Marathon #8 done!

Feb 1 - 8:  4, 5, 4, 5, 18

Feb 9 - 15:  6, 7, 3, 20

Feb 16 - 22:  4, 6, 5, 10

Feb 23 - 28:  3, 3 (rest until marathon 3/1)


Feb Total: 103 miles (not including marathon 3/1)







February has been great! It was definitely a cold month to train in. All the long runs were done in an average of 32 degrees. I felt that on my face and lungs by the end of each run.


The 18 miler felt fine and I was able to finish closer to my 16 miler time from the week prior. The 20 miler was fine until the last couple miles. My left hip was sore and my right knee was feeling some pain and stiffness. So I slowed it down the last mile and knew a few days rest after would help. And it did.  The taper week went great with the best 10 miler run I've had in quite some time. Itwas a warm 55 degrees when I was done and I ran it under 1:40 (I thinmk 1:37) which is fast for me! Ha!

Marathon #8 was March 1st in Albany, GA. Two years ago I ran this one in the pouring rain with tornado sirens. Last year, on the day it was held, we moved. This year the weather could not have been any better! The start of the race was around 44 and sunny. By the end of the race it was 69 and bright warm sunshine was making us all feel HOT! I used a 4:40 race tat and was on target all the way until mile 23. Then I hit the wall. Never fails. I always do! My heart and chest were sore, my calves were getting heavy, and my right leg was incredibly tight. By mile 24-26 I had to throw in a lot of walking with running. The last half mile the pain in my right knee was really hurting and I could tell my tight leg and ITB were the cause. I finished in 4:52. I was content with the finish knowing how well the first 23 miles went! ;)

After the race, I felt a little sick. I think it was from the warm temps. I had a lot of salt on my skin and after training the past 7 weeks in cold temps, I'm sure a lot of us were not ready for the warmth. Although I LOVED it! I love heat training! I love sweating! We went back to the hotel, I cleaned up and wanted to just sit in the sun for a bit. My man was encouraging me to go soak my legs in the pool. It was a perfect 48 degrees - the perfect ice bath! So I did - and 6 minutes was all I could stand. :) (A few other runners followed suit!) After that I was so ready for the steak filet meal I had been craving!



We saw a movie that evening. The next day we visited an outdoor park garden with a natrual spring. It naturally releases 70,000 gallons per minute! It was so pretty even though nothing was in bloom!





And we visited an outdoor game range/zoo. Saw a few other runners hobbling around, but for the most part it was empty - like having the whole place to ourselves. My favorite part was the meerkats - they were just adorable!