Marine Corp Marathon Training Weeks 5 and 6

I feel much better about my week 5 and 6 training than I did in weeks 3 and 4.  Things seemed to really align for me to manage to get the majority of my mileage done.
Sunday of week 5, I eased into increasing my mileage by splitting my long run into 2 separate runs.  I did 6 miles that morning and then 6.63 that evening for a total of 12.63.
Tuesday was a tempo day.  I did a 1 mile warm up with 2 miles tempo and then a half mile cool down.  This run was done on the treadmill, unfortunately.
Thursday was an easy run of 3.2 miles.
Saturday I did 4 miles of negative splits in the pouring rain.  This was one of the best feeling runs I have had in a long time.  The rain kept me cool and refreshed.  Average pace for this run was 9:23.

Total mileage for week 5 = 23.33 miles
Week 6 started with a 13 mile long run on Sunday.  I started my run at 6 am and got almost 3 miles in before I met up with a couple of friends who were doing 10 miles.  As refreshing as my Saturday run was, this one was the opposite.  I am pretty positive I have never sweated like I did.  The humidity was 100% which is common here this time of year.  When I got done, I squeezed out my hair and there was a puddle left on the ground below me.  I could have easily pee'd my pants and nobody would have known ;-) .
Monday was a rest day and the last day of summer break for my boys.  We decided to pack up and go spend the day at the beach.  We went to Hunting Island which is a state park and the beach is totally undeveloped.  We had a great time and found over 20 sand dollars.  I wanted to climb up into the lighthouse (just so I could count the stair climbing as a workout) but, we ran out of time.  Here is a pic of the lighthouse from the beach (photo credits: huntingisland.com)
We had a great family day to wrap up the summer.  Here are the boy's enjoying the beach....

Tuesday marked the first day of K3 for Colton and K5 for Clayton.  They are going to the same school that I went to.  It looks exactly like it did when I was there.  I know their teachers very well, and know that I will never once have to worry about them while they are there.

After I dropped them off I went for an easy 4 mile run and finished it off with 6 x strides for a total of 4.6 miles.
Wednesday, was another rest day and I also went and worked at my part-time job for a few hours while the boys were in school.
Thursday, after I dropped them off, I headed over to the track for some speed work.  Did a 1 mile warm up and 3 x 1 mile at a 7:45 ish pace and finished with a 1 mile cool down.  This was as fast as I have run in a long time.  Could it be that my body is finally adapting to the heat and humidity that summer brings?!?!?!?
Friday, was a hot 5 miles of negative splits.

Weekly total = 26 miles

Snow Day 2014

I have come to the conclusion that I am not sure that I could be a runner if I lived somewhere that snow and ice was a frequent thing.  It is not running in frigid temps that would bother me, it would be the constant fear of hitting black ice and breaking something.  With that being said, I had a not so romantic date with the treadmill Tuesday.  This was my first "task oriented" run that I have done since the marathon.  Other than it being on the treadmill, it went pretty good.  It was a tempo run varying between marathon pace, half marathon pace, and threshold pace.
Now for the snow and ice.  So, I am sure you are all aware of our "massive" winter storm in the south.  I was so excited for our one snow day of the year or every other year, and the boys were pumped as well.  We stared out the window all afternoon Tuesday waiting on it to happen.  We waited and waited.  The boys finally passed out a little after 9.  Around this time we started to see some freezing rain and sleet and then around 11 p.m. a little snow started to mix in.  We were keeping our fingers crossed for a few inches so the boys could build a snowman and get a little sledding in.  All we got was a little dusting (maybe an inch accumulation) but, that didn't stop us from being rednecks in the snow.  By rednecks in the snow, I mean we improvise on our sleds.  Ours happened to be a top from a 60 quart cooler.  I had to laugh at how time, age, and parenthood changes your use of items.  10 years ago we would have worried about keeping that lid on the cooler to keep our "drinks" cold now, we say to heck with that cooler that top looks like a sled for the boys!  I wouldn't trade today's outlook on things for anything in the world.
Here are a few pictures from our snow day.......

The Big Hill In Town

(my sister in-law somehow got her hands on a real sled)

 Love their expressions.  

 Proof not a lot of snow is needed for sledding

 Mommy gets a turn on the "sled" too

How did others enjoy your snow day?

What have you turned into a sled?

Tempo Day

I can't believe that today is December 21 and it is 80 degrees. Today, I ran in the same attire I normally wear in July. We have had 28 degree nights then up to mid 60's lower 70's during the day. I took my boys to the park earlier today and seriously thought about working on my tan. 

I did a quick little 3 mile tempo with about an average 8:45 pace earlier today. It was a really good run. I felt great and enjoyed myself. 

One of my Christmas presents to myself arrived just a few minutes ago.  I ordered a pair of Sketchers GoRun 2's. OMG, they feel great on my feet. I may have found my new favorite shoe. I put them on and did a brief 1/4 mile lap around our property and loved the way they felt. I am itching to give them a try for real run now. 

Takes on Sketchers GoRun's????