Running These Days & Saying Goodbye

It's official.  I'm training for a marathon in June.  So that means track workouts, long runs, and hill repeats are back in action.  I must be a bit crazy because I actually missed training like a crazy person.

I've become good friends with Michelle who is also training for a marathon in June, so I've had an awesome training partner 1-2x/wk!  She is a super-speedy runner and makes me train hard!  I've been doing my best to be smart with training and stretch, do some ab work, and cross train so I don't get injured.  I've been swimming with the masters swim team 2-3x/week and I think it is making a huge positive impact on my running!  It strengthens the glutes and other muscles that are normally weak.  I definitely recommend it if you have pool access.

Yesterday I did Yasso 800's and was pleasantly surprised with my pace. I'm not hoping for a specific time in the marathon, but I just hope to finish strong and if I get BQ, it would be an added perk. :)  If you're not familiar with the concept, Yasso 800's are said to predict your overall marathon time.  The concept is simple. Want to run a 3 hour marathon? Train to run 10 x 800m in 3 minutes (each 800m). Want to run a 4:00 marathon? Train to do the 800s in 4:00, etc.  I've read a few articles and blogs that say it isn't an accurate predictor of overall marathon time (here and here), but regardless of predicting my marathon pace, I will say it was a fabulous workout!

I had to say goodbye to an old friend last week; my first Garmin watch. It wouldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours, it took ~10 minutes to find a satellite, and the screen was cracked. I had a lot of fond memories with it: my first marathon ever, my PR marathon in St George, miles and miles of training along the sunny California coast, my first Boston marathon, and so much more! I was sad to say goodbye but I quickly got over that when I said hello to this beauty:

The Garmin Forerunner 220. In love. It instantaneously finds the satellite, vibrates at each mile, holds a charge for up to 10 hours, and so much more! And it's purple. :) I have a lot to learn about all do it's features, but so far, I'm sold!