God does nothing except in answer to prayer.
– John Wesley

Might explain why it often seems that God does nothing. What a convicting statement about prayer (or, maybe more appropriately, the lack of prayer)!

Yesterday was the end of my 3rd week of preparation for the SunTrust Richmond Marathon. To this point, I’ve yet to run anything that I haven’t run before. My long runs have been less than half-marathon distance (which is my longest run to date back at the Thunder Road race in Charlotte in December of 08) and my weekly mileage has been close to what I was running before starting this training plan (around 22-27 miles each week). This past week, though, was the last time I can say that. For the next 15 weeks or so I’ll be running between 30-44 miles each week and will start building my long runs up to a couple 20 milers.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far (and it may be the most important lesson I can take away from this whole experience): you really do have to plan ahead if you want to pull off big things. There’s just no way I could start this training in October and be ready to run it in November. Even though it seems odd running in July for a race in November, there is no other way.

Life, and specifically our walk with Christ, is the same. It is my consistency now that is laying the foundation for success weeks, months, even years from now. I am learning to be faithful and to trust the process, not just in running, but in my faith and life.

This ended up being a pretty good week, but I wasn’t so sure about it at the beginning. I was still wrestling with the leftovers of whatever head cold I brought back from camp in Virginia, and my body was worn out. Add to that the fact that I did 2 of my runs in the heat of the day (vs the early mornings which I typically do during the summer), and it was a week of listening to my body and being flexible.

The biggest change was switching my Tues and Wed runs, but after my long 9 miler on Saturday I finished the week with just under 24 miles. I’ve got one more week of mileage in the low to mid 20s and then things will start to pick up.

Soreness in my legs is not a factor, but the arch of my left foot is stiff each morning. No pain, just stiff, and it works itself out in the early parts of each run.