Almost can't believe I'm still running

Sorry for the delay in checking in - I've been SLIGHTLY busy...

y'know...

RUNNING around!

To get us up to speed, I am currently about 7 weeks away from the actual marathon. Each time I think about, my heart skips a beat. Who the heck signed me up for this???

Last week I ran EIGHTEEN MILES with my training group. 18 MILES! We started out in Griffith Park, looped around Glendale and then ventured out into Toluca Lake. I think by about mile 13 my legs were starting to kill me. My body has definitely taken a toll since I started culinary school - getting up at 5am everyday doesn't allow for a well-rested person. PLUS, our 18 mile run started at 6am, as opposed to 8am, so that these longer runs don't completely eat up our day.
We finished our run around 11ish, so that left me with the rest of the day to take the world's longest NAP! Actually, first I came home and fell into the hottest bath I could take. Every joint on me ached - I kinda felt like how my grandma must feel.

Epsom salt baths : delicious.

So - overall, these long runs DON'T get any easier. We have our "recovery" runs that our fairly manageable. For example, since we ran 18 miles last weekend, we're going to run 9 miles this weekend. I think they do that so that our bodies don't just spontaneously combust. I am SOOO looking forward to our 9 miler this weekend. (BTW, definitely NEVER, EVER thought I would say that I was looking forward to a 9 mile run. Ever.)

NEXT UP: 20 MILE RUN!! See you in 2 weeks with sore knees and aching calves!!

I can't feel my legs...just kidding.

I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog - the holidays! They were trying to eat me alive!

But here we are at a new year and I'm very excited. Actually I'm more excited about this year because I started prepping for it ahead of time. I made my resolutions a few months in advance and am very happy about that.

This marathon is really something to look forward to. I'm so happy that I'm consistently training for it and am able to be a part of something so great.

About two weeks ago we completed our 14 mile training run. UMM...

FOURTEEN MILES.

That means that we have now completed a little over a half-marathon. 

If a psychic had told me a year ago that I would be doing this, I would have thought she was on crack. But here I am - running. A lot.

The 14 mile run was a bit daunting but having a great running group to complete it with definitely helps. We talk, we bitch, we moan, we encourage and we FINISH! I think by the eleventh mile I was thinking, "I can't feel my legs, but there's only 3 miles left. And 3 miles isn't that long so I can DO THIS!" And once you get to the twelfth mile, there's no point in quitting. And before ya know it, we're rounding the final stretch back into Griffith Park to the finish line...three and a half hours later!

My maintenance runs are getting much easier to complete. I try to run on pavement two to three times a week for at least 30 to 45 minutes. And I have been fortunate enough to receive a membership to a private gym nearby where I am able to work on my cross-training by using the bike and the elliptical machine. (They recommend that we cross-train by doing things that aren't as jarring on our body as running). 

I'm a little worried about how I'll get in all this running now that I have a brand new and wonderfully busy schedule coming my way. With the new year also comes the beginning of my enrollment in culinary school. So I'll be in school 30 hours a week and working 20 hours a week. NO I'm NOT worried about that AT ALL! It's gonna be TOTALLY fine....

I hope.

This weekend we have a lovely 7 mile recovery run. (Thank god because I am exhausted from all of this sitting around and eating and drinking). :) But next weekend we move on to the big, bad 16 mile training run. EEK! It's gonna be great, it's gonna be fine - I just know it.

See you on the track!