Last Discovery

I was supposed to do the last of the Discovery Mountainback last night. Trouble is, I got stuck at work a little longer than expected, and so I got to the meeting point about 5 minutes too late. The group was to drive out four miles to Bear Meadow, run 2.2 miles out (over a good-sized hill), then turn around and run that 2.2 miles back, then 4 miles back to the original meeting point.
Since I missed the meeting, and hence the ride out to the starting point, I instead decided to run the 4 miles out to Bear Meadow, then turn around and run it back. Those four miles out are pretty much all uphill (not steep, but uphill), so I figured that would be a good workout.
It was cold and raining, especially at the start, but I felt great once I got about a mile into it. I felt so good, in fact, that when I got to the turn-around point I decided to run a couple tenths up the hill, to make my distance the 8.4 I was planning. But once I started up the hill, I started thinking, "well, maybe a little bit further," which became, "I've come this far, I might as well keep going." Since I knew the return was pretty much all downhill, I ran the mile to the top of the hill, then turned around and zoomed back.
It was really an awesome run: I felt great the entire time. 10 miles in 88 minutes, and I could have easily kept going. The marathon training is going well, indeed.

Five Ways to Boost Your Energy

Nubella has a great article about how what you eat (and drink) effects your energy level. Read it and give it out to all your friends.

Nubella - Five Ways to Boost Your Energy

Long Run

Today the training log called for a nine-mile run. I plotted out a course and set off. There are a lot of rolling hills, and some steep climbs on the return trip, but overall I felt pretty good. So good in fact that I ran it much faster than intended. I was supposed to run it at a 9:41/mile pace, but instead I did it at 9:00/mile (1:22:55 round-trip). That's fine because I felt good, but I'll totally blow up if I try to do that at the marathon. I need to work on my pacing.

What Am I Up To?

I have two events coming up. First, I am helping Joseph train for the Knights of Columbus 5K in October. Second, I have registers to run the Philadelphia Marathon in November. In a lot of cases, the former will help the latter: Joseph runs at a slower pace than I do, but I'll need to remember that slower pace to complete the marathon.

I'll post a training schedule when I have a chance.