Summer Race Plans

Well the Newport Marathon is 5 weeks away! It is coming fast. I have mixed feelings about it. I’m kind of burnt out in general right now, between marathon training and getting the new house ready to move in. Zach and I have been working so hard, and while it is really rewarding, it is exhausting. Right now we are giving everything we have to the house and whatever is left is going to running. It’s totally not a sustainable lifestyle and I am looking forward to getting our lives back! I know it’s going to be worth it so I’m trying to keep that in mind.

My training itself is actually going good. I ran a 20 miler yesterday at 8:58 pace – certainly not my fastest but it felt good and I’m happy with where I’m at. I hit 50 miles for the week and will have 2 more big weeks before tapering. I think I can do it! I’m not going to try to run a PR or anything at Newport so I am ok with my training paces. It will be interesting to run a marathon without a lot of pressure to PR or BQ or anything, I am very curious how it will go!

Beyond Newport, Zach and I have been cooking up something BIG! It’s not quite official yet, but I am going to announce it anyway. It looks like we will both be running the McKenzie River 50k later this summer! The coolest thing is that this race falls on my 31st birthday – September 10th. How cool will it be for me to run 31 miles on my 31st birthday!! This race caps at 200 runners and fills up fast, so this year they did a lottery entry. Zach got in and I am on the waiting list. I am the 3rd person out of 77 on the list so I’m pretty sure I’ll get in. They probably won’t notify me until later this summer so I’m going to proceed as if I’m in. I figure why would they even have a waiting list if they aren’t going to let in at least 3 people? I’ll keep you posted.

And beyond THAT, I even have plans. Last Friday I got caught up in a whirlwind of excitement and ended up registering for the Portland Marathon! It’s only a month after the 50k! I have never done anything like that but I’m excited. I know I will be able to finish and will just run it “for fun.” I’m super excited because several of my friends are running it- 5 of my good friends here and even friends coming in from out of state! It’ll be great. It is going to be my 10th full marathon (not counting the Ironman or the 50k) and I think it will be really special to do my hometown marathon for that big landmark!

Well that’s the update… I also want to mention that the only reason I even have time to blog is that my wonderful husband gave me the night off! He is over at the house finishing up the painting and I am at the apartment doing laundry and cleaning up. Even though I’m doing chores it feels like a real treat because it’s not nearly as hard as painting! And I actually get to watch TV! Oh Real Housewives and Teen Moms, I have missed you.

Here are a couple pictures of me and Zach hard at work. I promise some great before and after pictures will be coming soon! Have a great week everyone!

Go Bruins! (my painting clothes are my old gym clothes from high school):

Zach giving me tips on my first day of painting (10 days later I’m practically a pro):

 

Handyman!