Saturday, May 26, 2007

Long Run - Leadbetter Past the Bird Refuge & Back

Time: 7:15am, approx. 1 hour, 8 minutes (pre-run warm up: bike for 10 minutes)
Meal: 1/3 serving Myoplex shake blended in 8 oz. of rice milk@ 6:30am. EAS Catapult Pre-Race Energy Fuel @ 7:00am.
Distance: Approx. 7 miles (View Map)

Back on my feet again after a few days off from training, and I feel pretty good. Today was a 'take it easy' run - the last long training before the marathon next Sunday. I was nervous going into it since my left leg still hasn't fully recovered from the 19.5 mile run 2 weeks ago. Although I could feel that it was tight (it feels like my left leg is much bigger and heaver than my right), I was able to avoid the popping in my hip and the surging pain on the inside of my knee. I am not sure how much of that I can thank the EAS Catapult for, but I have a feeling its contributing quite a bit to slowing down my muscle fatigue. That will be great on race day...but interesting after about 2 1/2 - 3 hours when it starts to wear off!

I really, honestly was taking it easy today, and I clocked in at well under 10 minutes per mile (about 9:24 not including one potty break, 9:51 including it). That maintains my hope that I'll finish the marathon much quicker than my drop dead time goal of 5 hours. If I can come in under 4:30 in my marathon time I will be absolutely thrilled!

For now, I'm sitting here icing my hip and the inside of my right knee before I hit the shower and go into work. My greatest task this week will be to keep my stress levels down, which includes eating right, sleeping well, and not letting the little things get to me. Hopefully playing catch up at work this weekend will help to ease the pressure.

Oh, and by the way, we had an extremely successful art show/fundraiser on Thursday! I sold two photos off the wall, and had a couple of inquiries regarding different sizes, options, etc. No including what Drs. Neal and Nicole collected at the door, my photos raised over $200 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

No comments: