Half way there (oh, oh, livin' on a prayer)

I've noticed a curious habit. When I was unemployed I fell way behind on reading Other People's Posts (O.P.P.?) but managed to post an entry every other day. Now that I'm working I've fallen behind on posting, but have started to catch up on OPP (Are you down with O.P.P.?)--i.e., I have 50 unread posts as opposed to 150. However, the good news is that this freelance gig is pretty cool. Great agency, great account, great people. So with some luck I can convert this into a full-time job and be happy.

On to running. Last week marked the halfway point in training for the NYCM and I'm really happy with where I am right now:

• So far I've executed the training plan to the letter. By which I mean I've gone out for every single run with the full intention of completing the assigned run for that day (sometimes biology, climate, and the all-around difficulty of training for a Marathon get in the way of successfully finishing the run). Of course, last night I forgot to set the alarm and sleep right through my run. Now I have to figure out how to make that up.
• Doing all my runs outside at first was an adjustment, mostly because I had a hard time finding a flat course for Tempo runs. But otherwise it has been great because I end up doing a proper(ish) warm-up and cool-down and I feel like I get a real workout on my legs for every single run.
• I've continued to run without music. I pretty much save Liam for Long Runs and sometimes speed work. I realized that I've gotten to the point where I don't need the music as a distraction anymore--I can keep myself plenty entertained just by paying attention to the run and how my body is reacting to it.
• Stitches and, um, bowel movement, (which had become an issue during Tempo runs) seems to have subsided for now. I feel the early weeks of each training cycle my body is like "whoa, this again?" and needs a couple weeks to get used to the running. This might factor in to where I do my early Tempo runs during the new cycle (i.e., near a bathroom!).
• Usually by this point in training I would have seen weight loss--and I have, but it just hasn't been as big as in the past. I used to lose 10-15 while training for a Marathon. This time around it's been more like five pounds, which is nothing because my weight can change five pounds in the course of a day. What's stranger is that I think I'm eating healthier this time around. So either I'm creating muscle as I'm losing fat OR someone is injecting me with calories while I sleep.
• All the sweat from running in the summer heat is causing a pubescent-style break out on my forehead. Using a hat probably doesn't help either. Last summer this happened too, but oddly enough I broke out on my eye brows, so it wasn't that noticeable. But this year it's all over my forehead like cake on a fat kid.
• Adding the additional run each week has actually been a big help. I've had to focus more on my running and my pacing--which I think is paying off. And the good news is that I haven't noticed any additional fatigue.
• In August I passed my monthly distance record. (Is that even a record to be worried about?) I beat my peak mileage month for The Flying Pig by 10 miles. But, August isn't my peak month for the NYCM, that will be September. It's scary when you see that monthly number approach 200.
• I usually start getting crazy excited for a race two weeks out. But the NYCM is different. I've never run a race on the streets where I do my training. Even when I ran the Boston Half-Marathon I trained in completely different neighborhoods than where the race went through. But here I do my hill work on the Queensboro Bridge, I do my Long Runs in Central Park, I run along 4th Avenue when I go through Brooklyn--it's like I'm running a bit of this race every week. I'm already starting to obsessively check the race website for more details (although I got the race booklet already and there really isn't anything else to know except my race number, corral, and transportation).