the first 18 ...

So, National Marathon is eight weeks away, which makes this week is the first 50+ mile week on the training plan. It's not really the 50+ miles that seems intimidating. It's the first REAL long run on the plan that carries the intimidation factor.

18 miles.

Historically, 18 miles has meant 3+ hours of running. 3+ grueling hours that I was not looking forward to. Add that mental block to the fact my two marathon buddies are out for this week's long run, and I really wasn't feeling it. (Note: G is taking a forced rest week right now and KC is traveling this weekend.) Oh, and then there was the issue of J being away on business this week. And a busy weekend with guests and birthday celebrations ahead of us (Dilly is turning two on Friday). All I could see was that running was going to be a struggle. But then, I got a break ...

A split long run.

Dizzle's BFF invited her and Doodle to play for the afternoon. Eager to have a few hours with just one child, I agreed. And then I saw opportunity. I could send the girls to play and put Dilly down for her nap, which would give me two hours to run uninterrupted on the treadmill.

Two hours = 12 miles. Add those 12 miles to the six, I could run before sunrise and I would be all set. And that's exactly what I did.

Yesterday, at 5:30 a.m., I met 3L for a quick six miles. We finished in 53:17 (8:52 pace).

Then at 2:30 p.m. (once I put my plan into action), I jumped on the treadmill for the last 12 miles. 1:53:35 later, I was done (9:27 pace). It wasn't ideal, but the 18 miles were completed and that stress was taken off my plate.

But the best part was that the pace was crazy fast (well, for me anyway). I ran the 18 miles in 2:46:52 with an average pace of 9:16. The last time I ran 18 miles, my average pace was 10:29. And the last 16 miler of my fall marathon training took me 2:46:46. That just seems crazy to me. Talk about a confidence boost.