Real David H.

Coming off Saturday’s Lynchburg Half Marathon, I’ve been very happy with how my body has reacted.

• I had a nice 2+ mile recovery run with Duke on Sunday morning. It was a good way to cap off a week in which I really pushed myself with four runs in three days mid-week and the race. At 33.2 miles, it was the highest mileage week of the year and just less than 2 miles off my training peak from last year.
• I had a great core session on Monday, which included increasing my reps of squats I’ve been doing. I was worried initially about making that push, but my legs felt great.
• Today I continued my “push” theme and ran 4.7 miles in an 8:30 pace, which included a comfortable 8:19 middle mile. I initially felt like I started too fast, but I was able to maintain a good pace. The second mile, which was the hilliest, was 8:40.

Yesterday marked the two-months-to-go mark until the Baltimore Marathon. Two months? Really? That’s all?

I’m very happy with where I am in my training and the progress I continue to make with distance, speed and less worrying about my knee. The thought is still there quite a bit, but I can’t let it be a big distraction.

Next up in the journey is a big week with a goal of 36 miles this week, which will include a 5k on Saturday — the Fab 5k in Salem, Va. It’s a cross country style race.

While it’s promised to be flat, I’m looking at it as a speed workout. I’m not going to set a specific goal for this one. My long run goal is 16 miles on Sunday.

As I enter the second half of my training, I’m really setting my sites on a “first ever” moment of hitting 40 miles in a few weeks. It’s a distance out there that I’ve never been able to hit.

My previous two marathon attempts had too many things happen, but as of right now I’ve put it on my plan to hit 40 or more a few times before the taper begins. This will be the year it finally happens.