Rob: I caught that AFTER I signed off; it was a typo :() sorry. Only in my dreams LOL!

I hope to finish under 1:55:00 in the HM I finally registered for closer to home instead of near Minneapolis.

Hubby happy about not driving ALL the way there :)) But its a week earlier yikes!! Haha!!

Changing  my mentality & set a goal to finish under 2hrs! Excited about it.

Good luck on getting under 2:00 - that's my goal for this year as well.

Ran to the beach today - chose a distance just under 10 mi.  Running by heart rate, so estimated an average pace of 7:30 / km.   (12:04 min / mi)

Stuck to that 80-85% of MHR for the first 6 miles or so.  By that time. I had climbed the last hill and felt so good that I decided to ignore the HR for the rest of the run.  Felt like a million bucks ($US).

Ended up with an average pace of 7:20 min / km (11:48 min / mi). 

Sure, I gotta keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone, but it felt great to let fly for a bit today.  Running across the finish feeling so strong is one of the real high points in a Runner's experience,  don't you think?

Our summertime beach runs are a great experience.  We have folks starting anywhere from 6 miles from the beach to 26.2 mi.  Participants are encouraged to time their finish at the same time.  It's great standing at the end, cheering on your friends.  You get to handicap yourself (by the way you choose your start time), so there's no telling who "wins".  Everyone there is a runner who succeeds.  We cheer one another on, take off our shoes and stand in Lake Erie for a while, then go to a local open air restaurant for a great meal and a beer or two.

Not sure, but I estimate there were about 150 or so today.  It's organized by one of the local running shops, water stations with water, eLoad, candy, pretzels, etc. every 3 miles or so.

Had a great morning.  I should be outside in the garden right now, but sitting in front of the TV watching the ball game is alright too!

Rob-That sounds like a great run-it fit's lots of levels of runner skill and a great way to finish!

Tony- you really did the job on the heat/humidity.  Nice job!

I did my long run yesterday at the lake again, taking advantage of more shade than I ever have near home.  Total 16.1 in 3:30, using 1:1 walk/run ratio the entire way except the long hill at the end of the run, when I switched to 30/30.   Tried Gu gel and chomp blocks which worked well.  10 minutes in the lake to cool off, then a Big Louie before heading home and 20 minutes in a cold water bath.  Legs feel pretty good today.

Have a great week, run strong and safe!

I'm going to have to do some catching up here! Chris and I went camping at Beaver's Bend State Park, Broken Bow, OK. It's a beqautiful place and if you live near I would suggest it! Looks like Colorado without the altitude!

Lots of steep hills for running and cycling! I got the bike up to 32.2 mph! Woooo hooo! Did two days of 7 mile runs 1:10 and 1:07. The humidity was killer in this heat! I did a 1 hour swim in the lake and have deduced that my hyperventilation is not from fear of open water. Looks like it's race nerves. I have a sprint tri on Saturday. Than a 100K bike race on the 18th and the Hotter Than Hell 100 on the 25th (I'm only doing 50 miles)

Mary Kay~ So very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how hard this is. My Mom is very proud of my running and comes to some of my races. She's 74 and has even jogged a bit on her walks lately. I'm proud of her too.

I'll have to go back and do a lot of reading to catch up here!

I hope everyone is being careful in this heat.

You all inspire me sooo much!!!!

Good day Mighty Masters! Special shout out to Dance Fever and Flakijak girl.....I just misspelled that I know....so sorry. Welcome to our group!

I'm sitting here watching a bit of the olynpics & it has women's kijak....still not spelling right.

Loving the olympics! After lunch break, will have to get back to work!

Enjoyed reading everyone's reports on their long runs.

My entire lower body is sore from the 9 mi trail run! It is a good sore. I walked 3 mi yesterday, thinking that would work it out. Ha! So today was a nice, slow, continuous recovery run of 4 miles. Interesting to note that my midweek runs, regardless of whether it is a 3:1, 2:1 run:walk or slow continuous runs, turn out to be about the same overall pace.

This is today's breakdown of pace per mile.Mile, Time, distance, Avg Pace....overall avg pace 10:42.  Strange that my perceived rate of exertion and pace was even through out. Other than the old body getting warmed up, how does one justify or explain this speed up? 

Happy Running everyone!

@Sue, great to hear from you again! It looks like your training is going well. Don't think of those additional 13 .1 miles you will need to go. Just think about the mile or two you gradually add to your long runs. Eat the elephant one bite at a time.....

I've been wiped out since my 20 mile run a few weeks ago. I realized that three days after the run I traveled 6,000 miles, seven time zones, and entered a climate twenty degrees warmer, but I've just been sore and felt run down. My longest run in the last two weeks was six miles on Saturday. I felt fine during the run but later in the day and the following day there were the little aches and pains in the hips and legs. I'm just going to take it easy during my midweek runs and get my body and MIND ready for 23 miles on Satyrday. I'll have to get an early start, put my head down, and just get it done. If the 23 miles wipe me out again, I'm going to have to reassess my training plan. There's no sense getting injured at this point and that's what happens when the body runs tired. Part of my problem may stem from he fact that I did no strength work while away for three weeks. Getting back into the gym has been tough!

Time to get back to swimming finals! Go USA!

Hi everyone!  I've been reading for 2-3 weeks and really appreciate the inspiration and motivation!  I turned 50 last year and wanted to get healthy and lose weight.  I started walking the dog around the block last August in the Houston 100+ temps and before I knew it, I was walking 30-45 min.  Then I thought, OK, I'll run to the stop sign, etc. until 3 months later, I was walking about 3 miles in 50 min (yep...slow) and jogging a little.  In June, my 20 year old daughter and her friends talked me into doing a half marathon with them (well some are doing the marathon) in College Station.  7 weeks ago, a co worker told me about c25k and it's worked amazingly.  I can't believe that I can actually jog 28 minutes.  In addition to my c25k, I have been walking and running for 30 more minutes to try to burn more calories and get my mileage up a bit.  I did 6.6 miles on Sat., running about 2/3 of it.  Of course, I am VERY slow.  My pace is only about 14:45 mm...but I"m short.  LOL!! 

I love reading about what everyone's doing and can't believe that I'm a runner now.  I played softball in HS, but I was never a runner.  I was terrified about running 6.6 mi on Sat., but feel very empowered that I actually did it.  I'm trying to stick with a 4 mi. run on Mon., a 5 mi. on Wed., and trying to stick with 6-7 on Sat. till I get comfortable with this...or till it gets cooler.  LOL!!!  It's really hot and I'm not a morning person.  I hate the treadmill and it seems like I just can't go very far on it without giving out and usually end up running in a park (there is some shade) at 5:30 in the evening.  Also, I've lost 33 lbs since last Aug. and have about 20 left to go.  I may not post a lot, but really love reading here.

Melissa

suzeecat  i like you am also training for Chicago. I have been using the Marathon stick for about a year. I think I paid around 30.00 for it at an expo. On Sunday i did a 19 mile training run. i used the stick over my recovery socks . I believe it really helps speed recovery by increasing blood flow. After some runs not sure what I would do without it. I would suggest you give it a try. I think you had a very good run on Saturday. Remember your long runs are suppose to be slower than you Marathon pace. Livining and training in FL. I purposely run mine 60 - 90 seconds slower than my expected MP. Welcome to a great thread. Keep posting about your progress. See you in Chicago!!!!!!

Melissa WELCOME. great post. Urun2me said it perfectly a few post ahead of yours. You eat the elephant one bite at a time. Don't worry about your time. As your endurance builds your speed increases on it's own. It's time on your feet that matters now. long slow runs build endurance and melt fat away. Enjoy all those little wins you have on your runs. You'll also have bad runs. But that what makes the good ones great. When i started running 2 years ago i also ran (walked) 14mm. But after losing 40+pounds and reaching my goal weight strange things started to happen. I'm not short I'm 6ft LOL Your well on your way.

mkay "Your Back!!!!!!!