I'm visiting family & friends today in Delaware and wasn't able to do my normal 6k run. I did go for a nice long walk with Lisa though. Not having put in the mileage I was supposed to, I'm feeling a bit worried about tomorrow's 19km. Maybe it's good that I'm letting my hip rest a bit...although I do think it's going to take more than 2 days to heal properly. Hopefully, it will hold out for 12 more weeks. The weather has changed so the run tomorrow should be fun - it's going up to 6 degrees! Spring is coming!

Yesterday was tough. I ran 10k on the treadmill and it was supposed to be at "tempo" pace. I don't really know what this means (although they have a very detailed description of it in the guide book - but I guess I'm dumb). I treat the "tempo" run as a pace that I wouldn't even attempt on marathon day. I guess I should call it the "as fast as I can go" pace. I wasn't able to run continuously for 10k at the 7.5mph pace I set for myself. This is my new goal - to do it straight with no walking breaks. It's becoming more difficult to run on a treadmill now that I know what it's like outside (more to distract you). The hip pain is getting a bit worse so I'm off to see Dr. Murdie tonight for an adjustment and some orthodics. Jen (who I see as my co-trainer) is in rough shape. I think she's getting down because of an injured ankle that has side-lined her for the past week. I know I'm going to feel the same way if this hip of mine forces me to take a break. One good (or bad depending how you look at it) thing that I discovered is that Ibuprofen seems to fix it temporarily...

Sunday...the long run. Well, I was a bit worried about today's long run (16km) because Steve and I had been at a wedding in Toronto and didn't get to bed until 3am. So, I decided to experiment with food before the run. Today I had 3/4 of a banana, half a Vector energy bar and a cup of tea with a large helping of honey. This was great and I think it's going to be my marathon breakfast. My usual pace partner didn't show up today, so I decided to see how long I could stay with the others (aka the fast runners). I finished the 16km in 1 hour and 34 minutes - a big difference from last week's 1 hour and 41 minutes. I'll have to be very nice to my body tomorrow on my day off. The whole nutrition thing has been challenging. It's interesting how food has become fuel now and I'm discovering what fuels the machine works with best. This might be on the "too much information" side of things, but it's fascinating how "regular" running has made me. I think my slow metabolism is finally getting a kick in the butt (so to speak) - and moving into high gear.

Ran 8 easy km with the group last night. The weather was nice (about -7 I think) and I felt great. I think my speed training on Tuesday and Wednesdays on the treadmill is really helping. Jen tells me that she has injured her ankle and has missed a couple of runs...This is my biggest fear - bigger than thinking about the actual marathon day (although that is still pretty far away and unreal-seeming) -- getting injured...I've got my on-going hip pain but it doesn't bother me yet while I run and I'm treating it nicely. I've been using the whirl pool at the Y religiously and I hope that my body thinks that is a fair trade-off -- I'll push it to the extreme and then I'll treat it with a hot tub soak and massage. So far my body has been happy. --Oh yeah, the group I run with gave me a new nick-name because of the psychodelic tights I wore last night - "Freddy Mercury"...How embarassing...

February has been a difficult month to know what to wear...So bloody cold! It's supposed to warm up this week (-2 today), so I'll have figure out a new dress code. My very first outdoor run was pretty funny. I had 5 layers on top and 4 on bottom...It was -25 so I was scared I'd freeze to death...I almost boiled to death instead. I must have looked really silly. Luckily, I'm still mostly running on the treadmill (I did 6k today as fast as my stiff legs would take me which meant 6km in 32 minutes). My plan has been to stay indoors as much as possible. I think the others in my running group look down on treadmill running...as though it's not really running...I suppose running on the ground is more difficult, once the snow melts I'll try to do as much outdoor running as I can, but for now, I'm okay with being a wimp.

Well, it is week 5 of my marathon training, so I thought I would begin a running journal to document the pain and agony. There will be laughter through the tears, I'm sure. I guess, to begin, I'll state my goal: to cross the finish line. Hopefully, this is not too unreasonable for a new runner and a first-time marathoner. We will see. Many of my friends and family think I am a little wacky to be taking this on. I just want to see how far this body of mine can go. The big day is May 30th in Ottawa...I will be just freshly turned 30 and how fitting, the Ottawa marathon is celebrating its 30th year.