sunday run

Today was another long run day. I did the prescribed 8 miles. Much to my surprise, my pace was 12:37 per mile. The entire run took me 1:41:41. I was surprised that I hit under 13 minutes per mile. A part of me wonders if my Nike band was faulty. Hmph. When you've trained for a full marathon, a half marathon seems to be not as serious. However, I'm realizing that I have to start all over and I have to take the training as seriously as I did for the full marathon. Besides, it's still 13.1 miles and that still ain't no joke! So I have to be mindful of a few things:

1) carbo-loading two days before the long run
2) getting up early enough on the long run to eat and prep for the run
3) stretching after the run

I'm generally good on the third point. However, my knees have been slightly sore. Actually, it's not so much my knees than it is the area above my knees. I'm not sure why it is. I'll have the chiropractor look at it tomorrow. Also, my hamstrings have been really sore and sometimes I feel like a cramp is coming along. I think I need to eat bananas.

Today's run was okay. The first half was great. The last mile was a bit of a struggle. I'm training at the mileage where I'm going to need some ground support because one bottled water isn't enough to carry me. Hmph. See? This is why you train with organizations such as Team In Training. They provide that support for you. These days I'm really tired. I'm not sure what's going on with me. I think it's my eating. I need to be better at it.

Right now I'm taking lots of notes and working on upping my energy levels. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!