Tomorrow is exactly one month from the marathon. Thought I'd take a few moments to update my progress.
So far, I've run 189 miles this year. It's pretty ridiculous for me to think about that. It's amazing that in order to run 26 miles just one time, you have to run a few hundred before hand. I've been doing between three and four runs a week, including a longer run at the end of the week. All was going well until I got a virus a couple of weeks ago. I was in bed four-days straight, and did not get back into running-shape for 10 days. In that time, I missed five of my running sessions and it definitely has set me back a bit.
I'm beginning to doubt that I'll be able to run this thing in my goal of under four-hours. While most of my training runs have yielded under-nine-minute miles [the time necessary to best the four-hour mark], today didn't go so well. I did a 16-mile run, the longest since my illness, and it was very average. I still have a nagging cough, and my body isn't as strong as it was a couple of weeks ago, so I was doing 10-minute miles. There's no shame in that, but it leaves me somewhat disappointed.
On a side note, I don't think I've really lost much weight during this training. I think I'm a little more toned than I used to be, but not that much. No, all this cardio has yet to give me a six-pack.
I do believe, however, that I have enough time left to get back to my goal. I only have two long runs left [an 18 and 20-miler], so the time is drawing near. These long runs have been educational, as I'm discovering more about my body. Apparently I can run for two hours without having to worry about my food/liquid consumption. But after that two-hour mark I need to carb up, otherwise, I'm dead. I purchased a huge Gatoraide pack from Sam's so I can keep it carbin' up.
As of now, and I know there's still some time to think about this, I can't say that I'll ever do another marathon. I love the idea of it, especially the chance to run through this city that I love. But I'm extremely bored of the training. Even an mp3 player can't keep me distracted enough from the continuous hours of running. After a couple of hours of running, I'm ready to check out. That's not to say that I'll be hyped-up a month from today. But when I cross that finish line, you can stick a fork in me.