4 Weeks of Training Down, 2 To Go.

Well, this has definitely been my most challenigng week of training. As I've mentioned previously, my blister took a full layer of skin off the bottom of my foot, about the size of a nickel. I knew this weekend would be a pivotal point into what kind of performance I can put into the Shamrock Shuffle. With the race only two weeks away, there isn't much time to push hard before the necessary period where I back off a little bit to make sure that I am at my best condition.

I actually had to take Ibuprofen Thursday afternoon just to get through the work day. My right hip was starting to not just feel tight, which it has for a few weeks, but it was causing me a good amount of discomfort. I knew I had a rest day on Friday, and I knew I was going to need it.

All I can say is thank the Lord for liquid bandage and Blister band-aids. Thursday night, I stopped at Walgreen's for those two items and they made a huge difference.

The plan was to complete 5.5 miles on Saturday and 3 on Sunday. I had applied several coats of liquid bandage during the 36 hours leading up to this first weekend workout. And I have to stay it's a very effective product. Granted it made my foot feel a little scaly and sticky, but when I walked or ran, I could feel the additional protection on my foot.

So how did I do? I didn't just run 5.5 miles, I ran 6. The one aggravating aspect is I hit the stupid safety button thirty minutes in, which shut down the whole workout. So I had to start up again. But I'm prtty sure it was six full miles in about 47 minutes. That translates to a 7:50 mile, which would have me finishing in about 39 minutes. My hip and foot felt good for the most part when I finished. About two hours later, I noticed a little twinge at the top of my right foot, but nothing that is alarming me.

I ran again this morning and I went a little harder. I finished 3 miles in 22 minutes even. I was running about 8.3 mph, which had me around 7:20 per mile. If I could keep that pace up the whole race, that would be okay with me. So for the weekend, I ran nine miles total.

There are two weeks between now and Race Day. This is my last week where I'm training hard. Since I have a job interview, I don't think I'll be training Monday, so my next activity is a 25 minute tempo run on Tuesday night. Maybe I'll get up early on Tuesday morning and do some DDP yoga though.

I can say that my confidence is growing again. I know I can finish the race at a decent time. The only thing I'm not sure of is how fast of a pace I can keep up for five full miles outside.