How do you like them apples?

I did it!  I had a fantastic tempo run and actually managed to hit both the distance and the pace!  Finally!  I am so pumped!

Thursday:
Plan: 2 mile WU, 8 mile @ 6:45, 2 mile CD
Achieved: 2 mile WU, 8 mile @ 6:47, 2 mile CD
I finally hit my Thursday tempo run!  It was one of my toughest runs ever, but I hung in there and tried to run each 1/4 mile in the moment; to focus on my form and pace at the moment and not to think about all of the miles ahead of me or behind me.  The turning point in the workout was the halfway point; after that the remaining miles seemed pretty achievable.  I was so exhausted by the end, and so happy to have succeeded, that I felt nearly as emotional as I do after a marathon.  Weird.  I was working pretty hard by the end- my heart rate at the end was around 183.    Then- off to a New Year's party!

Friday:
Knees are still pretty sore.  It's a ligament (IT band?) on the outside of the knee that mostly hurts when I rotate on my leg (on both legs).  I've been icing a good bit.

Saturday:
Plan:  2 mi WU, 12 mi at 7:04, 2 mi CD
Achieved:  2 mi WU, 12 mi at 7:06, 2 mi CD
This was an awfully tough run.  I struggled to maintain pace throughout the run, which was pretty frustrating (especially since this was supposed to be marathon pace, and I was only running half of a marathon- should it be that much work?).  I even stopped once during the run with no good reason (and was very ashamed of myself for it, too!).  This wasn't as confidence-building as I imagine it was supposed to be, but I had a pretty tough workout on Thursday, and there may have been some residual fatigue from that.  But...  I did get the run in, and I think I even managed to hold pace better than my last "marathon pace" long run.  Maybe I was just a little disappointed because I was expecting it to be easy. 

My knees still hurt. I'm taking Sunday and Monday off.  Hopefully they'll feel better as I enter... Taper Time!