Feeling great after 20 miles

Katie and I at Seward Park in Seattle at the end of our 20 mile run. Like Katie said, overall this run was great and we were filled with a new sense of confidence that we can really do 26.2 in a few weeks! Almost there! AND congrats to the Red Sox, can't wait for the World Series!

Longest Run- 20 miles!!!

Today Sarah and I completed our longest run yet. It was the longest training run that we will do before the marathon. Now we will start to taper our running. I was so nervous before this run- I couldn't sleep last night and I have been thinking about this run all week. I am not sure why? This long run was only 2 more miles than our last one of 18 miles. I guess because the run was the height of our training.

It turned out to be a great run! We felt good most of the run and we had some great support along the way! Thanks to Andy, Aaron and Brian for coming out and cheering us on as we ran along Lake Washington. You guys rock! The best part (I think) of the run was realizing that we CAN run 26.2 miles and we WILL do it in 4 weeks! The worst part was the rain. We had a light, steady, cold drizzle most of the way. I guess that is what you can expect when running in Seattle. Overall, I am so glad it's DONE! The miles flew by with distraction of cheers from our supporters and thoughts of post run food and watching the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS tonight!
RUN HIGHS- cheers from family and friends
RUN LOWS- blisters, sore knees, rain
POST RUN FOOD- meatball sandwiches

We notice that it is raining...and we are still running...

Our 14 mile run on Monday was not a training highlight, but we finished it and stayed on track. The title of this post refers to our new Zen-like approach to training. For instance, instead of become actively upset by the fact that a) it rained the entire time b) we were soaking wet c) the City of Seattle apparently shuts off the water fountains in October (who knew??) and d) 14 miles is still a long way, we attempted to mentally distance ourselves from this unpleasantness and "rise above" during the run.

This run was still rough. We're not there yet I guess :)

Anyways, we actually did 14 miles at a pretty good pace and Katie kept me going at the end of the run when my legs were slowly turning to concrete. Thank goodness for my good friend and awesome training buddy! She motivated me with visions of dinner later that night--does she know me well or what??

This weekend's run is the pinnacle of our training, a 20 mile run! We are nervous and excited about this milestone at the same time. Check out our proposed Tour de Seattle at this link

http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=171964

and come cheer us on if you're in town! Thanks again for all the support!

Training Update--18 Miles DONE!

OK so we just have to brag a little bit--we ran 18 a couple of days ago and I have to say that we ROCKED this run! It went so much better than our 16 miler which was so encouraging at this point. Katie mapped out a great route for us on the Burke-Gilman trail in Seattle and honestly, the miles just flew by (can't even believe I am saying this but true!). The end was a little tough but on the whole, we did great and felt pretty good afterwards. We only have a couple more weeks of hard training before the race, the end is in sight!!

A big thank-you to Katie's friend from work who recommended taking Ibuprofen before the run, personally I think this really helped and I think this woman is a genius :)

Rockin' the Bellingham Half!

The half marathon this weekend went really well--despite some major wind and hills Katie, Kira and I had a great run and enjoyed our weekend exploring Bellingham, WA. This picture is after the race--now that it is over we are all smiles! This was the inaugural run for the event and it was neat to participate in the "first running". We also enjoyed the hospitality offered by Kira's roomate's parents who welcomed us into their home the night before the race and also enjoyed an amazing post-race meal at Kira's friend's house afterwards. Once again the pleasures of running include all the eating we did this weekend :)

Run Highs: new course, amazing water views, tons of post-race food (who knew pepperoni pizza was the perfect post-run food??) , downhill sections of the run and supportive friends along the way. AND it didn't rain, amazing!
Run Lows: "gale-force" winds, uphill sections and dodging walkers while attempting to run uphill


This week's training calls for an 18 mile long run...we're a little intimidated but excited to be this far into the training process. Updates to follow. Oh and GO SOX!!

Bellingham Bay Half Marathon this weekend

I am so excited that we have a "light" training week this week--only 13 miles! hah hah! Seriously, anything less than 16 sounds great for this week! Katie, Kira and I are running in the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon this Sunday October 7th. Bellingham is about 90 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound so we are looking forward to checking out a new city and a new running route. Feeling some race-day excitement will keep our training motivation high as well. I'm looking forward to taking a little trip with my favorite running buddies too, should be a great weekend!

If you're interested, check out their website at www.bellinghambaymarathon.org/

Thanks for all the continued well-wishes and encouragement, it means so much to hear from everyone, especially as we push through the last few challenging weeks of training. With your support I know we can do this!