Day 39: Shorts! Shorts! Shorts! Shorts! Shorts!

Today's task: 10 minute warm up, 8 miles @8:14 min/mile, 10 minute cool down

Today's weather: 60 degrees, sunny, south winds @20-25 mph

Today's outcome:  1 mile warm up (7:51 - oops!), 8 miles in 1:04:38 (8:04 min/mile), 1 mile cool down (8:18)

After looking at the weather radar this morning, I fully anticipated running all of those miles in some pretty significant rain.  But it was supposed to be in the 50s, so I wasn't dreading it all that much.  However, by the time I got home from dropping Camryn off at school, we had blue skies and abundant sunshine.  Another quick radar check had me bounding upstairs to shed my windbreaker and swap my ill-fitting capris for my fancy new shorts.  It was only my second time wearing those shorts, and I can officially say I'm in love.  Hoping for warm enough weather on race day to be able to wear them!

As for the run, it was tougher than I thought it would be.  Monday's intervals gave me some false confidence that I was closer to 100% healthy than I actually am, and today reminded me that my legs and lungs have some catching up to do.  I'm a little bit out of sync with my body when it comes to pacing, as demonstrated by my first mile, which was supposed to be a nice easy warm up but instead was way faster than the actual tempo was supposed to be.  My second and third miles were also a bit too fast, but the wind got on me for miles 4-7 and forced me to slow my pace.  That wind was fierce!  At one point, my hat flew back and I caught it right before it slipped off my ponytail.  There were even a few times while running into the wind that I felt like I had no forward progress at all.  Normally this would irritate me, but I was actually thankful for the wind today.  More often than not, we have blustery winds during these Shamrock races...it's just the way it is in March in Virginia Beach.  The race course is a giant out and back loopy kinda thing, with the majority of it having you running north or south.  So basically, if the wind is blowing hard either north or south, half of your race is going to be very, very tough!  For today's run, I had the wind at my back for the last 1.5 miles, which has me hoping for anything other than a south wind on race day.

My legs were in rough shape when I finished this run.  My quads burned and felt really tight.  My butt is still pretty sore from Monday's legs and back workout, and my shins are still feeling the burn from Monday's 400s.  I made myself my favorite recovery smoothie...

...and put it in my favorite cup before heading out to Camryn's swim lessons.  I became hooked on a smoothie called the Chocolate Elvis when I was pregnant with Brynn and still working, and started making my own version at home once the absence of my income all but eradicated my smoothie budget.  Try it yourself!

~1 cup ice
1 cup skim milk
1 packet Carnation instant breakfast (milk chocolate)
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter (I use Jif Natural)
1 banana

Just blend until smooth.  Delish.

I made great use of the rec center again today while Camryn was swimming.  There was no one in the little room used for stretching and ab workouts, so I grabbed a jump rope and sprawled out on the mats.  

20 minutes later, I was feeling less sore and loosey goosey.  Should probably treat myself to another session before bed tonight.  

The final countdown is on (and now that song is in your head) - 25 days until I step up to the starting line.  I'm starting to review the race course and think about my goals and strategy for the race.  Since it's my first marathon, my #1 goal is to finish.  Not only do I want to finish, but I want to finish strong.  I do not want to hit the wall or bonk or do any of those dreadful things you hear about when runners start out too fast.  And since it's my first marathon, I hesitate to set a goal for time...but I'm gonna do it anyway.  My training plan's race predictor has told me what a realistic time is (based on my past performances and my current ability level) and it's hard to wrap my brain around it.  I think I can do it, but I may give myself a range instead of just one finish time to shoot for.  And of course, it can all go out the window if race day arrives and weather conditions are less than favorable.   I'm contemplating running with a pace group, at least for the first several miles, if for no other reason than to take some of the mental weight off my shoulders during the race.  I started with a pace group for my last half marathon, and once I felt like I handed the responsibility of my finish time over to them, I could relax and enjoy myself a lot more.  

I'm starting to get pretty emotional as this race draws near.  I'm excited to see what I'm made of, and I'm almost sad that this time of extreme anticipation is almost over.  I've been scouring Pinterest for motivational mantras I can carry with me through the final weeks of training, and I thought this particular quote was spot on:

My life has been changed, both physically and mentally, and I haven't even run the race yet.  It feels similar to when I was near the end of my pregnancies...I truly enjoyed being pregnant, loved the anticipation and didn't want to wish the time away, but I couldn't wait to meet my babies.  I have truly enjoyed the anticipation of this race and learning how tough I can be, but I can't wait to feel what it's like to cross the finish line.