42.195 kilometers: July 2007


17 miles!

7.15.2007
Well, I'm up to 17 miles now in my training. My knees are sore now and parts of the run were quite difficult (especially the last 3), but I'm getting toward the peak of training before the actual marathon. The 20 miler is in a week or two, and then I'll be tapering off in anticipation of the 26. I don't think this one will be as fast as Grandma's (3 years ago), but I always have Twin Cities two months later if I want to try to get down my time.
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I'm brainstorming like madness for a way to generate the rest of my money for the fund raiser. Soon I'll be sending out an email blast to gently remind people that I leave in less than a month, and donation is imminent!

The 4th

7.04.2007
Here is a patriotic spider, in honor of independence day. It's not training related, but I had to post it somewhere.

Upping the mileage

7.02.2007
Since my last running related post I've been upping the mileage. Now I actually feel like I'm training for a marathon (and my nasty, blistered toes feel it, too). I've done another 10 miler and a 12 miler, and this morning I ran 15. I felt good through a little over half of it and then my knees started to hurt a bit and I was having some trouble breathing. Still, it wasn't enough to stop me and part of the difficulty is just being out of shape, I'm sure.
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One thing I forgot about training for a marathon is how mentally difficult the long runs are. I got done today and couldn't help but think that on race day I'd still have 11.2 miles to go. This is not a helpful way to think, however. I still have quite a bit of time and training before August 18, and the hype of marathoning helps in those last miles so I'm not too worried.
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What I am a bit worried about is fund raising... I haven't checked my off line totals in a while, but I still have quite a bit of money to raise. Thanks to all those readers that have already donated, and for those who haven't, now's the time! I've got a little over a month left to raise over $1000. I need to get creative with finding new ways to fund raise as well. I'll keep posting with updates for this, too.