Sometimes, Running Means Being Uncomfortable

My Fitbit and I are taking some time apart. Ok, so the battery died the last time we were at the lake house, and I didn't have my charger with me. And then I just never bothered to charge it when we got home.

Let's be honest, I'm marathon training, I really don't need to worry about if I'm getting enough activity during the day.

I got a new RunnerBox (I subscribe on my own) the other day - it was so jam-packed that it didn't all fit in the box!

They always have a good quote inside.

And holy cow  - check out all these goodies!

I haven't broken into anything yet, though I did give the little massager (is it just me or does it look like a sheriff's star?) a test run.

Buddy was in charge of cleaning out a peanut butter jar for me.

I think it's safe to say he enjoyed himself!

His tongue doesn't quite reach all the way to the bottom, despite his best efforts.

Tom built a fire pit on Friday.

Naturally we had to try it out.

I've had a few easy 5 milers this week that have gotten progressively faster as my body has recovered from last weekend's long run. Today's run was supposed to be an 8 mile goal pace run. I was actually a little nervous about this run because my pace has not been where I want it to be lately.

I was in the middle of putting this run off until this evening when I decided to just get it done. This was after I had 3 cups of coffee and 2 english muffins. I downed a GU right before I headed out the door just for good measure. Apparently, stuffing myself was the way to go, because my run went surprisingly well.

The mantra for the run was "get comfortable with being uncomfortable." The marathon isn't going to be easy, but that's part of the challenge of running it!

I wanted to hit around a 9:00 pace for my 8 miles, and I ended up running an 8:52 average! I really needed a great run like this for a confidence boost, and I was really excited when I got home.

I have a "short" 13 miles on the plan for tomorrow - I'm kind of a big fan of this cutback week.

How has your running been lately? Are you training for anything?