Another 20 Miler ...

Okay the good news is that I got another 20-miler in today. The bad news is that it was SLOW!

I run with Stephanie's group again today. They were going out for 16 miles with the last half at marathon pace. My training plan was for a 20 miler and I knew I wouldn't be able to pull it off if I stuck to the pick-up pace so after an 8 mile "warm up" and 2 mile pickup, I pulled it back a bit ... then just faded from there. I got back to Memorial Park and did 2 1/2 loops to get my 20. It was nice that Houston Area Road Runners Association (HARRA) was set up with some goodies which gave me something to look forward to each time around!

In the infamous words of Bill Murray's character, John Winger, in the classic movie Stripes, "Then depression set in!" I'm really disappointed with my times over the past couple of weeks. I'm not hitting my training schedule times like I was able to up to that point. On one hand I am happy that I finished 20 miles today while running the last 12 alone. For the last several miles I just kept asking myself, "Is there any physical reason I can't finish this?"

"No.

"Is there any mental reason I can't finish 20 today?"

"No."

"Is there any reason I can't go faster?"

"Yes but I can't describe it."

It's very frustrating! And, of course, I have no idea what's really going on. My 20-miler this week was quite a bit slower than my 20-miler 3 weeks ago (which I already thought was too slow). Of course, I can come up with dozens of excuses but I'm really trying not to allow myself those cop outs.

Based on my 20-milers, I have no idea what to expect come marathon day. I know the taper should help me along with the cooler air but that isn't calming my anxiety ... somewhat a fear of the unknown, I guess.

On the bright side, for the first time today I had a glimpse of myself actually finishing. Up to this point, it seemed too far of a distance to imagine and too far away on the calendar. I guess this is a very small step in my progression ....

1600 Intervals

I went over to Klein High tonight to run 1600 meter intervals. It had been a long day so I wasn't feeling my best mentally or physically when I started out at about 8:30 pm.

I slowly ran the 1.8 miles to the track for my warmup. Once on the track, I turned a decent first 1600 but knew it was going to be a struggle from there. The harder I pushed, the worse I felt. Early on I wasn't sure how I was going to get each of the 4 intervals in. In between, I walked or ran a slow 800. Even this late the temperature was 84 and humidity was around 70%. I was very happy to finish the 4 intervals I set out to do. I made the slow run home and quickly found my bed and sleep!

Total miles 9.4

Warm - 2 miles

7:00
7:22
7:31
7:35

Cool - 1.9 miles

4 Miles This Morning

I wasn't able to run last night because I was working. I got out this morning around 5 for 4 miles in the neighborhood.

I wore my new shoes (Asics Cumulus IX) for the first time. They felt slightly heavier than my Mizuno's and the gel pads felt a bit too hard. I suppose they will just take some getting used to. I noticed it doesn't appear that I'll be having the blister problem with them. This is a surprise as it seems the Mizuno's themselves may have been the cause of the blisters. This morning's run was short so it's still too early to tell for sure.

4.1 miles @ 8:42 (35:53)

Training Schedule: Aug 20 - 26

Mon: Easy 4M @ 8:51
Wed: Speed 8M w/ 4x1600@7:00 w/800 active recovery
Sat: Long 20M @ 8:51