before a long run. The other issue might have been that the temperature jumped by 10 degrees while I was out there.  I was completely over dressed and hot!!   This weekend's long run is 18k.  I'll be much more prepared.

Monday's have been gym days for a while now.  CycleFit is going very well and in a few weeks when the girls start soccer I'll switch the the 5:30am class.  It's a full hour long.  Group Power is my other class and it is still my favourite.  It is hard and I work hard.  I feel great after.  

This morning I was up before the sun for my short run.  It was probably my best run this year.  I felt strong and happy the whole time.  I remember why I like these early days.  

Tonight since I was already done my run we took the girls for a walk to the park, played there for a bit then walked up to get a coffee(tea for me) and treat for the girls.  It was wonderful.  

Spring has certainly arrived and with is always comes more movement!!  I say bring it on!!

A couple years and a big change!

In 2012 I ran my first half marathon.  Right now I'm training for my 3rd.  I was looking back at posts I wrote during the first training and my training log.  

One of the fun things is I ran the same distance today as I ran on this weekend the first time.  

The difference this time is amazing.  Most of it is pretty subtle but my weight is the most drastic.  I am 20lbs lighter this time around.  

The first time all my runs over 10k were firsts.  I had never run farther than that and didn't have a clue what to expect.  This time I know and it's no less scary each week.  

This time I'm running on my own while the first time I was with a group.  I know someone else training for the same race so we can talk about things and compare plans but when I'm out there it's just me and the road.

The biggest difference this time is the fact that I know what's coming next and how it has gone the last couple times.  I have run all the distances multiple times and know that I can do them.  That helps a lot!!

My times are pretty much the same.  I'm slightly faster but not enough to make a difference when it comes to race day. I'm okay with that.  Sure I would love to be faster but right now I'm focusing on finishing and finishing strong.  

We'll see in two months how this training works out.  This will be the third time I run this race.  The first was kind of cool and started out rainy.  Last year all the training was cool and race day was hot, hot, hot! Hopefully this year will be more like the first year!  I much prefer cool weather for running!  

Three years can make a lot of difference! Let's see how this all turns out!