Marathon Saturday

This morning was our group long run. It was hot, hot, hot outside! I can't wait until the temperature drops. Our runs start at 5AM and are pretty far from where I live, so I got up at 3:45.

I look pretty awake for 3:45

We were scheduled for 11 miles today. Last week we did 10. The longest I have ever run outside of a half marathon is 9, so we're definitely getting into higher miles now. I'm feeling pretty confident that I can PR at the Disneyland Half with all of this training. I do have the ET Half in a couple of weeks, but I'm concerned about the fact that it's at an elevation of something like 4800 feet and goes uphill for the first 6 miles. Not really a race for me to try and PR. I'm honestly worried about how tough that one might be. Anyway...

Sunrise on the canal

I'm excited that despite the heat, I finally feel like I'm getting faster. I'm back to the pace I was able to keep when I was actually training and not just showing up for races and dragging myself across the finish line. The heat really slows me down, too, so the 30 degree temperature difference in Anaheim, should really help my pace. Plus, I still have 6 weeks to train to get faster.

The nice thing about running with a team is that we have a water cooler to refill our Camelbak's, etc, while we're out there. And it's always nice to have icy water to pour on your head.

Running over the 101

Like how my arms are reflected in my glasses?
 Around mile 9 or so...

After our run, of course I had to stop for breakfast. There's this super cool gas station with a pretty nice restaurant inside. It's way nicer than it sounds, I promise. There's a little market inside with a restaurant and they make delicious omelettes and breakfast tacos. I got a big breakfast to go, went home, ate, and then slipped into a food and running induced coma for a few hours.

Later, I downloaded Spirit Of The Marathon and watched it on my iPad. I highly recommend watching it to anyone that races. It's really inspiring and touching. Plus, they share lots of marathon history, which is cool.

Seriously, I teared up multiple times. I cried when I crossed the finish line of my first half and then again when I did 2 half marathons in one weekend. I can't even imagine what a wreck I will be in NYC. Two thumbs up.

I've also managed to get myself addicted to Pinterest. Nice. Now I have no reason to ever put down my phone. But there's lots of marathon pictures. Here's a cool picture of wind chimes made from old marathon medals. Cool, huh?