This past week was mostly a lesson in rest and trying to better schedule it in so I don't just shut down when I need to be performing. I did manage to get my mileage in, but I fell asleep before CrossBoot Wednesday, so that ended up being a rest day. I also didn't get any biking in, because again, I just felt like sleeping in Sunday morning, but that's okay. I'm trying to remember what's important here, and I think completing the mileage is at the top of the list. On my 12-mile run, which I was looking forward to mostly because it was a shorter long run, I ended up with a slower average pace than I had during my 20-miler! But that was partly because I was still coming off of that 20-miler and partly because I was running in the beginnings of Tropical Storm Isaac, which later became a hurricane. I welcomed the cooler, cloudy weather, especially when the gusts of wind were pushing me from behind, but once I turned around to head home, that wind was no longer my...

Last week's training was pretty much triumphant. I completed my distances (and then some), I threw in some speed work, I did all my runs in the morning, and I got in all the cross-training I wanted to do. Monday morning's run was mostly unremarkable--except for the fact that I got up to run before work for the second Monday in a row, in my whole life. But later in the day, Coach Lyle--who is not my official coach but is a running coach who is part of the Monday night group I (used to) run with, and who put together my training plan--wrote to several of us from that group who are training for MCM. He asked how things were going, and I replied enthusiastically that my training was going very well, except for the minor fact that I wasn't doing the speed work. He replied that he was happy things were going well but warned that if I wanted to meet my goal pace, I'd have to do the speed work. This killed my buzz a little bit, but I knew he was right. So I promised him I...

Last week's training was an odd mix of new habits, a now old injury, and, ultimately, success. I started off the week with an early-morning run on Monday. This was a feat in itself, as I don't believe I've ever gotten up specifically to run, before work, on a Monday. But I'm trying something new. I've learned, much to my amazement, that I run better in the mornings. And it's cooler outside. And I have more time in my evenings. Except that, if I want to make this a regular habit, I have to go to bed around 10pm, which is another new thing. But I'm liking my new early-to-rise, early-to-bed routine. I feel like a more successful, more grown-up human being. But the effort of getting up early on Monday was apparently too much to carry into an early run Tuesday, so I had to do my "medium" run (8 miles) in the evening. Even after waiting until 7:30pm to start, the heat of the day was still lingering in the air, so I really had to push myself throu...

Last week's training started out well, but, as the below chart shows, it did not end with a long run, as planned. There are a couple of reasons for this: (1) I first attempted my 16-miler on a Friday rather than the typical Saturday (more explanation to come); (2) I then attempted to make up for it on a Sunday, but I woke up too late to run long. The reason I tried to do my long run Friday instead of Saturday is because I was in Siesta Key for the weekend to spectate at Josh's Olympic-distance triathlon , which took place Saturday morning. And believe it or not, the hardest part was not  getting up this time. I was up and out of bed at the second alarm, and out the door only minutes later. I had routed out my run the night before on a driving tour of the island with Josh, so I knew where I would start out, at least. The early morning was dark, quiet, and humid. My legs felt like lead, which I attributed to my CrossBoot class two nights prior. I'd normally have Fr...