Cheers to Recovery Beers!

Ok, so I've had a tough time this marathon training season finding the motivation to fit in my weekly miles. Getting over the first 3 miles or so of a workout is a gigantic accomplishment these days. But there is one tiny bit of motivation (outside of the fear discussed in my 2nd post) that seems to help me get these exhausting long runs completed: the promise of BEER.
E-man (the boy-toy) and I seem to have fallen into a habit of running ridiculous miles then hopping right into a marathon drinking situation. This may seem like we have a problem, but we don't. Honest! We have had a relatively busy social calendar this summer with parties and bbq's and championship hurling games. But we marked on the calendar our key runs, and we've stuck to them despite these social "obligations". (Life is so tough sometimes!)

The promise of relaxing later on a Saturday afternoon/evening with friends and a frosty brew is HUGE at 6 AM or earlier after a long week of work and running! It's like ripping off a bandaid. There is a lot of fanfare and dancing around mustering up the courage, then yank! And it's over. There might be some residual stinging, but eventually it dulls and you get a lollipop or an ice cream (or at least I did sometimes growing up). So beer is my lollipop.

Actually the relaxtion and laughs could be my lollipop; beer is a bonus. It just so happens, coincindentally, that beer has a lot of good stuff for runners to replenish what they've lost running. OK!?!? I don't have a problem! (Note: Mojitos are also highly motivating!)

9 Weeks to GO

So, I'm posting twice on the first day! I figure might as well jump right into the deep end! I'm training for my second marathon - the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. on October 28th! My amazing boyfriend and 4 of my awesome running club friends are also running it. It has been a tough summer of training. I bit off a sprint triathlon (last Sunday), and I am feeling some pressure of a time to beat! I also have been running consistently for 2 years now, but I'm still learning a ton! Mostly I'm learning how to keep motivated to get out that door and run. (I also am learning that I love swimming!)

A question that hovers in the background for me these last couple months is how do I repeat the fantastic experience that I had during my first marathon last year in NYC? It still makes me gush like a chatty teenage girl! I'll admit I'm scared to have a bad marathon. But I'm getting in my longs runs; it's my weekly mileage that has suffered.

Although I'm slowly gaining confidence in my training as the summer wanes. I guess you just have to put your head down, grit your teeth, and do the runs and have the faith that your plans will prepare you for those 26.2 miles. You know, I believe my Mom would call this a healthy fear. A marathon is an animal that you have to respect. One day an encounter might be full of playfulness, another wariness, and yet another full of anger and fear. But if you know all sides of the beast, you know how to tame it or attack it. That is the beauty of it I guess: the uncertainty of it all.