St. George Here We Come!!!

Marathon Training!!!

It seems like my mind has been so consumed with LIFE and LIFE'S way of throwing vulnerable and real moments at me,  I haven't been blogging about running.  My passion and dedication has been completely IN but a friend's misfortune has brought a film of gray over much of what I've done over the past month and a half.  Nothing like a dear, dear, dear friend's suffering to wake you up,  cloud your perspective and at the same bring about that CLARITY that only comes from seeing those close to you so  vulnerable and hurting .  The details must remain private but it's always safe and responsible to say...

DON'T TAKE ONE SOLID DAY FOR GRANTED!

You may feel gray some days, you may feel yellow or some other cheery color but don't let your "feelings" mask your gratefulness for all you have, feel .  This is not a trite observation.  It's real.  

So back to RUNNING!

My 12th marathon is next Saturday.  I can't believe  that after 7 more SLEEPS,  we're taking a road trip to UTAH and I'm running St. George.  So excited.  The following is a brief synopsis of my training over the summer and up until now.

Hills

Hills

Down hills

Uphills

20 mile hill runs with 10 downhill at marathon pace.

22 mile down and up hills with 12 miles at marathon pace.

Tempo runs for ten miles at marathon pace.

10x800 at 10k pace

Hills

Down hills

Up hills

Get the point?  A running pal remarked that St. George was one of the "easy" marathons because it's all down hill.  Obviously,  she had never done that marathon because one would definitely not make the remark after the amount of hill training one needs to do to make it to the starting line.  The hills, cross training and recovery have all  prepared me for another FUN day in the sun.  AND...I'm ready.

At 48 years of age,  I can finally say...I have not been injured during this marathon training period although it was one of the most challenging of my life!  I have never felt defeat, disappointment nor discouragement nor have I felt like I wasn't going to be able to give it my all.  I will race next Saturday, I will push my hardest yet, I will HURT and I will be HAPPY!!

To further add to the list of positives,  my ultra hubby will be with me as well as my FAST ANDALEGS RUNNING BUDDY, Jillian.  

Bring it on baby!!

GOALS:  I qualified and got into Boston two weeks ago and with that out of the way,  I can focus on having a SOLID,  consistent and under control race.  NO worries, no extreme pushing, no times that I must meet.  This frees me up mentally to relax and trust my training and my body.  THANK YOU, BODY.  That hug I gave you the other night after my last tempo run as meant just for you.  Grateful.

Who else is going to St. George???

Run grateful,

meg