I’ve been blogging about training for the Philadelphia Marathon on three different platforms (first Tumblr, then Posterous, then finally Daily Mile. For the record, I liked Posterous best.) I’m deciding right now to go the Lizzyville route and make my progress a part of this blog going forward. Sound good? Good.
The last two weeks have been interesting. I’ve been running for nine weeks. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m following Hal Higdon’s intermediate two schedule. It’s gone well so far, even if I’m intimidated by some of these distances. Last week, I was hobbled by shin splints and general stiffness. This week was a 180 degree turnaround and I have no idea why. Weird, right?
I don’t know what was different between this week and last, but I hope I can keep running like I did this weekend. We spent the entire weekend at the Jersey shore, celebrating Helen’s 30th birthday at our friends Suzanne and Frank’s house in Atlantic City. It was a great time, punctuated by two runs totalling 19 miles: six on Saturday and 13 this morning. Both were comfortable and quick.
This morning’s run was great. Rob and I hit the boards at just about 6 a.m. and ran two miles and change to the Ventnor end before turning around and running all the way to the top, past the casinos on some of the ricketiest boardwalk I’ve ever set foot on. But we weren’t finished there. We turned around and ran all the way back down to the Ventnor end before making one last turn to finish the last mile and a half. It took just under two hours and was a personal best distance for both Rob and me. I never thought a 13 mile run would feel so good!
Now I’m really excited to run the Philadelphia Distance run. Today’s run told me that I’ll be ready for it!