Phoenix Marathon Training Weeks 5-8

This past month of training has flown by and the miles are adding up!   

A few things of note: 

-I got bit by a dog in the butt, and I have the bruise to prove it.  Luckily it didn't break the skin. 

-I ran in single digit temps and legitimately thought my lips would have frostbite by the time I was done.  Exactly one week later I ran in shorts and a t-shirt.

-I finally caved and bought a handheld water bottle for long runs.  I REFUSE to wear a fuel belt, and in the past we would go drop a few water bottles along our route but that got annoying.  I've only used it once, but so far I really like it.  I can't believe how comfortable and easy it is to hold while running.  Hopefully it stays that way. 

-We are getting pretty serious about doing our easy runs easy and our hard runs hard (aka heart rate training).  I still have billions of questions and at times get a little freaked out about running so slow, but for the most part I am on board. 

-I registered for the marathon with a Cyber Monday deal.  Stuff is getting real. 

 

 

-We had our best tempo run to date, 7 miles at a 7:36 pace!  The stars must have aligned because I couldn't have asked for a better run.  It's important to remember these good runs on days when things don't go so well.  Such as the following day when we did a 4 mile recovery run and it kicked our butts.   

 

Can't wait to see what the next four weeks of training have in store...