#BeMonumental {Weeks 8 & 9}

Mile by mile, my training for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is trucking along – so much so, I can't even seem to keep up with weekly updates. But that is neither here nor there.

I'm currently in the meat of the training. The runs are log, the demands are great and the rewards are starting to trickle in. I still don't feel like my fitness is where it was in the spring but I do feel like my endurance has improved to the point where 8- and 10-milers really do feel like shorter runs.

Highlight: An awesome tempo run down state route 128 in Ross, Ohio. We were visiting family and while I had gotten in most of my runs, including a long run, before we left, I still had to knock out a tempo on Sunday morning. To say that I was not looking forward to it would be an understatement. And after two nights of wretched sleep thanks to Si, my enthusiasm was in the negative. But I laced up my shoes and headed out the door under the guise that I would remove expectations and just run. I was greeted with a deliciously cool morning – mid 50s – and I found a relatively flat route along 128, a huge surprise in that area. I felt strong and smooth as I turned around at a small amusement park that I went to every year as a kid, and I was able to hold the pace in the third mile – something I haven't done of late. I came home feeling accomplished and happy.

Lowlight: The humidity. We've had some bouts here and there of great weather but it's still summer in Indiana. My 16-miler felt great until I tried to kick it up a notch to hit the 4 miles at race pace my plan called for. I went too hard out of the gate and just FIZZLED. I guess running 12 miles and then a 4-mile race wasn't as genius as I had hoped.

WEEK 8

monday, aug. 22
distance | 3 miles
time | 30:22
pace | 10:02
notes | early run with friends

wednesday, aug. 24
distance | 6 miles
time | 55:29
pace | 9:13
notes | Hill repeats on the treadmill

thursday, aug. 25
distance | 8.5 miles
time | 1:21:28
pace | 9:34
notes | "humid as fuck," to quote my log

saturday, aug. 27
distance | 16 miles
time | 2:37:31
pace | 9:50
notes | 12 miles + Beethoven 4-mile

WEEK 9

monday, aug. 29
distance | 6.1 miles
time | 59:01
pace | 9:36

tuesday, aug. 30
distance | 4 miles
time | 42:03
pace | 10:29
notes | trails

wednesday, aug. 31
distance | 7.1 miles
time | 1:06:50
pace | 9:23

thursday, sept. 1
distance | 10.1 miles
time | 1:37:18
pace | 9:36

sunday, aug. 4
distance | 5.5 miles
time | 47:19
pace | 8:36
notes | tempo