Half Marathon, Speed, and more

Good afternoon everyone! I hope everyone is having a good week, and has recovered from their weekend runs and races. Sorry for the long email. . .

Fun Stats: First of all, here are some fun stats for you. I estimate our team has now run 5,836 total miles getting ready for our marathon. That is pretty amazing! To give you an idea of how far that is, here is a breakdown.
As a team, we have logged enough miles to have:

• Run 223 total marathons
• Run to Richmond and back 19 times
• Run to Hollywood California and back once

I know that is silly, but I wanted you all to get an idea of just how hard this team is working. You are all doing great.

Half Marathon Lessons: Many of you have completed your half marathons. Some of you set PRs, and others added a new medal to their collection. After speaking with some of you, I know the half marathon created some doubts, and for others it raised your hopes. Both reactions are expected.

1. You did not train for a half marathon - If the race was tougher then you expected, don't be surprised. If you had trained for a half marathon, your miles would have peaked two weekends ago, and you would have begun a taper. We did not do this. You are still training very hard right now. Before the marathon you will have a three week taper to prime your body for a great race.
2. Your legs hurt after just 13 miles - Everyone who ran last weekend had a pretty flat course. Believe it or not, hills are not all bad. Going up means you get to come down. Running on 100% flat surfaces means your legs are using your muscles the same way over and over. This can create soreness. You also never get a downhill to coast a bit. Having some hills in Richmond will help.
3. Your pace was slower then you want - See point number one. You did not rest prior to this race. Also, our speed work is just about to begin. Both of these things will help your pace improve come race day.
4. "How can I do 26, if 13 was this hard" - Remember your training. For many of you this was your first 13 miles. For others, you have only exceeded 13 a few times. Your legs are getting stronger every day. Remember the first weekend run we did from the Y? I bet you did not think running 13 was a possibility on that day either. Just take one week at a time.
5. You will improve - Finally, I always tell myself during training, "Each day, my legs get stronger, by body gets lighter, and the temperatures get cooler." Remember that on those hard days.

Speed Work: Don will be sending out message about speed today or tomorrow. Don't panic about adding something new to your workouts. If you need an extra week to digest the speed work, and figure out a plan, just do hills again this week, and start your speed next week. I am still looking for anyone with track access. If anyone wants to make a "redneck track" who has some low traffic roads, we could paint a dot every 100 meters on a road for a full mile. Otherwise we can organize Fartlek workouts.

This Weekend: We will run a 6:30 a.m. again from the HT. Most likely I will not be able to run on Saturday because of the football game. I plan to run on Friday morning, and Ursula will be running Sunday if anyone is interested (even for a portion of the run). I will however plan the routes, put out the fluids, have directions and be there for the start. I will need someone however to volunteer to clean up the water stop, and someone to hold the drinks at the finish.