What an amazing week!! I ran my longest run to date with Ari and Nicole, and got a new bike!

Isn’t she a beauty!? I haven’t named her yet, but don’t worry, I’ll let you know when I do .

Here’s how the week went down:

Tuesday 9/11:

I ran 10 miles in 1:39 through Ahwatukee. What an awesome run in some awesome weather! Here were my splits:

I feel so much more capable of running well with even the small cool down we have had here in Phoenix so far. It feels so amazing to be able to finish runs strong!

I also got my bike Tuesday, and rode 8 miles that evening. I have learned that running up hills is way more fun than biking up them!!

I took Wednesday and Thursday off to recover from my 10-miler, and rest for Friday.

Friday 9/14:

I was nervous for this run. Very nervous. My longest run to date before this was 14 miles. The last time I attempted 15, I stopped at 13.5 on San Juan Rd. I was not exactly super confident going into today’s attempt at 17 miles. I met up with Ari and Nicole at 4:30am to conquer this bad boy.

We started off really slow, and maintained a pace in the 11’s for the first several miles. Ari even said she thought we were running at our “I’m scared of this run” pace, haha!

My shins were really bothering me through about mile 6 or 7, and I was really worried it wouldn’t get any better. Luckily, it slowly improved, and we slowly increased our pace; especially after our turn-around at mile 9.25.

We really carried each other emotionally throughout the course of the morning. What amazing friends to have and to run crazy distances with!

Here were the splits from my Garmin:

Looks like I had a small oopsie at mile 14. No biggie, though, you get the point.

I still can’t imagine 26.2, but it seems much more attainable after doing 17!

Check out Ari’s Recap of our 17 (point-zero-three) for a much more detailed version of our Friday run.

Saturday 9/15:

I decided to take my bike up to Scottsdale and ride along the Arizona canal to support my awesome teammates. I clearly remember how I felt at miles 14, 15, 16 and 17, and wanted to be there with cold water, fuel, and encouragement. By mile 15, I was SO hungry! All I had was Gu, so I took one, and one mile later, took another. Next time, I am bringing something more sustainable to eat in case I feel that hungry again. So I brought cold water, Gu Roctane sports drink, and Luna crunchy granola bars. I ended up riding out and back for a total of just over 10 miles. After everyone got back, we went to Le Grande Orange for breakfast. It was so yummy!!

I chilled out and rested my bones on Sunday. I was going to do a trail run, but decided to move it to Monday when my 4-6 mile run is actually scheduled.

This week, we have another nice cut back week, and a long run of only 10 miles on the schedule for Saturday.

Thanks for continuing to follow my training! If you still want to donate to Chances for Children, you can do so by clicking on the link above on the left side of my page. Thanks so much to those that have already donated! 45 days until the NYC Marathon!!!!

Happy Trails!

Stacey