Week #6 – Reaching the Halfway Point

There’s only six more weeks until race day, and Team Arnicare is starting to feel the pressure.

I am feeling more confident in my long runs. As always, the tough marks are there–for me, eight miles and 10 miles usually have me mentally shutting down. It’s harder to train solo because it is so much easier to stop. Over the next two weeks, my goal is to go beyond the 13.1-mile distance of the race. Since so much of crossing the finish line is overcoming your own mind, I know that one 14-mile run in the next few weeks will squelch the internal nay-saying.  – Kay

We’ve reached the halfway point! Only six more weeks to go. Twelve more short runs and five more long runs. But who’s counting? Except for a few bumps in the road, my first six weeks went well, and I’m mostly satisfied with my progress so far. However, I’ve been skimping on my strength and cross training sessions, and I’m still logging too many miles on the treadmill (let’s blame 4:45 a.m. wake-up calls and dark neighborhood streets for that, but I’m hoping Daylight Savings Time this weekend will help me out). I’ve also established that the first three miles of any run are always my toughest–my body has yet to work itself into its groove, and it takes everything I have to shut off that nagging voice in my head, urging me to slow down or even walk. So I’ve set a few goals for myself for the next six weeks–one or two spin classes (walking my two dogs for 45 minutes just isn’t going to cut it anymore) and two weight training sessions (particularly legs and abs) per week, and figuring out how to ignore that voice (suggestions on how to do that are always welcome!). Wish me luck!  – Heather