Back on the Bandwagon

It's been awhile since my last post for a variety of reasons. Here's how life has been hitting me lately:

* Got sick for a weekend - NOT the swine flu
* Hosted cousin's family with a newborn for a week (6 kids in all, their 3 plus our 3)
* Trying not to stress out about my job for next year(teacher's union decided to take a pay cut, which may in the end save my job)
* Got my annual physical and eye exam (everything looks good so far)
* Watched my two oldest daughters win their respective spelling bees! (Katie spelled the word, "Colossians" and Emma managed to spell one word correctly after her only competitor spelled, "leg" incorrectly =)

In the midst of all this, I've continued my marathon training as I approach my final month. Although I only ran 4 times last week, it was probably my toughest training week I've had. Here's a summary of that week:

Tuesday: 8 miles easy (run in 90 degree weather, still a little sick, one of the worst runs ever!)
Wednesday: 9 miles w/5x1000m @ 6:50/mile pace (I have never done 1000m intervals and this was by far much harder than the 12 miles with 7 at LT pace)
Saturday: 12 miles - 9:00 pace
Sunday: 20 miles - 14 @ 8:33 pace, overall 20 miles @ 8:51/pace

I originally had 17 miles scheduled for Sunday, but since I had missed a 20 miler previously because of injury, I thought it would be a good time to add a few more miles. I was definitely spent at the end of the run, but I felt good running the 14 miles at 8:33 pace. At this point, I'm feeling pretty good about being able to run under 4 hours. Now, I'm starting to think that a 3:50 marathon may be possible. Am I fooling myself?

This week I travel to Seattle for a family wedding. It's probably not the best time to be traveling, given the recent news with the Swine Flu. I'm leaving Thursday and won't be back until Sunday evening. I have a 17 miler that I need to squeeze in somewhere; it'll probably be on a treadmill early in the morning. At this point, I'm just hoping to return to San Diego with everyone in my family healthy.

Have a great week everyone and stay healthy!