5 weeks to go!

So this past Saturday we met for a casual 16-20 mile run in Oceanside. I agreed, after much cajoling, to meet at 6 am despite my desire to sleep in and get 30 minutes or so more delicious sleep. I think sleeping in is so foreign to me with all this training. As much as I would love to, my training doesn't allow for it.

So, at the parking lot I saw Cherl and running up were Steve and Kelly. It was a bit overcast when we started, perfect running weather. We all set off trying to go slow as we are all experimenting to run 30-60 seconds slower than race pace. We always seem to go faster but our bodies eventually go into auto-pilot after 4 or so miles. Cherl recently signed up for the OC (Orange County) marathon on May 1st so I had another "official" training buddy. Kelly and Steve are just running to stay in shape and keep the endurance in their running repertoire.

We set out and soon hit the San Luis Rey Bike path which parallels a freeway in Oceanside (not sure which one). A lot of runners and bikers use this path as it's 8 miles from one end to the other. For my Bay Area friends, it's a lot like Crystal Springs trail, just a lot less pretty. There is no shade cover and this past Saturday there seemed to be a lot of gnats that kept flying into our face, chest, and sometimes, mouth! This happens in the spring when there is standing water.

The miles were flying by and before we knew it we were at the end of the bike path near the park. Filled up with water and back we went. I decided I would tack on another mile or so to give me 17 miles for the day. Cherl went 20 and finished strong. Kelly and Steve hung back - Steve was a trooper. He hasn't run more than 5 miles recently and here he was running 16! Insane!

So 20 last weekend, 17 this weekend. Next weekend I plan to do 2:15 at marathon pace so for me that will be a 8:45 pace. I've been running most of these long runs at about a 9:05-9:15 pace so this will be pushing it a bit. The weekend after that I'll go long and run about 20-22 miles depending on if I can find a course that doesn't more me to pieces!

So basically another two weeks of long runs and then we will taper! Cannot believe it's coming up so quick. I'm so thankful to have running - it makes me happy and keeps me focused, organized, and centered. Happy trails...