Week 11: 5 miles/8 miles/5 miles/16 miles

My first short run of Week 11 -- a lousy little 5 miles -- and I thought I was going to die! It was horrible. My left leg was bothering me so much that at Mile 1.5 I thought I was going to have to turn around and go back. I did the running/walking thing pretty much from the beginning and that was the only way I managed to get through it. Part of the problem could have been the temps again -- in the low 60s. Second run of the week on Tuesday -- 8 miles -- had a tough time talking myself into it at first because I was really tired, had trouble getting out of bed this morning. So talked myself into at least getting dressed for running and getting out and at least doing 3-4 miles even if I couldn't do the whole 8 miles. Gave myself permission to run as slowly as I needed to and by Mile 2.5 I was doing fine. Didn't walk at all during Tuesday's run and clocked an 8.6 mile run with an 11:35 pace even though I was trying to run super slow! Yes, I know that's super slow for lots of folks but any long run under a 12:00 minute pace is a decent pace for me. Thursday's run ended up being 5.8 miles at a 11:21 pace. Thursday I ran with my iPod for the first time during the marathon training and I think it helped. I listened to two albums: Lyle Lovett and his Large Band and John Prine's Fair and Square. The weather was incredibly nice -- low 50s with a light breeze. Ran in Under Armour short tights and a lightweight longsleeved top. The weather coming up for Saturday is not looking so good -- rain is pretty much a given. I just hope it will be a light rain. Temps aren't looking too bad -- low to mid 40s. So the challenge will be to stay relatively dry.