Sometimes Getting Out the Door is the Hardest Part

Yesterday's run was my last long run before the Pocono Marathon. Coach Jeff assigned me 3 hours on a "rolling" course and allow my heart rate to gradually move from zone 1 to zone 3. When I woke up Sunday morning, it was 45 and raining steadily. I had no motivation to go out and run for 3 hours in the rain. If I could run a marathon in similar conditions, why was it so hard to get out the door? I sat at my dining room tracking TK's progress at the London Marathon (she ran a bloody good race finishing in 3:48:56) and tweeting about how I no interest in running. Within the span of a few minutes, I get this tweet from Elyssa:

you can do this. hard work now pays HUGE dividends may 16. not to mention better weather:-D

this tweet from Neal, who is running the Green Bay Marathon the same day I'm running Poconos:

3 weeks to our marathons, last really long training run. By which I mean: let's get this today!

and this one from Michelle, who was on her way to the More Half Marathon in Central Park:

you can do it! I am on the train to the race!! Go for it!

So I decided to go for it. On top, I put on a thin compression base layer to keep my core dry and warm, a short sleeve tech shirt, and my rain jacket. I with shorts on bottom. Late last week, I was trying to map out a "rolling" route that would be fun and interesting. I was getting tired of running the same hilly streets in around Teaneck, Palisades Interstate Park is too hilly and would beat me up, and 3 hours in Central Park was too much for me. Amy came to the rescue and mapped out a route from my house, over the GWB, across Dykman St, through West Harlem, and into Central Park. It seemed like a nice alternative to running the West Side Greenway which is not exactly rolling. Unfortunately, my turn sheet got soaked and unreadable. So I modified the route by running straight on St. Nicholas Ave./Manhattan Ave. from 155th Until 110th and Cathedral where I entered Central Park smack dab in the middle of Harlem Hill. I drew upon the energy of the More Half Marathon which was well underway. It was quite inspiring seeing 6,000 women running or walking 13.1 miles in less than ideal conditions. I purposely wanted to end my run in the park to simulate the hills come towards the end of the Pocono Marathon. I wanted to see how my body would react to hills towards the end of a run.

20.77 miles in 3:00:02 (8:40 average pace)

Yesterday's run put me at 50.3 for the week. I peaked exactly at the right time, 3 weeks before. Thank you to everyone for your motivation yesterday. Now it's time to taper.