Week 8 is great...kind of.

First off, I want to thank DALE AND BETTY ZINN! I have known the Zinns a really long time- they live down the street from my parents and are wonderful people. Thanks so much!

Now, on to the details. This morning was our 8th long run, and I went 9.5 miles this morning. I prefer to look at it as a 10k & 1/2, or a 15k. For some reason, putting it in those terms really illustrates how long it is.

Now, today was not the best run I've had to date. I woke up just not so much feeling it. I was just tired (and I got a decent night's sleep last night.) The week has just been long, and the weekend didn't feel long enough. For breakfast I mixed things up a bit, and instead of my usual granola bar, I added in a banana. I won't be doing that again. At about mile 3.5, I really felt like I might loose my breakfast. We did the same basic route we did a couple weeks ago when we ran 8 miles, and the stretch up San Vicente blvd was particularly hot and that didn't really help. So I slowed myself down, and ended up walking that next mile with another really sweet girl in my group. The rest of the pace group kept going, and I figured they'd pass us once the turned around. To our surprise, when we got to the water stop, they'd all waited for us! It was really sweet and made me appreciate doing the marathon with Team in Training even more.

The way back was much better than the way down. Taking the walk break was the right move- it allowed me to finish strong and still make it 9.5 miles today. Don't get me wrong- I was REALLY ready to be done today- I don't think I had anything left when I finished- I put it all on the table today. It felt good to get it done, but I am exhausted today, and I hope I don't have many more training days like today.