Training for half marathon.....

So....I have gotten myself peer pressured into running the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach over Labor Day weekend. Peer pressured, because when the idea came up, I instantly nixed it saying "Are you crazy? 13 miles? 13 miles in the middle of summer in VA? No way!". Then after hearing that my friends signed up and tossing around the idea (and their comments of "come on - do it!"), I registered.

We are all training together, as we have all started running at the same time (in April), so we are all on the same level. We are following Hal Higdon's 12 week training schedule, which includes 2-3 runs during the week (starts at 3 miles and increases every week by .5 miles), with a long run on the weekends (long runs start at 4 miles and increase every 1-2 weeks by another mile). Waking up at 5 am stinks, but the fact that I know my friend Michelle will be pulling into my driveway at any moment to pick me up is what gets me out of bed.

I also have not been following the schedule perfectly, but I figure if I at least do the minimum for that day, then all is good. My long run this past Saturday was supposed to be 4 miles, and we did 5.88 miles (the longest I have ever done).

This morning started a new week and we were supposed to do 3.5 miles. The weather around here was in the 100's last week and it finally cooled down last night. I was so excited to run in 70 degree weather and I also had a Luna bar when I woke up (I usually never eat before my morning runs), so I was feeling in tiptop shape. We did our 3.5 miles and arrived back to the car. I didn't stop, I just said "Hey, I feel like running home" (which was another 2 miles away). So I kept going, and as I was nearing my house, I was still feeling really good, so I took a little detour around the block which added another .8 miles. Goal today = 3.5 miles Actual Run = 6.3!!!!!!