Week 9 is in the books

Exactly half way there with Hal Higdon's Intermediate II marathon training program, in preparation for the Oct 9 Mohawk-Hudson Marathon.  So far so good:  on Saturday the 9 mile pace run went pretty well, and despite awful conditions I managed an 8:35 minute/mile average pace.  The first 5 miles ended up being just over 8:20 average due to running with a much faster group of runners, Mark Coleman's KatyFit ATP runners.  I will run with them again next Saturday, but will try to keep the mile pace a little more consistent. 

Today's 'long' run was only 12 miles but it was hardly easy.  Our small group of 4 runners took off at just after 0630A and by then it was already in the 80's, with - of course - high humidity.  Fortunately the route was quite shady and we had a sag wagon with cold drinks, grapes, bananas and pretzels every 2 miles.  One worrying note: my left heel is starting to act up with more pronounced plantar fasciitis symptoms.  More icing and stretching ahead and I will be making an appointment with a podiatrist on Monday

The last few days have been rough on the 'diet' front:  too many fun calories, several restaurant meals and a few too many temptations around the house including some really nice peanut butter cookies.  I'm thinking my next weigh-in may not be the best; will really have to suck it up on Monday and Tuesday to mitigate the damage.