Back in the spring when The Blues opened their registration for 2017, they offered a $10 deal to the first 50 registrants in celebration of it being their 10th Annual Event. Unable to resist that price ($0.38 per mile people!), I refreshed and refreshed, and managed to grab one of the deals! I figured, once it actually came time to train (about 12-16 weeks ahead of the event), I could decide whether I'd actually train to run the full or if I'd plan to drop down to the half. And so I slogged through the summer, maintaining my usual 20-25 miles/week with 8-10 mile long runs each Saturday (honestly, not an easy feat for me in our crummy heat and humidity). I ran Big Butts at the end of July (after pushing my mileage up with double days for about a month - race goals always help to get me moving), took some time off to recover (because 32 miles on the pavement necessitated a break), started trying to speed up for some fall events (but neither 300 Oaks or Over the River Run went as well as I'd hoped, since I hadn't trained nearly as well for speed as I did last summer), hurt my hip (probably because I ramped up the mileage and speedwork too quickly after my poor showing at 300 Oaks in the hopes I'd redeem myself at OTRR) and had to take more time off, and then suddenly it was October and I had a decision to make...
So after a couple weeks of easing back into it (AKA slow, low mileage), I did a 14-miler and a 16-miler the past two weekends and hoped for the best. (Don't worry, I'd run a few 11-12 milers before I hurt my hip, so I wasn't bumping up from 10.) And while my plantar fasciitis has returned (oh my gosh I hate PF so bad), my hip agreed with the mileage (and the time-on-feet) and everything else generally seems to be ok too (though I've been MUCH better about stretching/yoga, foam-rolling, and ice baths/Epsom salt baths the past few weeks now that I'm officially in "training mode"). The weather is FINALLY cooling off and a few other members of my running group are gearing up to run the full at Blues too, so I have some long mileage training partners, which makes it SO MUCH EASIER to get it done (and is something I badly missed two years ago while training solo for Soldier, Greenville, and the MS 50). Hopefully, I can get enough long long distance runs (meaning 15+ milers) completed over the next month and a half to tackle this marathon with confidence, but there's always the option to drop to the half at the last minute if need be. Hopefully not, but I do have that security blanket. While I ran that 32-miler this summer, it was technically broken into 3 parts (though they were all completed within a 12-hour time period), and I haven't run 26.2 miles straight since February 2015... Currently, with as out-of-shape as I feel (and yes, I know I'm not really out-of-shape if I can run 16 miles, but I promise you that I'm moving more slowly and taking more walk breaks than I should be), my only goal is to complete the race. Hopefully with some of my friends at my side (though that will depend what their goals are come race day, as some of them are far speedier than me). But if the next couple of months go well, maybe, just maybe, I can push for that elusive 4:15 that I missed out on twice two years ago. Blues is a pretty hilly course though, so it's definitely not most people's idea of a PR-goal race, but you just never know...
In the meantime, soccer has ended and thus I can now enjoy our post-run tailgates again. We were especially spoiled this weekend with a toasty fire pit and 90-degree swimming pool to warm up in after all the miles. Hooray for chicken salad, cheese dip, and tiny beers!
Just two months from today until I get The Blues, one way or another!
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