9, 10, 11, Whatever!

So for starters, I titled last weeks post, Week Nine Recap, when it fact it was week number 10!  It is fixed.  It is no secret that numbers are not my thing.

Ok, so how did week 11 go?  Well, pretty amazing actually!

My first run of the week was eight miles.  I was able to run this with my friend Mary.  I like running with Mary.  She runs at my pace and I love talking with her.  She has now changed her work schedule a bit and said she would be able to do most Monday's with me.  Yay!

The run itself was nice.  My legs felt good, which surprised me, and I was happy to be out there.

On Tuesday, I ran four.  My legs were tired and I was slow. I just took it easy and did the best I could.  I was happy to take Wednesday off.

My long run days have been Thursdays.  This week, I had to conquer 16 miles. Just one more mile from last weeks long run.

I did not expect it to be as fantastic as last weeks, but I hoped.  I set up Lori again as my water and refill help and I had Jenn and MB to do some of the miles with me.

MB got dropped off at my house and the plan was to run to her car, 6 miles away.  We started out nice and slow and I was feeling pretty good.  We hit Jenn at 2.5 miles and the three of us ran together.  I love these girls and there was not a dull moment.

The first 6 miles were really good.  Jenn and I headed back the way we came.  I was starting to feel it a bit and then Lori was there. I got to stop for a minute and refill my bottles of water.  Once we were running again, Jenn pointed out that the course we were running was not an easy one.  She is right, lots of hills in the direction we were going. We are going to try something a little different next week.

I was getting tired, but Jenn was keeping me strong.  I got a little quiet and apologized for not being my talkative self.  I think Jenn found that a little funny.  When we were getting close to her car, she started to do math again.

She wanted to go farther than planned and I was ok with that.  The longer she was with me, the shorter my alone miles became.

We went an extra mile and then she wanted to add another .25 to that.  We turned around, got to her car, and she didn't stop.  Not being a math expert, I said, "we just passed you car."  She knew that, obviously, but wanted to make it nine miles.  She told me that at some point, but I don't speak numbers.

When we said good by, I had finished 11.5 miles.  I just had 4.5 miles to tackle on my own.

I took a Cliff Shot here, some water and turned on my iPod.  I took two steps and my earbuds went quiet.  I turned up the volume, took two steps and the sound was gone again.  The third time, I turned the volume up and watched the little white line go down to zero!  I just wanted to cry.

It sounds silly,  but I was feeling defeated.  At that moment, Lori pulled up.  She asked how I felt and I told her that I just wanted to get in her car and cry.  She told me I was doing great and not to give up.  As I was telling her about my iPod, I realized my phone was attached to my arm. I have Pandora on my phone.  Yay, happy dance!

Even with my music, I struggled in mile twelve and thirteen.  13:43 for mile twelve and 13:25 for mile thirteen.  My two slowest miles of the day.  There may have been a little walking.

Despite that, I picked up my pace for the last three miles and even though they weren't fast, I had negative splits. 13:09. 12:40 and 12:06.

Lori was exactly where I hit mile16 and drove me home. I was feeling a little beat up but so very happy.  I do not have that, "this is impossible" feeling anymore. It's not easy, but I know I can get it done.

When I plugged my miles in, I realized I was only 15 miles away from 100 for the month of September.  I have never had a 100 mile month. I had three runs left to do that.  Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.

Oh, Tuesday is not part of September you say?  Seriously, how is it October 1!?

This would leave me three miles short of 100.   As I was sitting there looking at my calendar in disbelief, I actually considered not doing them.  This was Friday and I posted my dilemma on FB.  The wonderful and encouraging runners that you all are, chimed in and told me to go for it!  I laced up right then and there and headed out for three.

I have to tell you, as soon as my feet hit the ground, I felt fantastic.  Once I was through mile one, things were really coming together.  At 2.5 miles,  I knew I could go longer.  I ended up with a nice four miles in my book.

What are your thoughts on recovery runs?  This was the first time I ran the day after a long run and I am just so surprised at how good I felt.  Just some weird coincidence?

My last run of the week, was also a four miler.  Beautiful day and I switched up my route just a bit.

Again, when I plugged in my miles, I was surprised to see that I hit my highest week ever.  Thirty six miles!  Another first and I am just so thrilled!

We scale down the miles a bit this coming week and my long run is twelve miles, which I will still do on Thursday.

As good as my week was, I am tired and so are my legs.  I welcome this coming week.  I am getting that feeling now that I just want the marathon to be here.

How is your training going?  Do you add recovery runs into your training?

In some fun news, I got an email with some of the latest news and reminders from the Philadelphia Marathon.  There was a link to the 2013 merchandise and I did a little shopping.  More happy dancing!

Since I didn't take any running pictures this week, I will just leave you with this one.

7 weeks to the Philadelphia Marathon!

Run Strong, Think Big! ~ Nicole