6 Weeks

Six weeks until race day! I am still so pumped up about running the Country Music Marathon in April. My training has been so fun this past week as spring is finally here! I can finally run in shorts again! I've put the running tights up for good, I hope! We've had 50-60 degree temps each day and it has been heavenly. It's been kind of gray and cloudy the past few days, but I am so thankful that it is not bitterly cold anymore!

Training Log 03/08/10 - 03/14/10
Monday: scheduled rest day
Tuesday: 4.79 miles/44:16/9:14 average pace
Wednesday: 3.35 miles/30:39/9:08 average pace
Thursday: 4.34 miles/39:22/9:04 average pace
Friday: 45:00 on the trainer
Saturday: 1) 13.02 miles/1:59:16/9:08 average pace
Saturday: 2) Shamrock Shuffle 3k*/18:36/8:55 average pace
Sunday: rest day
*race report below

I've been having some soreness and pain in my right knee after runs and right at the beginning of some of my runs, so I started using a foam roller at night. My friend Lindsay let me borrow her foam roller and it is amazing! I've really been concentrating on my IT band (between my knee and hip) and my hips, and my knee pain is almost totally gone. Hallelujah! I've also found that taking Emma on a 30 minute walk after my long run really helps with my recovery. We don't walk very fast and she stops to sniff/pee/poop a lot, so it is a perfect way for me to cool down and Emma loves it, too!

I didn't plan on taking a rest day today but the time change threw me off, so I am taking my rest day today and will run some recovery miles tomorrow. I want to be smart about my training this week as it will culminate with the big enchilada...the 22 miler!! This will be my longest training run before I start to taper, and I want to make the most of it. My past few longer runs (16 and 18 miles) have gone very well, and I finished them feeling like I could run further. I will do the 22 miles in Wilmore which is super hilly, so the run will be physically and mentally challenging. I've heard that Nashville is hilly - bring on the hills! I actually really like hills.

When I run, I love listening to the Zen and the Art of Triathlon podcast and the Two Gomers Run a Marathon podcast. Zen and the Art of Triathlon is always interesting, and I look forward to each episode. I save the latest episode for my long run because hearing Brett's training experiences always keeps me motivated and inspired to train hard and push myself to the next level.

Two Gomers Run a Marathon is absolutely hilarious, and keeps me entertained for hours at a time during my long runs. While I don't agree with everything they do (I'm a little concerned with their approach to training!) it is interesting to hear about two guys training and preparing for the their first marathon. Oh, and one of them got hit by a Smart Car a few weeks ago, so it has been interesting to hear about his recovery.

Fund raising for the Lance Armstrong Foundation has been awesome this week! I raised over $150 in two days! Thank you so, so much to all who donated. And if you haven't donated yet, there is still time! To make your donation, please visit www.livestrong.org/teamls2010/meredithbrooks

On Saturday, I did a 13 mile run at 5:00am, followed by the Shamrock Shuffle 3k at 10:00am. It was an great morning! I finished the 13 miles and felt great - I had a ton of energy and was ready to head into Lexington for the 3k. I went to the race with my friends Kelly and Eve, and Eve's 3 year old daughter Claire. Eve had Claire in a stroller, so our plan was to start near the back and go as fast as we could, realizing that it would be difficult to navigate the crowd. The Shuffle is a very family friendly event with lots of dogs and strollers, and the whole race had a very relaxed sense to it which was nice. I mean its only 1.86 miles, folks!

Since I had done 13 miles and Kelly had run 5 miles earlier, we figured we would run at a nice, steady pace. What we didn't plan on was sprinting the whole race! But that is what we did, and it was so fun! Eve is a very fast runner and she really worked the crowd with the stroller. If she saw an opening, she went for it and she went for it fast! I was laughing so hard because we were dodging walkers, dogs, kids, stroller and just flying through the course. It was really fun! But I was definitely tired, and we all were wearing down at the end.

I didn't even wear a watch to the race, so I'm not sure what our official time is. It was chip timed, but the website results don't have the chip times, just the clock times. So, our time was officially 18:36, but I think it was more like 17:00 if we account for the time that was ticking before we actually crossed the starting line. Whatever our time, it was still a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from the morning:

Kelly, with a "Luck of the Irish" door hanger pinned to her back

Kelly helping Claire out with some glitter

Eve, Claire and me

Kelly, Eve and Claire

The whole gang