Life is actually easy....or so I've heard.

True genius is the ability to make everything easy. Life is actually easy, but we as humans make it hard. A stroll in the park, a laugh with some friends, a black dress, white pearls, a black suite and white tie. Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance! - Rex Crain

For those that have never heard Rex Crain speak or follow him on Facebook, the guy is amazing.  Totally inspirational.

This week I was looking forward to ending real soon.  Not because it would be hard, but because of what was waiting at the end.  But since life is actually easy, it will be no problem. 

I knew Sunday would be the "Last Chance for Boston" Half Marathon and so many emotions were going through my head.  My first focus was my goal to break 2 hours for the first time and I felt with the way training has been going and the pace of all my runs I should be able to do that. 

My next thoughts were on next week.  The past 2 Half Marathons I have run, my body has not recovered well and I have not been able to run/walk without excruciating pain for weeks after.  And with the marathon training, it doesn't show that I am allowed to take weeks off and will have to run again on Tuesday.

Added into the mix was the forecast of snow, sleet and rain on race day.

My last thought is to flip the tables and instead of letting Jodi pace me, I'm going to help her.  Her best time is 1:51 in a half marathon.  I tossed around the thought that if the training this week goes well, we are going to try and break 1:50, something she has wanted to do for awhile.  In order to accomplish that, we need to average about 8:23 minutes per mile.  I wasn't going to bring this up to her until race morning, but since we push ourselves and keep each other in the loop/accountable for each workout, I couldn't hide it.  If my week felt good, the new goal would be 1:49:59  Yikes....

Monday - Rest Day

Tuesday - 3 Miles  (24:57)

Felt a little sore after Sundays 7 miler, but nothing major.  Wanted to start off the week right and stay positive and look forward to the Half.  Set the treadmill at 8:20.  Had absolutely no problems and it felt great.  In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a major deal since I've had training runs alot faster.  But the plan was starting to get clear.  Tomorrow the mileage gets bumped up to 6 miles, so that will be the test.

Wednesday - 6 Miles  (50:03)

Today would be the test for me.  If I struggled, I would back off and stick to the original plan.  If it went well....game time.  It would also be the longest that I would have gone with the faster pace.  I felt really good at the start and for some reason had an extra kick in me.  I knew going in that I would have to split up my runs due to the treadmill settings.  After 2 miles the treadmill that had no limits set on time opened up so I quickly jumped on that to finish the rest of the run.  The last 4 miles went smooth.  My IT Band loosened up after about a mile or two, so I had no problems.  Finished the run with a smile and I was a bit excited and sort of proud.

Tonight I had an appointment with the chiropractor, which was perfect timing.  He worked out some kinks and went over things for the race.

I also decided to head over to check out the course for the race.  It's only 5 miles from my house so it will be nice not have to drive far.  After seeing the 1 mile loop, it confirmed my decision about our pace we plan to run.  The course is completely flat, granted the scenery is kinda boring, just office buildings.  But we will know where the half mile marker is, when the water station is coming up and also know that there will be no surprise hills.  Checked out the website and looked at some of the comments from the past and people have loved it.  The only thing that needs to hold off is the weather.

The only part up in the air is Jodi, as she texted me to let me know her hamstring was still bothering her.  She and her friends ran the Livestrong Half Marathon in Austin, TX this past weekend and I guess there was a monster hill (which not many people ran up...of course she did, since she is sorta nuts like that when it comes to running...heehee)  She did take an extra day off, then had to cut her run short today.  Proud of her for listening to her body and not pushing herself though.  No reason for silly injuries.

Thursday - 3 Miles  (24:57)

Of course it wouldn't be Thursday without waking up late....LOL  Every week, but it was not late enough to stop me from hitting the gym early.  They were talking about the weather getting nasty for the drive home, so even more incentive to get my stuff done early.  My IT Band was a little sore after the long run yesterday, but at this point sore is good.  Nothing fancy today.  I followed the same guidelines as the other 2 runs....same pace.  Finished with a nice cool down and stretch and made it to work on time.  Now is the hard part....Waiting for the weekend to come.

Friday - Rest Day

Today I am going to get a nice and easy elliptical workout in to stretch the legs and then relax most of the day.  Granted I have a bunch of errands to run and to make sure I have everything ready for tomorrow.  Probably will meet up with Jodi when she gets into town tonight for a little carb loading dinner and then rest up.  As of now, she told me her hamstring feels good and we are ready to rock the race.

If anyone knows how to control the weather....could you please hold off on the snow and rain until Sunday afternoon?  That would be great.  I would ask a meteorologist, but they are really only correct 30% of the time...bwahahaha

Until next time..