Definitely a rough few days, I've been incredibly fortunate in that this was the 1st funeral for a young person I've been to. Hopefully our being there helped his family in some tiny way.

On to happier times now, leaving for a Colorado vaca tomorrow with my wife, mom, and in-laws. Spending some time in the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Springs, and going to see a concert at Red Rocks, should be a great trip.

185 yesterday (+1,-16)

Running:

Sun - 14 miles
Tue - 8
Thur - 8

Flying back from Colorado Vacation today. Awesome trip with the fam. Did RMNP (Trail Ridge Road), awesome views, a few short hikes to pretty waterfalls, and saw a few groups of Elk. Checked out the Stanley Hotel, rode the train to Pike's Peak, which was the coolest think ever, 70 on ground, snowing at top. Checked out Garden of the Gods and saw a concert at Red Rocks.

Hiking Pike's Peak is now a must do for me sometime in the next 5 years.

Sounds like an awesome trip! Still planning on doing the marathon?

Definitely! Managed a few short runs over vacation, doing 18 or 20 Saturday, then 20 or 22 next Saturday, then shorter runs until the big one on 9/24.

184 (-1,-17) 110k steps

Running:

Sat - 6 miles
Tue - 5
Wed - 8
Thur - 3

Only watched 6 movies in Aug, Witness for the Prosecution (A+) was the highlight.

Good luck and I know it's an extremely challenging distance but hopefully it's a fun/rewarding experience for you. I'm anxious to read your TR and get any tips you can share from a fellow first timer!

Thanks, I'll definitely post after the race, I'm loving the training, especially the long runs, just feels great to complete a new personal longest distance every Saturday.

So far what I've learned is:

- Run early in the morning to avoid the heat
- Over-hydrate
- Add more complex carbs to diet (Brown Rice for me) and don't eat any junk food on nights before runs - although I'll say my diet the past few weeks has been far from perfect
- Ice my right knee every night

And I love the timing of my race as doing my longest runs right before Football season and now at the start has given my time to listen to all the FFB Podcasts I normally can't squeeze in.

183 (-1,-18) 147K steps

Running:

Sat - 20 miles!
Mon - 6
Wed - 8
Thur - 4

20 miles is no joke, congrats and keep it up!

Thanks, 21 this morning didn't go nearly as well, hit a little wall at 16, then a freaking brick wall at 19, and just shuffle-jogged my way to 21. Think my legs are just spent and dropping down my mileage the next 2 weeks leading up to the marathon will put me in good shape to knock out the full 26.2.

Tapering is a great idea, good luck with the marathon!

You're killing it! I'm sure you'll be fine, races are so much more fun anyway. I haven't done a full marathon but I've done plenty of HM's and various other distances. You'll get some extra motivation and adrenaline being around so many other runners.

Thanks!

Thanks, yeah there's definitely a bigger thrill in running a race as part of a large group on a new course compared to running the same path by my house each time out.

181 (-2,-20) 147k steps

Running:

Sat - 21 miles
Mon - 6
Wed - 8
Thur - 4

Doing 8 Sat, 4 Mon and Wed, then the big one next Sat, can't wait!

I'm now at the lowest weight I've been since freshman year of college, my goal for the marathon was 180-185, so pretty pumped I made it there. The challenge will just be to keep it off going forward.

179 (-2,-22) 115k steps

Running:

Sat - 9 miles
Mon - 5
Wed - 3

Race tomorrow!

High of 87 has me a little worried, start time is 8 AM, so it'll be pretty toasty the last couple hours, hoping for some shade.

Quick Marathon Trip Report:

The race started at 8:00, I knew it was a smaller race, but quickly realized it was even smaller than expected, around 250 entrants total between the 5K, Half, and Full. It was in Amish country in Ohio, so that was kind of cool/different, and I knew I was in for a hot and hilly day. I started off a little faster than intended, easy to do with the adrenaline/crowd, but slowed myself down on mile 2, about 6 miles in I realized "hilly" was a vast understatement when I came to the 1st insanely steep and long hill that I thought would never end. A steep decline came next, which was fine, except it was followed by another giant hill. I managed to struggle through and finished the 1st 1/2 around the pace I was shooting for (I think it was 2:34), although I definitely noticed my legs felt significantly more fatigued then usual at the 13 mile point. I chugged along, but when I hit 16 miles (10 miles left) I realized it was extremely unlikely I'd be able to run the entire 26, although I wasn't ready to give in. When I passed mile 18 my pace slowed to more of a "shuffle-jog" and then when I reached the aforementioned giant hills between miles 19-20 I had to slow to a walk to make it to the top. I did a jog/walk combo miles 20-22, but I was completely spent and slowed to a complete walk miles 22-24, then slowed even more to a "staggering walk" the remainder of the way. I wanted to just stop and lay down so bad those last 2 miles, the heat index was 90 at that point and there seemed to be even less shade the the 1st lap (it was a 1/2 marathon course that we just repeated to do the full), but there was no way I could let myself quit with only 2 miles left and I made it the finish line with a final time of 6:15.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat disappointed to not be able to run the whole way, but I am proud to have finished it, and my wife's helped me realize it's a major accomplishment, so I'm feeling better about it now, and I definitely have major motivation to do another one sometime with a goal of running the entire thing and cutting an hour off my time.

Overall, the training and the race itself were a great experience. I can't help but be curious if I would've done significantly better with a flatter course and if I'd gotten luckier with the heat, but I pigeon-holed myself into this specific race due to wanting something within a couple weeks span and a couple hour drive, so I can't complain about that.

Anyway, I now have a full marathon crossed off my bucket list and that's definitely something to hang my hat on.

Great TR! That sounds like a tough course and those conditions must've been brutal! I think you got really unlucky to have that kinda weather and the 8 am start time seems really late for a marathon. Great job sticking with it and finishing though...I'm sure if you do another marathon in the winter on a flat course you'll improve tremendously.

Thanks! Your's is in Oct right? How's the training coming along?

It's on November 13th so still 47 days out. The training is going really well...I'm following pfitzinger's 18/55 plan really closely so I'm averaging over 40 miles a week with a high of 51 and a long run of 18. I've got a 20-miler scheduled for next Monday and I'm confident I'll be able to finish it. I have a blog in the H&F forum if you wanna follow my progress and get the full race report.

Awesome, I'll definitely check it out

180 (+1,-21) 144k steps

Running:

Sat - 26.2 miles
Wed - 5
Thur - 5

179 (-1,-22) 120k steps

Running:

Sat - 10 miles
Mon - 3
Tue - 5
Wed - 5

179 (same, -22) 145k steps

Running:

Sat - 10 miles
Mon - 5
Tue - 5
Wed - 5
Thur - 5

178 (-1,-23) 113K Steps

Running:

Sat - 6 miles
Mon - 5
Tue - 5
Thur - 4