Mile 16 to 21

I experienced the hills of Newton for the first time last week.  It was an 11 mile run with the team.  We hit three of the 4 major hills between mile 16 and 21.  The turnaround for the days run was at the base of the fourth of the major hills known as "Heartbreak."   The run went well and I finished with some energy left over but the thought of doing those hills after running 16 miles and having to endure another 10 miles to the finish is daunting.  So, lately, I have focused on my cross training to strengthen my core.  The coaches have impressed on us that the cross training sessions are the key to finishing upright.  They seem to be right, the cross training keeps your heart rate up for the entire workout and strengthens muscles you may not realize you are using during while running.  The result is a second wind on the long 10+ mile runs and better recovery.

Note: Even though they appear like black and white photos, these are just very detailed drawings.

Saturday I did 12.5 miles.  It was a tough morning.  The sidewalks were limited so most of my running was on the street against traffic.  The slushy mess on the side of the road wasn't melting because of the low temps (10 - 20 F) so it was like running in slippery sand most of the time.

So, the training is slow but steady but that's the easy part. The fundraising has slowed down to a crawl.  Please pass this link on to friends and family.  Help save lives.