This morning the Nashville Striders group training run for the Country Music Marathon was a 20-miler on the Stones River and Shelby Bottoms Greenways. There were several members of our group who were planning to participate (most of them are running Boston), so I decided to join them for at least part of the run. My coach had told me on Thursday that for the next couple of weeks he just wants me to try and keep my mileage up as long as my legs feel good, and then we would start thinking about the specific training plan for Milwaukee.
Since I’m only two weeks removed from the NOLA Marathon I decided to just play it by feel with regard to how much distance I would go for today. Most of the route was an out-and-back, so shortening the run would not be a problem.
However, I ended up feeling good for the entire run and actually completed 21-miles. I love this route and the run was fantastic. My overall pace was in the 8:30s, but this was a mix of miles from the 9:10s in the beginning to 7:40s at the end. I was especially pleased with how well my legs felt on big hills near the end of the run. Dan and Mary pushed the pace through this section, and my legs felt strong all the way to the end (BTW…Dan and Mary looked great).
Right now my confidence is still pretty high from NOLA, and I’m excited about the things my coach has in store for my training over the spring and summer. Beginning tomorrow, my Dad and I leave for an 8-day mission trip to southern Honduras. Not sure how much I’ll get to run, but any mileage completed will be up in the mountains at 5,000 ft above sea level.
Two weeks after we get back I’ve got the Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg, followed 3-weeks later by the Country Music Marathon (as the 4-hour pacer), and then the 500 Festival Mini Marathon (in Indianapolis) a week after that. Busy Schedule!
Beast Mode…ON!