It Says 8, But...

The workout for this weekend was supposed to be an 8 mile run, but I really wanted to run further south and run to the end of the island.  The last time I ran that far south, it was dark and I wanted to check out the nice looking park there in the day time.  And, truthfully, I also wanted to check out the Irish Hunger Memorial that's there as well.  I've run past it several times before always thinking, "hey, I should check that out" and decided that Saturday was the day to actually do it. 

I wore tri shorts, a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and the tank that I'm planning on wearing over another shirt for the marathon.  Basically, I wore one version of my marathon outfit.  The weather was about 52 and sunny and at first when I started running, I was worried that I'd be too hot, but as soon as I got into the shade, I was grateful to have the extra layer of the tank on! 

The run was great.  I was feeling like I wanted to be running a marathon and was bummed I still have to wait one more week.  I had a couple of failed drinking fountain breaks (some of the fountains are shut off for winter, I guess?) but otherwise my strategy of Gu + drinking fountains is still working out great.  That's definitely my strategy for the actual marathon, too. 

As I ran south, I kept a look out for the Memorial, but must have run past it without paying attention.  (The truth is that it's further north that I remembered it being).  So, on my way back home, I kept looking for it.  When I got there, I paused my watch and went for a walk around the monument and then up the path to the top.  It's nice.  I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't in the middle of a run, but it is a very nice little spot in this city and I'm glad that I stopped.  Definitely worth the break.  Of course, my legs weren't so happy to have to start running again after the break. 

I made it back home in time to eat a delicious breakfast (made by Drew) before tackling lots and lots of chores for the day.  Including a trip to Goodwill.  I needed to buy some throw-away clothes for the start of the marathon and ended up finding a pair of sweatpants and a hat for $8.  I already have an old fleece that I can wear and throw away at the start, so I think I'm all set now. 

Sunday I didn't workout, but I did go and get a deep-tissue massage.  It definitely wasn't all that relaxing, but it did feel nice.  Nice in the foam-roller way, but probably good for my muscles no matter what.  The woman did tell me that I should work on stretching (something I used to be really good at) after running.  I've gotten pretty lax since starting marathon training.  I'm going to try to work on that over the winter.  

This week I've got a couple of short runs on tap and I'm going to eat all the carbs I could want in preparation for the big day!  I can't believe it's almost here!

Running
Time: 1:53:42
Distance: 11.0 miles
Pace: 10:20/mile