Home Stretch - 4 weeks until St. George

The past couple weeks of training have been great. My schedule called for a 20 mile run on August 30th. However, Camille and I had planned a cruise to Alaska and we were scheduled to leave for Seattle on August 29th. So I skipped my rest day and ran the 20 miles on Friday, August 29th. I tried to eat some food before my run but I need to eat sooner so the food has a chance to settle before I run. I also ate Clif Shot Bloks during the run which seemed to have a positive effect on me especially my recovery after the race. I completed the run in about 3 hours which is was a 9:03 pace - not too bad but I feel like I should be able to go faster.

I was a bit apprehensive about how my training would go during the cruise. Our ship had a small gym with several treadmills and an outdoor track. I thought the outdoor track would be a good option but not only were many of the people walking on the track, but it was also pretty cold to be running outdoors. So I opted to run on the treadmill and it was great. I find that it is much easier to run on the treadmill where the temperature is great and my pace is controlled. The only problem was making sure I went to the gym when it wasn't too crowded since the gym limited your time on the treadmill to 30 minutes when it was busy.

It was great to run while looking out the window of the ship and seeing the beautiful scenery of Alaska. On Wednesday, I completed an 8 mile run while the ship was navigating the Tracy Arm Fjord. The water was a murky green (due to sediment deposited by the glaciers) and filled with icebergs. The shoreline was only a few hundred yards away on both sides of the ship with steep mountain peaks that reach up to 7,000 feet, green vegetation, waterfalls cascading down the mountain side, tidal and hanging glaciers, and the occasional bald eagle perched in a tree by the shoreline. I could not imagine a more picturesque running opportunity! This is what it looked like:

We are now back home and back to the reality that I have another 20 mile run scheduled for this Saturday. I'm cautiously optimistic that I will be able to pace a little better than last time. However, I have to keep reminding myself that this is my first marathon and I've only been running seriously for a few months. My pace on the last 20 mile run puts me right on track for my goal of finishing in 4 hours or less. I just need to be more patient and stick with the training schedule because it has worked thus far.