In three weeks this time, the first marathon of the season will be behind me. Its hard to think the summer of training is coming to a close. I rocked on my 12 mile pace run this morning, turning in a pace of just under 8:10/mile … I know I did better than that because I did the 12 miles in 1:38 exactly, and the first 3 miles were measured, and I was off the first three miles by 15-20 seconds per mile, I really had a bad start (seems to be normal).

It was weird the feeling I had in my legs when I first when out, it was almost like they were numb .. not really numb .. but just like they weren’t there, totally subconscious. Eventually I got it together and got into the run and I was okay, but I thought that was weird. I can’t explain it.

So I’ve ramped up the miles about as far as I plan to go, with 68 miles last week. Its getting to be too rough keeping those miles up that high, but we’ll try to get there this week with another 68 mile week before we start the taper. My left calf is really, really sore, my thighs/hamstrings are aching and both my groin muscles are sore .. I really need a sports massage. I’m quite dehydrated (can taste the salt in my mouth, thats a good sign), but i’m ready for more. Thankfully tomorrow is my ‘opt-out’ day as I call it (if you look at my current training schedule). It pretty much gives me the chance to not run, or to really run whatever distance I choose if I feel like I want to. I generally do 4 miles on Monday, but we’ll see how we feel.

I was reviewing the PDF version of the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon course, and it states that more than half the course is either cinder or tow-path, with the rest being paved. That should be a welcome change from other marathons, and be a little easier on the knees and all. I hope it helps my speed, i’m not sure if that surface will help or hinder the runners….

Thats about it for now. Getting more and more excited about the upcoming races, they’ll be here before I know it!