I have to double this? Wait.... whaaaaaat?

This weekend marked the longest run so far in my training. 14 miles. It was a windy but beautiful day, and chugged through my route, mile by mile. I finished proud of myself, with a distinct sunglasses tan line, but I also finished exhausted. I mean really exhausted. My legs felt used up and then used again.

That's when I had a terrifying thought: I pretty much have to double that run in a matter of weeks. Five weeks and five days, to be exact. Yikes! I know that I need to trust my training, but knowing that the race is creeping up on me makes that really hard. I'm working my way through it, and even based this week's Marathon Monday segment on the pitfalls of thinking too much. You can watch that here if you fancy.

So that's the goal. I need to turn off my brain and continue with my schedule as prescribed by my trainer (even though that means 16 miles on Saturday).

Other things:

I posted previously about how I tried energy gels and didn't like them at all. It turns out that my knee jerk "I hate all gels" reaction was wrong. It's all about the flavor, baby! This weekend I tried Cliff Chocolate Cherry, and it was great. It was like a sundae topping, and I highly recommend it!

Also, as I was running on Saturday, I was passing a lot of the Charlottesville sights this city is well known for. It got me thinking about how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful, fascinating city. So please allow me to give you a tour of the best parts of my route. This week's training schedule is also posted below, in case you're curious.

Charlottesville is the home of UVA... Thomas Jefferson's University. The Rotunda is the keystone building. This is between miles 1 and 2.

About 2 miles in there is John Paul Jones Arena... home of the Cavs.

I'm not done yet, sports fans! Scott Stadium greets me between miles 3 and 4!

Keep going! All the way to the Downtown Mall (mile 7). It's a ped mall smack in the middle of downtown, with local shops and restaurants lining it. There is an outdoor pavilion on one end that boasts a free live concert every Friday in the summers.

Next up? The trails at Riverview Park (miles 10+). I've heard there are around 20 miles of trails here, but I can't confirm. It's a pretty run for the most part!

And finally, to finish the run I'm back downtown. This is Charlottesville's historic Court Square (mile 14). The main building has been used continuously as a courthouse for over 200 years!

That's the end of my Tour de Charlottesville! Have a great week, and wish me luck on tackling 16 this weekend! :)

Week Eleven Training Schedule*, designed by Trainer Dan Bayliss

Sunday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)
Monday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)
Tuesday- Run 6 miles
Wednesday- Run 6 miles
Thursday- Run 4 miles
Friday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)
Saturday- Run 16 miles

Getting over the yucks, and learning to be social...

Getting over the yucks
So after my no motivation pity party last week, I think I'm finally getting back into the zone. For a while there I wanted no part of running, and I was just going through the motions because I had to. I think that feeling of responsibility comes with the territory when you announce your training plan on the nightly news.

But you know what? I'm glad I'm doing this in such a public way. If I was on my own in this, I probably would have thrown in the towel by now, or downgraded myself to a half marathon. I can honestly say now: the training "yucks" are something you can overcome. This is a new life lesson for me, because I have never gotten over that hump. Let's just say I have thrown in my share of towels over the years.

Learning to be social
Typically I'm a solo runner. Running with others kind of stresses me out, because I'm constantly worrying about my pace. I'll start out too fast and way out of my comfort zone, only to tire quickly. That leads to even more stress because I need to walk... etc. etc. Bottom line: social running has never been my thing.

But... for this week's Marathon Monday, I came across a group that meets bi-weekly to run and socialize. The best part? "Running This Week" is made up of runners at every skill level. Fast to slow, high mileage to low mileage. Unfortunately they meet when I am at work, but it did give me hope that there are other semi-slow runners out there that won't stress me out during a group run. I now have new faith in social running.

I don't know if it will work during training, but I may be on a hunt for a running club in the near future!

My training schedule for the week is posted below, and you can check out this week's Marathon Monday segment here.

And finally tonight, I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to Cassidy. She was the best dog anyone could have asked for, and we were lucky to have her for almost 14 years. We love you, DeeDee. Thanks for being a part of our family.

Sunday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)
Monday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)
Tuesday- Run 6 miles
Wednesday- Run 7 miles
Thursday- Run 4 miles
Friday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)
Saturday- Run 12 miles

Halfway there...

I am officially 8 weeks and five days from M-Day. That means my training is pretty much at the halfway point. This freaks me out a little more than I like to admit, because I am currently missing something: my motivation.

When I started training 7 weeks ago (and even during my pre-training training), there were plenty of days that getting out the door wasn't high on my list. Lately though I have been dreading it... and even after a couple of miles I'm still thinking about my couch. I know this is just a phase, and my drive will soon return. I look forward to that, but until then, may I just say uggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!

I had to get that out of my system. I know negativity isn't becoming, and it's definitely counterproductive when it comes to my training. I still go on my runs, but I perform so much better when I actually want to be there. I would take any tips out there that could get me out of this funk!

Until my motivation is back on track, I'll keep racking up the miles, but I won't necessarily enjoy it every step of the way.

This week's training schedule is posted below, and you can check out the latest NBC29 Marathon Monday segment here. Have a great week!

Sunday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)

Monday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)

Tuesday- Run 5 miles

Wednesday- Run 4 miles

Thursday- Run 5 miles

Friday- Off (or non-weight bearing exercise)

Saturday- Run 10 miles