The Last "Long" Run

Jason and I logged our last "long" run before the marathon this past Saturday. I'm not sure it even qualified as long... we did 6 on the Greenbelt while our fellow BoiseRunWalkers were slogging through their final benchmark distance - 21.7 miles (or 35km for you non-US types) before the City of Trees Marathon. Six miles. Short - in fact, that's what I would do on a Monday (or longer sometimes) for a typical training run.

Six miles. When I started running again a year ago, six miles was somewhat infathomable. At least, if I were going to do 6, it would be an all out effort that would probably toast me for the rest of the day. Phew - 6 miles! Look at me now!

No really - look at me now. A little over a year ago (13 months to be exact), I started working out with my trainer, Trina. Trina is about the size of a 12 year old - 5'0", maybe 115 pounds soaking wet (and only because she's solid muscle) - Trina can pull 7:00 miles for distance. She's amazing. So when I started working out with her last September, I said I wanted to get back into running, to really get some base miles, to maybe train for a half marathon in a year or so, and to one day, maybe train for a marathon.

So Trina started me out training for a 5K. A ten-week training program for a 5K. For the non-runners out there, 5K is a popular "fun-run" distance - equaling 3.1 miles - that most can do in 30 minutes or so, and walkers can complete in under an hour. To tell you the truth, I was a little offended - I mean, I could already run 3 miles right then if I had to.

But Trina started me off right - smart, slow, consistent. The training program for the 5K consisted of 3-4 days / week of running - some days as little as 1.5 miles. But I would do a 5 minute warm up on the treadmill (which would get me to @ 1/2 mile) then get off, stretch, use the foam core roller (a GODSEND for IT bands & achilles) then go do the prescribed mileage, then do an equal cool down. It enabled me to get to 10-12 miles per week consistently - something I'd never really done. And believe it or not, over 10 weeks time, I went from running 10 minute miles to 9 minute miles. And racing just over 8 minute miles - in the 2004 Barber to Boise 5K, I actually placed SECOND IN MY AGE GROUP with a time of 25:34 (average 8:14 miles).

Now mind you, I've never placed in a race IN MY LIFE. So this was pretty cool.

After that, things got a little crazy. My husband had the bright idea of training for the Race to Robie Creek, well known as "The Toughest Half-Marathon in the Northwest". Now I'd heard of Robie Creek, and wanted to do it eventually - but for our first half marathon?? But we did it - with a LOT of help from our friends at Boise Fit. And before we even got to race day, I was thinking of the next battle - the Portland Marathon.

And here we are. T-minus 5 days and counting. Oy.

In the words of Martin Sheen, as President Jeb Bartlett, "What's next?"