I'm a terrible blogger.

I haven't posted anything on this blog in over a year. Here's why: last year my marathon training fell flat on its face the minute school started. I, of course, was too ashamed to admit that in a public forum. But I'm over it now. Because it's a new year and the third time's a charm, right?

This year is my third attempt at the marathon. And I've actually been doing really well with all the training! I've been getting up at 4am on school days to run, so I've been able to keep up with it. It sucked at first because 4 am is ridiculously early, but I've gotten used to it. It's like my little slice of solitary time with the universe. No one's awake. It's eerily silent. There are hardly any cars. Even most of the neighborhood dogs are asleep, which means I don't get yelled at every time I pass certain houses.

There are, however, some disadvantages to running that early. I've had fortify myself with a slew of gear for running in the dark: hi-visibility reflective vest, little lights to clip to my shorts... ok, perhaps not a slew, but I have definitely had to add to my running attire. Running at 4 am also makes one tired much earlier than usual. I'm normally ready to crash at about 8 pm, but can almost never get to bed before 10. So, I'm tired a lot. But that's ok. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

It's really not bad at all. The running has been going great. My longest run has been 18 miles. I was supposed to 20 last week but was apparently coming down with something flu-like because I've been sick since. So, I didn't make it last week, but I'm resting and relaxing and will get back into it tomorrow to be ready for Saturday's 22 miles!

I read through my old posts before writing this one. It's weird to me that I was struggling so much with 3 mile runs 2 summers ago! I am regularly running 5 or 6 miles now, and those are starting to feel easy. My heart rate, which used to hover around 170 at the end of a run, is now barely up to 150, and that's after sprinting the last bit. I've lost almost 40 pounds since January, my legs have almost magically turned into hard muscle, and I'm finding that most of my pants now require the use of a belt to stay up.

I finally feel like a runner! Now, if I could just get rid of this irritating virus, or whatever it is...