Fourteen Good Miles

Sunday, May 10, 2015:

I am training for a marathon, even though I don't really know when the next one will be.  This is a change.  I have run marathon after marathon, getting slower and slower, so now I'm trying to do it right, actually training for one.

Fourteen miles today, maybe fifteen or sixteen next week, slowly building strength to run a 20-mile training run and then perhaps, after a few weeks, to run another, until a 20-mile run is easy.  Easier, anyway.  Then perhaps I can do a marathon without worrying whether they will close the finish line before I get there!

In the last few weeks I've lost ten or twelve pounds, intentionally, using my modified Weight Watchers method.  I have more to lose, perhaps another ten pounds, and then we'll see if that's a place to stop.  In the meantime, I seem to be getting a little faster week by week.  "They" say that a weight loss of 1% can correspond to a 1% increase in speed or endurance.  It can't hurt.

Today's run was as good as it gets, no pains or problems, still strong at the end - in fact, the final miles were the fastest.  I stopped at our own home twice along the way, to visit the bathroom and pick up water, two five-mile loops and one four-mile.  I love our new place, where we can run safely right from the front door.

Fourteen miles in 2:45:54, overall pace 11:51, doing a run/walk of 3 to 5 or faster the whole way.  I carried water, of course, and gobbled three caffeinated Clif Shot gels along the way.

Running through neighborhoods, the smells are interesting.  Early I smelled a wood fire - someone was taking the edge off the cool weather with their fireplace or stove.  Then I smelled bacon frying and felt just a little hungry - no breakfast before this run!  And, of course, there are always the smells of laundry in the drier, almost anytime, even on a Sunday.

Friday, May 8:

Five miles in 55 minutes.  No problems.