Will Run For Ice Cream

Yesterday's long run (8 miles) was not necessarily the confidence boost that I needed before the Half next weekend. It was great to meet a friend to run so I didn't have to run alone. But I did not expect the heavy tired legs that I felt. I know that I didn't eat right last week (and I'm hoping that was part of the reason), but I was hoping for a 'wow, that was great' instead of 'wow, that was extremely tough'. This week is a taper week.. I only have 2 short runs before the Half on Saturday.... I'm hoping for a strong run..

This was supposed to be a 13 mile run for me, but my running partner wanted to do a little over 14 today. Instead of having her run ahead and me turn around early, I decided why not just do 14. It was supposed to be a slow run with a pace of 11:30-12:30. We hit our overall target pace. Near the end, we were pressed for time and had to run the last 2 miles in the 10's. I tried "GU" for the first time today. It was super sweet, made me a little nauseous and it intensified my stomach cramps a little, but  I do believe I could felt a difference in my energy level. I will try it again. I know with these longer runs, I have to find a way to fuel and hydrate. Thankfully our route allowed us a bathroom stop. We saw lots of wildlife along the way - deer, skunk, rabbits, birds, squirrel (with no tail), ground hog and on the way back, I stepped OVER a snake that was still very much alive. Today was my longest run so far...

I'd been tossing the idea back and forth that I wanted to complete a marathon this year. I had said (last year) that I wanted to complete a marathon before I turned 40. Well..... I'll be 40 in March. I was considering doing the Harrisburg marathon, and was trying to talk a friend into doing it with me. She wasn't convinced that she wanted to do it. The River Front  is a nice place to run, but (said with a whine)   we run it all of the time. The thoughts of running a marathon there, especially our first marathon, was not something she (or me either) really wanted to do. So, I found two other Marathons within our time frame. One was Baltimore and the other was Philadelphia. We both wanted to run Baltimore, but it was in October (a month less training) and the date really didn't work for either of us. So we took a look at Philadelphia. After an evening of looking it over, clearing it with our husbands that they could watch the kids, we decided to register. Step by st