Milestones and Crazy Ideas

Half way and almost there!...

Today I ran my longest training run, 12 miles! I'm happy to report that it went much, much better than last week's 11 mile run. I decided not to push the speed too much, to avoid injury, but the splits are still negative so my last mile was the fastest. Hard to describe running through fatigue pain and saying 'I felt strong' in the end... That was my longest training run and now I taper down and hopefully come back strong for the big day!

It feels strange to say that I now actually believe I can make it through the 13.1 distance of a half marathon. Just a few months ago I never would have said that, or believed it possible. I have already run so much farther that I imagined possible, I have learned so much about running, health and nutrition. Recently I was talking with a friend that is in training for a full marathon and he was very impressed with my progress. When I tried to discount it (especially in comparison to his abilities) he reminded me that I have tripled my mileage in just a few weeks. Hearing it said like that was shocking. It sounds so impressive. It made me step back and realize that what I have already done is actually pretty impressive. I did my research, I made a training program, I was dedicated and have come this far without injury. Pretty cool!

Last week I was looking at the upcoming races on Coastal Trail Runs and ended up looking through one runner's photos of the recent Bizz Johnson Marathon up in Susanville. The photos really spoke to me... I want to be there... I want to run there... then the strangest thought came into my head... could I possibly train for a full marathon? There are a gazillion full marathons out there to choose from, but this race really made me feel that if I was going to attempt that distance it would be this one, ... Who are you and what have you done to my thoughts?!... Was that me pondering this crazy notion?!... sigh... I have decided that I should first see how the half marathon goes... then I have a few months to run some other short distance races (in trails! whoo hoo!)... I have a few months to make an actual decision... and I honestly can NOT believe that this thought has even been entertained ... The Bizz is follows an old rail trail in the mountains in October... Just sayin....