Friday I did my 23 mile training run to prepare for Providence.  I was lucky again, the weather was good for it.  It was sunny when I started, but 30 minutes into the run, the clouds rolled in.  There was the chance for rain late in the day, so I was hopeful to get my entire run done rain free.

I began my run with a walk for the first mile to warm up.  After the walk, I ran 30/40 intervals for the first 14 miles.  I did the route I had been following recently that brings me past my house around mile 5.  That’s where I fuel up with a Mott’s applesauce at my mailbox and then head up my hill again for the rest of the route.

I felt good during my run.  I met some animal friends along the way.  Listened to my favorite pod coasts, Mickey Miles Podcast, Laugh or Go Crazy, Two Gomers, and Another Mother Runner.  I think that is my favorite part about the long runs.  I get the time to listen to all of my favorite pod casts and reflect on what they are talking about.  The Mickey Miles podcast had Eddie McCoy and Kimberly Markey on it so I felt like I was running with my friends for a little bit!  I also made me wish we were running race together sooner rather than later.

During this run, I felt a little negativity after mile 13.  I think I was comparing this training run to my training run I did in 2012 to prepare for my first marathon.  During that year I was a bit faster than I was this year.  I am going to have to compare my stats to see in reality where I really was.  This year I am using Jeff Galloway for my training.  He is recommending I go slower.  I think I did go slower, but still went faster than he recommended.  He wanted me to do a 15/20 interval.  I did that after mile 14.  However, at the 13 mile mark, I was running a 3 hour half marathon.  My past best half marathon last year was 2:25.  This year I am so much slower.  But in the beginning of my run, I was running 12 minute miles, which to me has been faster than my last long run’s pace.  As you can see here, your mind goes through a lot during these runs and one ounce of negative thinking can go crazy in your brain while on the road for 5 hours and 15 minutes.

Despite the negative thoughts, I was happy that I had fast bursts of speed during the run portion and then rested in the walk.  I can’t avoid the hills however.  Every time at the end of my run, my pace slows down because I have several large hills to climb in order to get back to my house.  The only way to avoid this is if I drive to where I want to begin my run so I can end on a flat area.  I guess it’s not a bad thing to work on some hills during the end of my run to push the tired legs.

So with one more long run left, I will take that even slower as advised by Jeff and my other running friends.  So I expect to be out on the road for a LONG 6 hours on Good Friday.  I hope it doesn’t rain!  I really hope that I can meet my goal of a 5:30 marathon in Providence and I am hoping my friend Gail can help me get there for it!  It may hurt at the end but I really want this!