At the races

Wow, what a weekend. My Dad ran his first 8k on Saturday in Milwaukee. Braving icey cold temps, he finished in 52:37. A PR pace for him! My mom also walked the mile at this race. I cannot believe how awesome they are doing. It is truly inspirational. I love the fact that we have become quite the running family, now we just have to get Lukas going...

My dad with his celebratory beer, ready to thaw out in the hot tub!
So, my sister has been training for a full marathon..all on her own in San Diego. Training for a marathon is hard enough, much less running dozens and dozens of miles alone. She had a tune-up race this weekend to check her progress. She ran the Long Beach Half Marathon in 1:48:xx!!! That is an 8:15 pace overall, and she ran negative splits. Which means, she started at about an 8:30 minute pace and finished at an 8 minute pace! That is really hard to do, and most people (including me) take years, and countless races to master that! She has made such progress since starting running a year ago. I am SO, SO PROUD of her.
Great job Mom, Dad, and Em! I love you!

Matt and my trainings are going awesome. I just finished an 84 mile week! I am really aiming to go under three hours for the marathon in December, but it is a very scary thought for me. Am I ready? Experienced enough? Mentally strong enough to push through the pain? I am filled with doubt about it, but I know that all I can do is focus on my training and do my best. If I am ready, it will happen, if not, that's ok too. I feel like my training has been going really well and I just feel so much more supported this time around through having our running friends as companions in all this craziness! I feel so inspired by them and that is a big motivator for me.
My 'A' goal for this marathon is to break 3 hours.(6:52 pace per mile average) My 'B' goal is to break 3:10,(7:15 pace per mile average) and my 'C' goal is to break 3:19. (7:25 pace per mile average). I know that anything can happen on race day. It could be cold and windy, I could have severe GI issues, I could be sick... who knows. All I can do is stay strong and do my best! :) So nerve-wracking!