Week 18

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.
- John Pierpont

Week 17 was all about OMGZ am I peaking too early? During Week 18, I had an epiphany:

Uhhh... Dude... of course you're running really well right now...

 YOU'VE BEEN TRAINING YOUR ASS OFF FOR 17 WEEKS.

Like, am I an idiot or what? It's not called peaking... it's called fitness. HELLO. And right on cue Coach sent me an email with the subject line: "Peaking Fear" (seriously, did I hit the running coach jackpot or what, folks?). The email was about how awesome I've been running (naturally) and about how she thinks I've still got a couple of notches to crank before the race. And between that and the realization that I shouldn't be worried about running so well (duh) I put those peaking fears to rest. I've still got some climbing to do before I hit my Training Peak.

So, now... it's time to worry about something else... PLENTY of things to choose from...
1. GI Issues. Ugh.
2. Fueling. Before and during the race.
3. Weather. Is it ever too early to start worrying about race day weather?

Week 18 was a step-back week. And at the beginning of the week, I was a little frustrated by it. I felt like I was feeling good and just kinda wanted to push onward. But, by the end of the week, I found myself prefacing all kinds of sentences with the phrase... "well, this is my LAST step-back week till the marathon." And, I swear to god it rained like everyday last week, so, it was nice to hear the rain in the morning and roll over and go back to sleep. Good timing, Coach!

The workouts:
Speedy: 6 mile Marathon Pace run
Long: 20 miles
Total: 50ish

The pace run went well. It was a bit fast, but I felt pretty good. It was also on this run that I officially asked The KoB to pace me for the whole race instead of just the last 10 miles. His response? "Thank god, I was afraid I was only going to have 10 miles that day." Seriously. Swoon.  

The long run was interesting. It's amazing to me how fast long runs go when you're running a LOT during the rest of the week. I mean, sure it took me 3 hours and 15 minutes to run 20 miles, but it went by pretty fast. I ran the 11.2 loop (in the pouring rain. At least it was 65 degrees!) and then had my friend Liz join me for the 9 mile add-on to Radnor Lake and back. It helped having her there with me for those last miles until my stomach starting acting up on me a bit.

I ended the week with 48 miles and TWO rest days. Glorious. Back to the grind, folks.