Forgive me bloggers...

I can not believe how long it has been since my last post. I can say though, since my last post I have been able to log a few miles and get my running back on track. A few weeks ago, I sustained an ankle sprain during a Rugby game that put my marathon in jepordy.

I had a bad tackle and then got my ankle stepped on and felt a pop. So for the week after the injury, I didn't run because I couldn't really walk. I swam and used a rowing machine to keep my fitness up. The following week I did run but it was very tentative. My ankle was quite sore. So I was out of commission for two weeks and as you know, the running is critical to stay on track for the marathon.

I re-jiggered my training plan and have worked on catching up. Last week I was scheduled for a 14 miler which would be my longest run yet. I made it about an hour and a half running straight but there was a hill that broke my spirit and had to take a walking break. Then I started doing the run 4 minutes walk 1 minute. When I got to mile 11 my family passed by me and it was sooooo inspiring to see the ones I really love! The funny thing is, when they pulled over, my youngest daughter said, "Why is there red on your shirt?" I had stigmata of the nipples. Seeing the family recharged my batteries and I made up my mind to run. I was able to finish the 14 miles and the time was about 11 min. per mile when all was said and done. I was extremely sore and had a hard time walking after the run but by 1 day after the run I went out for my scheduled 4 miles.

This was extremely difficult! I did do 4 miles but the next scheduled run was 7 miles. I got to the gym in the morning and all the treadmills were taken so I hopped on an eliptical and after 10 minutes a treadmill opened up. I was still quite sore and was looking for any excuse to not finish my run. I did run 4 straight miles and said that I would run the 7 miles the next day (I knew I wouldn't run 3 when I got home.)

So to keep the miles up with the training plan, I was scheduled to run 7 miles tonight. I ran 7 miles and felt quite strong and fast during the run. It is getting very cold in New England. It is also getting very, very Dark! So I set out at about 5pm in the cold and dark. I ran 7 miles feeling very very strong. I had a great feeling during the run: I felt strong and fast. The funny thing is that from a pace perspective I was over 10 min a mile. I finished in 1 hour 11 minutes 24 seconds which is at about a 10:13 pace. The route I chose was a bit hilly, but regardless, I felt like I was running really fast.

My training plan has a 10 mile run scheduled as a long run which I look forward to because I could use some rest. The following schedule is a scheduled 15 miler which would be the longest distance I've gone under my own power on my two legs. The last weeks long run was the same: Longest or furthest distance I've traveled on my legs.

I will update after the 10 miler. I am on track for my marathon. I can't wait to run my marathon. I can't wait to share my race report.

Regards!

David