Seven weeks of Cleveland marathon training down! Woohoo!

Anyway, this week called for Tuesday: 3. Wednesday: 6. Thursday: 3. Saturday: 12, for a total of 24 miles. I stuck to the mileage this week but changed the days again. Woops!

Monday: 6.11 – Hadn’t planned on running but I happened to check the weather forecast for the week and saw that Wed (when I was due for the 6) was supposed to be severe thunderstorms (gotta love Cleveland in February!) so I texted Mary to see if she’d be interested trying the 6 on Monday. She actually decided it worked better with her schedule and we ended up on a spontaneous run after work around Ohio City. Finished 6.11 miles in 58 minutes – my best run time so far!

Tuesday: 4 – Knew I was in for a busy day at work, so feeling good in the morning, I opted for a pre-work run again. Legs felt good but my body was much slower than the previous day.

Wednesday: 3.17 – Had planned on skipping the run Wednesday but of course the thunderstorms held off and B and I went for a post-work run. The sun had already set but it was still warm enough to wear shorts! I ran the first 3 with B (who hadn’t run on Monday) and he continued to do 3 more after I was done. At least I was able to cook him dinner while he finished up.

Thursday and Friday: Off! Had completed my pre-long run mileage by Thursday and Friday off. Was probably a good idea since I was so sore on Saturday during the 12 miler. But more on that later. So what did I do instead? Thursday B and I had a date night. We hit XYZ Tavern for some beer and appetizers before making it to the Capitol Theatre for a showing of the Oscar Action Shorts. They were awesome! And I love the Capitol Theatre. We followed followed the movie with dinner at Indian Delight, another rone of our favorite ethnic eateries in the area.

Saturday: 12.06 – Ouch. I was dreading the run especially after checking weather.com religiously and seeing the 30+mph winds on the screen, but thank goodness I had a running buddy. Mary and I met up downtown and ran the route I had mapped – all the way to Lakewood! Wow. I knew 12 miles would be a lot – but seeing it on a map made it even more real. About halfway through the run, my feet started hurting. This had never happened before. Then my left knee started hurting followed by my back. I ran the last three miles with my back seriously aching. Poor Mary – she could’ve left me in the dust as I hobbled along the last few miles but she stayed with me and we finished strong. I’m thinking I may hit Second Sole for some new shoes or orthotics – maybe I need more support?

Weekly Total: 25. Woohoo! Despite the pain from Saturday, overall, it felt really good. AND I hit a major accomplishment – the 12 miles marked my longest run since I ran the half marathon 2 years ago … and at that time I didn’t even hit 12 miles during training! Woohoo! Here’s to another great running week.

AND I leave with with a photo of the butterscotch oatmeal cookies I baked on Wednesday night. Maybe one day I’ll share the recipe.