Six

I'm currently training for the 18.12 Challenge. When I tell other runners that my upcoming race is 18.12 miles, I get some pretty funny looks. Then I have to launch into stuff about the War of 1812 and how the race ends at a battle site and everyone falls asleep.

I get it. It's a weird distance to run. This was especially apparent as I tried to find a training plan. Half marathon plans didn't have long enough long runs and I couldn't afford a custom plan created by a coach, so I decided to go with a marathon training plan from Runner's World Smart Coach, which creates a plan based on a previous race time.

For the most part, this plan has worked but I've also encountered some bumps along the road... RW SmartCoach seems to be based on the Run Less Run Faster, three-runs-a-week model. Because they are still trying to get in marathon-level mileage, the weekday "short" runs can get pretty long - even longer for someone with a turtle-like pace. AND, if I haven't mentioned it before, the heat hasn't been my friend this summer. So, getting in the suggested mileage has been a challenge - one I haven't met in about five weeks.

This is what rejoicing looks like when I do it.

It wasn't until today that I *remembered* I'm NOT actually running a marathon. I'm only running about 2/3 of that distance! So if I get in 2/3 of the training miles, I should be alright. Which means, the fact that I ran 6 miles today instead of 8 makes perfect sense for the race I'm going to run. In fact, it's probably a little MORE than I needed to run. Which means, I can stop being so hard on myself!

And the people rejoiced because Kate was going to whine less about not running her miles. Happy day!

Also, this puppy in a tortilla because yes.

Another excellent reason to rejoice.