A few updates

So, since I have been gone for a little bit I thought I might do a little "vintage" post about some things that I have been doing this summer.

The boy and I went to Myrtle Beach on vacation for a week and it was wonderful. Nothing but the pool, the ocean, and my favorite person in the whole world! (cheesy enough for ya?) I even managed to get some pretty good running in on the boardwalk, which was awesome. Even though I got a few "are you crazy" looks from the half asleep boyfriend when I was lacing up my running shoes at 8 in the morning.

Heres a few pics from the trip, I of course took about 5000 pictures, but I'll spare you that and only throw in a few of the favs.

The boy and I by the pool

The hotel that we stayed in had a swim up pool bar...that we took full advantage of.

see?...

This was at dinner one night, isn't my date handsome?

Then we went for dessert.

Favorite picture...Im starting to feel the cheesy-ness of this post coming though, so I DO apologize :)

We of course had to go miniature golfing, here is me concentrating hard on my pro golf swing.

Bowling was also a must, what can I say? We are just an active couple! ;)

We also walked 3 miles in 100 degree weather for the hat that I am wearing in this picture...because it was PERFECT for sunbathing on the beach.

It was a great vacation and we had a lot of fun. I'm glad we got one last southern style beach trip in before we moved. Because, now that we are in Denver we are pretty far from any beaches!

RUNNING:

Marathon training is going really well! So far I have managed to stick with the training plan pretty well. The only thing I dread is the long run, which is usually done on Saturday or Sunday. This week is an 11-miler, so stay tuned to hear about that, I hope I can get it in!

Yesterday was a four mile run on the treadmill. It was a semi-speed work run. I say "semi" because I didn't really mean for it to be a speed work run. I have been noticing that I have trouble running negative splits in most of my races, and I REALLY struggle to finish strong, because I am SPENT by the end of the race. So, I have been trying to train myself to run harder at the end of races by running each mile a little faster than the last. So, when I am on the treadmill I will start out at about a 9 minute mile and then work my way up until I am running at race pace (around 7:45) for the last mile or so. The is just an experiment to see if it helps and I have no research to back this up...so we will see!

Does anyone have any other tips for working on running negative splits or finishing stronger in races?

Today is a rest day to gear up for the long run tomorrow, so I'm taking it easy! The boy and the roommate and some other friends are planning on going to a rockies games tonight...did I mention we live a block from Coors Field? Yeah, its pretty awesome.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! What does everyone else have planned for Friday night?