4 Months to Marathon Time

So I meant to do a post when it was exactly 4 months until the Chicago marathon but life got in the way and I decided to pick my social life over my blog life for now.  I have been working on a training plan which will start on July 4 and I will share it with all of you when I'm done.  Of course, I have already been training for the past few months for half marathons but I don't really follow a strict plan.  My "plan" consists of running 3 times a week and making sure one of the runs is a longer run and gradually gets longer the closer it comes to half marathon time.  Meanwhile watch this video about running form (you have to click outside google reader to see vid):



On Friday, I ran my last "long run" before the Rock and Roll half in two weeks with my good friend Stacey, who you may remember from the Mercer Island 10K.  We set out with the goal of running 11 miles and it ended up only being a 10.6 mile loop but Stacey was diligent and finished the last .4 with a small out and back to my car...I opted to stop to walk and drink Muscle Milk.  We started off pretty strong and kept a pretty consistent 10:00 / mile pace for the first 8 miles.

Mile 1 - 10:00
Mile 2 - 9:57
Mile 3 - 10:00
Mile 4 - 9:56
Mile 5 - 10:07
Mile 6 - 10:08
Mile 7 - 10:15

After the run Stacey and I were analyzing what happened at mile 8 and we realized that was right around the time we were stopped at a stop light for what seemed like 4-5 minutes.  It was too long to be resting and it was really hard to get back in the groove after that.  However, knowing the end was in sight was good enough for me to power my painful legs through to the end.

Mile 8 - 10:27
Mile 9 - 10:25
Mile 10 - 10:04

Total Time: 1:47
Total Distance: 10.63

My hips and legs were really feeling the last few miles but it was the kind of pain I knew I should stop running for.  After some good foam rolling and stretching I felt good as new.

It was SOOO nice to get the long run over with so early in the weekend and we were even able to join our friends for happy hour at Ivars on Lake Union over-looking the Space Needle.  Since I didn't have to stress about when I was going to run over the weekend I did a first for me...ROCK CLIMBING! Always a sport that has scared me a little but a friend invited me to Vertical World in Seattle for an event sponsored by Vertical Girl clothing and a benefit for Girl Effect.  It was an awesome night filled with good friends, 4 total climbs for me (that was all my poor forearms and fingers could take!), and an amazing aerial performance!

Watch this video about the Girl Effect...you will be moved!

Okay, just breathe and don't look down.

Still not looking down!

Amazing aerial performance by Beverly!

Emily is such a poser :)

Carol was like a spider running up the rocks!

Just a quick note on the future of this blog.  I realize it has been a bit random overall but I plan on posting more regular running updates as I actually start to officially train for the marathon so you can all hold me accountable and cheer me on.  As for the design, please bear with me as I try some new stuff out.

A question to all you bloggers out there:  Was your blog well thought out before you clicked the create button?  Do you have any great websites for blog templates that are easy to use?