Remember how I was supposed to run the Rock 'N Roll Phoenix Half Marathon? Well, that's not happening anymore. I am still going to Phoenix to have a reunion weekend with UD friends, but will not be running the race. Neither Liz nor I were training as much as we would've liked and since the other girls were not planning to run the race, we decided not to either. This way we'll just get to hike, relax, and spend time with each other.
So what races do I have planned for this year so far??
April 6 - Go St. Louis Marathon Relay - Liz, Angela, and I (and one other girl - who wants to join our team?!?) are going to run the marathon relay so about 6-7 miles each.
May 4 - Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon - Technically I am not registered yet, but I really think I am going to make this my goal marathon. Angela and I talked about it last week and decided it would be a fun one to do together and so it was settled. There is a price increase at the end of January, so I will decide for sure by then, but I think this is what I'm going to go for.
And that's about all I have planned really, but I am sure more will come up. Catherine and I have talked about doing the Elmhurst 4 on the 4th again and I also like to always do the Arlington Heights 4th of July 5k. And I still really want to run a fast half marathon sometime, but I guess I just don't know which one yet!
So, starting today, I have 17 weeks to train for the Flying Pig Marathon. Despite the record-setting frigid temperatures in Chicago (right now we are at -11, feels like -37), I really didn't want to miss day 1! I haven't ran since 2013, over a week ago so I wasn't really sure what to expect. But after risking my extremeties and face to walk half mile to the gym, I had to make it worth it.
I wore 22 articles of clothing on th way there, but on 7 articles of clothing to run in. 2 of these 7 articles were my brand new Nike Flyknit shoes that I got for Christmas. They are super light and I thought they'd be perfect for running on the treadmill in the winter.
I started at 7.0 (~8:30 pace) and increased the speed by .1 everytime the song changed, so I ultimately ended up at 7.7 (7:47 pace). I completed 4 miles in 32:40 (8:10 pace total average). Right when I stopped, I thought I was going to pass out, so I tried to walk around a little and then just sat on the end of the treadmill. I guess that's what not running for over a week will do to you. But then I recovered and did some ab stuff.
Have you ever done a marathon relay? Or any long distance relay?
Any good song ideas for a new running playlist?
I love how those price increase deadlines somehow force you into making the decision to sign up. I have signed up on that "last" day before increase several of times. It looks like a fun marathon - you should do it! I've never heard of a relay marathon. I am running my first relay run this year with a group of 10 people. It's called the Cascade Lakes Relay and is 216 miles. I have no idea what it's like to run in the middle of the night, but I guess I will find out! Good luck on your training!
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