Marathon Training: Expected Time

-->I set out to write this update on how my training is going earlier this week and had little notes like "Kind of overwhelmed" and "Mind over matter" written out next to the looming 5 hours and 30 minutes that Brad and I decided to enter as our expected finish time.

But that was all before I ran my first actual long run. I say actual because my longest to date before yesterday was a 10 miler with a lot of stops/errands along the way.

After finally committing to a long run with no stops, I was shocked to see that I could actually pull off 12 miles in under 2 hours with an average pace of 9:36/per mile.

At this rate, I definitely think that doing the marathon in 5:30 is possible and despite wanting to chop off all my body parts from the waist down due to soreness, I can tell that my body is starting to get physically prepared for this absolutely crazy thing that I decided to do to it.

I'm not going to say it was easy. Around mile 10.5, I half expected to look down and see that my legs had turned green Gumby style since they felt so jello-y, but never one to give up easily, I pushed through and even sprinted out the last block.

With only a little over a month left, I've felt a need to really kick it in to gear and have been putting in two-a-days with yoga + runs combined to ensure I'm getting stretched out while also gaining strength and getting my body in peak physical condition -- whatever that means -- but I am enjoying some muscles in places I've never seen them before!

Looking forward to getting a 16 miler and 20 miler in while I'm traveling as a cool and different way to take in the sights in Boston and New York!

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4