28:30! That was my time yesterday for our 4 mile run. It was my first "harder" effort since being injured months ago. It may not sound too fast but on a normal day I would hit a 25-26. Also this course has an incline for over a mile. Overall, I was happy. It felt good to get out there and move quicker, but I am far from being injury free. My hammy/groin was good for the run but got tight after. Once I went home, iced and rolled on the foam roller, i was feeling good- good enough to wake up at 4:30 this morning and put in another 4 miles ( this time easy). I felt good even though I was stiff from not being warmed up but by the end I felt great. Now my leg feels fine. It is weird, I feel fine but I know that biomechanically something is wrong. Whatever the case may be, I am happy with the last two days of runs.

This Saturday we have 13 miler scheduled. It is a loop course that we will do twice. The first 6 are flat. then the second time around we will add 1 - 1 1/2 miles of hills at the 11 mile mark. This will make us "push through" hills when our legs are tired. This is a great confidence builder and will build mental strength leading up to LA in 23 days. Once again, Chris Schauble will join us for the run. He needs this workout to help build his leg endurance for later in races. Hope the rain that is scheduled to dump that morning won't scare him away (oh yes that is a challenge!).


23 days until the LA Marathon- that means my team only has 9 practices left. We will be ready, will you?