Providence is right around the corner!

Seven weeks until the Cox Providence Marathon! Seven!

This has to be my craziest marathon training cycle to date. On the home front, we have been busy. So very busy, that I haven't been thinking much about training. Everyone also got sick again, but for whatever reason the sickness didn't really impact my running much. The children have been cranky, phlegm has been flying around, and let's not forget about that sea of snot, but my running has been fine. And so, for the most part, I'm dealing well.

Last week I didn't run long, but I did have two great 10 mile workouts, one which wound up being at half marathon pace and the other was at marathon pace. This past weekend I did a 20 miler with my favorite running buddy, AM. Holy cannoli! It wound up being fast! My first three miles were around eight minute pace. Then I met up with AM, we started around 7:40ish pace, and just kept getting faster. My last 5 miles were around 7:27 pace. Now I would be lying if I said it was a super easy run, but it didn't feel too crazy hard either. I do think that AM had an easier time than me though. She is going to be kicking some serious butt when she starts racing again.

I was a bit stiff after the 20 miles and nervous that I might have run too hard (the final pace was 7:38), which would leave me feeling sick for the day and sore the following days. To my pleasant surprise, however, I didn't feel sick and I wasn't sore the next day! Phew! I hate it when I feel like I'm going to vomit, or have to walk down the stairs backwards.

With seven weeks to go, I'll probably run two more 20 milers. And then, it will be time to start tapering! Wow! Marathon training passes by fast when you're busy and sick and have kids. ;)

On a completely random note, I've been streaming Netflix in the evening after the kids go to bed. Lately, I've been streaming this show Roswell. If you haven't heard of it, that would be because it's over a decade old. Anyway, I am addicted. There are aliens, clones of aliens, and teen drama. (No, I'm not joking.) It's like an alien soap opera! Generally, I hate soap operas (and most TV in general), but somehow this cheesy alien soap opera has sucked me into it's web. Netflix is dangerous. Anyone else out there love streaming Netflix?

First 20 Miler for Providence

Saturday there was about an inch of slush on the bike path where I was to run my first 20 miler for this marathon training cycle. The nice cold rain and a temperature in the low 30s made the thought of running less than desirable, but I was meeting AM, and running with AM is awesome. So slushy Saturday it was.

Slushy and cold turned out fine. The plan was to park and run 3 miles to where AM would be waiting. I'm not too familiar with the area, just to make sure I asked the older man in the parking lot ticket booth if I was heading in right direction. He sort of squinted at me and said, "yup, now why are you running on a day like today?" I just smiled, tipped my baseball cap in thanks, and ran off.

A little further down, the bike path was deserted. I was reminded of Frost's "the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." Then, of course, I ran through a puddle and started thinking in four letter expletives. For some reason, I'm a baby when it comes to running through puddles. It's like I think my feet will stay dry if only those puddles weren't there, but let's be realistic, how could my feet possible stay dry running through an inch of slush?

About 2 miles into the run, I found AM, and we were off. The rest of the run was great and passed by fast. The effort felt a little harder than my 20 milers for BayState and it was a bit slower (7:55 pace), but I was still recovering from being sick and the slush probably slowed me down too (it was a little slippery). On the positive side, I ran the day before and the day after, and I felt good the rest of the day. It's the first 20 miler I've run that didn't upset my stomach for the rest of the day, which makes running that much more pleasant. Overall, I'm pleased.

On the home front, everyone is healthy and happy! Yay! Kaylee has been talking up a storm and telling some really creative dynamic stories, which is so much fun to be around. Emily has been running laps around the house...nonstop. She runs and runs and runs some more. It's mostly funny because she has a fierce look of concentration while she's doing it. And Nick has been excited about building a new computer. After my long run, we drove into the city to pick up some computer parts. Nick was discussing motherboards, and Kaylee was all "daddy I think you're mistaken and actually mean keyboards." Ahhh, things are so nice when everyone is healthy...