I started to write a recap of the past 3 weeks of training and realized that “I ran, I biked, I ran, I lifted, I ran, I ate” would get pretty boring pretty fast. Let’s just sum it all up by saying that I ran SO MANY MILES and I’m super ready for this weekend’s race. Good?

If you want the long version, here are some highlights via lessons I’ve learned in the past few weeks of training – and a peek at my goals for this weekend’s race!

My shorter runs keep getting faster and faster – and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop! It sounds strange, but even though I’m nailing 4-5 miles 2x a week at 11:30/mile or less (even 10:xx’s!), I still expect to see my pace suddenly drop back down to 13:30’s, like this is some freak random spurt of speed that I’ll lose after eating one too many Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter cups.

But I suppose the extra strength training, lower weight, and cross training are all working together and paying off just like they say they should!

Even when I twisted my knee a week or so ago (while making coffee, go freakin figure), I managed to baby it on my off day, bike a LOT to keep it moving on cross training day, and still pulled a great long run out of thin air that weekend.

Speaking of long runs, I’ve done more long runs (8+ miles) this training cycle than ever before, and it’s showing. With runs no shorter than 8 miles every weekend for the past 8 weekends (except for 2 races), and 4 solid double-digit runs including a 12 miler last weekend, I’m feeling as strong as I’ve ever felt the week before a race. Hungry, tired, mildly anxious, but strong. I managed to keep my paces under 12:00/mile for all single digit runs, and most of my double digits – this weekend during my 12 miler I treated the run like race day and didn’t stop my watch for water or fuel, just to get a more accurate idea of my finish time. And I was still pretty psyched at what I found:

My goal for the NJ Half Marathon this weekend is to run at least a 2:49:59. At the pace above, I’d finish in 2:43. I definitely pushed HARD in the last training mile to run it at about 11:30 – too hard to keep up for another 1.1 miles – but knowing that, I’m confident I’ll be able to maintain that 12-12:15 pace for another mile come race day and still rip out that strong finish. I only hope my body (and the weather) cooperates!

And on a fun semi-related side note: I was so honored to spend all day last Monday in NYC on a photo shoot for Brooks Running’s international social media campaigns! It was a true once in a lifetime experience – along with a team of other runners, we ran (and walked) almost 8 miles between Manhattan and Brooklyn and had a blast the whole time. I can’t even describe what it was like at the first set up between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, running along the water with the sun coming up and sparkling off the waves and the city bustling around us… so many times we looked at each other in disbelief and asked ourselves, “How cool is this??” I can’t wait to see how the pictures turn out and will definitely keep you guys posted as I get more info on when/where they’ll be showing up 🙂

That’s about it for me – How have things been by you guys? How’s your training going?