I have no reason to split out Week 14 since… well, my only run was the Movie Madness Half Marathon. Every other day I was hit by a major struggle bus. I don’t know if that’s a typical point where wannabe-marathoners feel super exhausted and like everything is impossible, but I feel those things.
So, Week 14 — total runs: 1; total miles: 13.1 (those were 13.1 GOOD miles though!)
Week 15
MONDAY: Rest Day
TUESDAY: Didn’t realize that my afternoon meeting was scheduled through 6pm (and I had to walk home), so unfortunately, my scheduled run didn’t happen. I probably could have done a quickie workout at home, but I was so exhausted from traveling over the weekend (and again all the way to the North Hills for a dinner party Monday night) that I fell asleep early. The boyfriend said he pulled my iPad out of my hands and I didn’t even move.
WEDNESDAY: run//yoga//run club with Urban Elements. Tonight we did just shy of 4 miles. No splits. Followed up with some really powerful hot yoga. Body felt pretty good and yoga felt strong.
THURSDAY: Rest Day
FRIDAY: Today was National Run @ Work Day, so I took advantage of the group run that Steel City Road Runners was hosting from Point Park. It was hot, and I was sweaty (for a long time after the run too). But I befriended a couple guys for the five-mile loop, and they kept me motivated to finish at a quicker pace than I anticipated my body would do in the mid-afternoon. It felt good. I might make that part of my work-week schedule (I purchased some scented body sprays this weekend to stash at my desk too).
5.06 miles at average 9:42 pace. Splits: 10:02 / 10:16 / 10:30 / 7:50 (??) / 9:58
SATURDAY: Recovery Day with a massage and facial (and a little retail therapy at the mall).
SUNDAY: I was so glad that I saw someone post a group run from downtown in the SCRR group. While I wasn’t doing the full 20-mile Bridges of Pittsburgh course, I knew that I needed some running camaraderie to get in my 16. I seriously lucked out with this group, who all shared great marathon and training advice — and their own long-run courses and schedules. I’ve been looking for a “tribe” so to speak to keep my training in check, and they really made me feel welcome. I never needed my headphones, and I was able to converse throughout the run. I think I got 12 of the 14 total bridges (I also crossed the 10th Street Bridge off my list!).
Side note: I woke up SUPER early for this run: 4:45am. It was still dark out when I left the house around 6:15, and I had a scary almost-incident with some guy yelling after me in the park by my house. I freaked out (honestly, I was truly scared) and my fight-or-flight response took me quickly back to the house, where I locked up and set the alarm and sat still in the bathroom for 10 minutes. Anyway, I waited for the skies to lighten up a bit (and more signs of life to appear) before I set out to meet the group at the West End Bridge at 7:05 — just in time for the perfect sunrise over Pittsburgh.
I would never have paced this fast if I was alone, but it was really cool to see that my body was totally capable of handling it (until I got a side stitch at Mile 10). I split off from the group at Mile 13 to take the North Shore Trail back home. After showering, I immediately napped for nearly two hours. I felt really, really sore for the remainder of the afternoon (and hungry!), so I spent half an episode of America’s Next Top Model (ha!) stretching and rolling my feet.
16.01 miles at average 10:20 pace (total time: 2:45:21). Splits: 11:12 (1) / 10:52 (2) / 10:24 (3) / 10:18 (4) / 10:05 (5) / 9:53 (6) / 10:04 (7) / 10:28 (8) / 10:48 (9) / 11:07 (10) / 10:13 (11) / 8:27 (wut 12) / 10:28 (13) / 10:16 (14) / 9:58 (15) / 10:43 (16)
Total runs: 3
Total miles: 25.02 miles
Total training miles: 191.74 miles