more cold rain

If race day is like this, though, I'll be thrilled! The alternative is hot and humid.

Thurs: 4.09 miles with the dog.
Fri: 9.5 miles, including speedwork. I goofed: I jogged around looking for the group, thought that it wasn't going on after all, grabbed the dog and did the workout with him, then met the group on the way back. I am not used to being early! the workout was 6 X 500M at some killer effort or other. I took it a bit easy at first: 2:18, 2:14, 2:15, 2:08, 2:09, 1:57. I think they should have all been around 2:08, maybe 2:00...actually, I'm not really sure. I didn't look it up. Without the dog and leash, I would have been faster, but it was mutually enjoyable to have him there. There was a slight quirk of pace, though: he is comfortably in a canter/gallop at around 6:00-6:30/mile, but 7:00-7:30 is an uncomfortable divide between a too fast trot and too slow canter and it also happened to be my pace last night (mostly). The last one, I decided to open it up a bit, just to see. I've been feeling an alteration of form lately, thanks to the weights and improved stamina; it's hard to explain but generally it feels easier to run how I should, I suppose.

Sat: 13.2 miles with the dog. Rainy. It was hard to get out. The dog came with me and we started on the Rockliffe loop of the marathon course. I've run here several times but I'm still not very familiar with it, and its hills. Since it seems like it'll be the dodgy part of the marathon, I've decided to run it at least a few times before the race. Alas, I still wasn't quite sure where I was going (had directions written down but they weren't quite enough, and I missed a street sign and ended up with a detour, but the uncertainty was very energizing and I decided to do a few tempo miles. Ended up doing about 3.5 miles at about 7:55-8:15ish, and they weren't too hard. I didn't want to stay lost! It was very exciting. That took me to ten miles and then I took another accidental detour going home. So, I guess I need to try that loop again and again and get it down. The workout was similar to other ones I used to do, semi-long runs with tempo portions. I'm so grateful I'm strong enough again for that.

Not sure what I'll do tomorrow, maybe the western/Hull part of the course and then a bit on the Canal? will see how I feel. I would like to do 18-20 miles.

I ran nearly 70 miles this week (running complements science memorization very well--I sit in front of a few pages for a few hours and, boy, is the spring coiled tightly after that). Strangely, my muscles are doing very well--I've noticed before that the more I run, the more efficient it gets. The only thing that is bugging me is a sore throat in the morning. I'm pushing it, but one more week and then I guess I'll drop back to 50 miles.