long run, done and dusted!

Phew, glad that's over!

I got my 14-miler in today - treadmill as usual given the weather and time of year. 11:45 pace, and I'm trying to stay around 11:30 or so, but the legs didn't have it today. No worries, it was time on the feet. Cooldown, stretch and 100 crunches too.

speed work

I got in 6 miles speedwork tonight. Supposed to be a tempo run, but I have no idea what pace to do that at, so did my usual progressive run:

mile 1 - 11:19
mile 2 - 10:54
mile 3 - 10:54
mile 4 - 10:43
mile 5 - 10:32
mile 6 - 10:00

and cooldown, stretch, and 100 crunches.

I found out my gym is open on Christmas - maybe I'll get in a run before going to Mom's for the huge dinner!

OK, did 6 easy miles last night. Felt pretty good to get the legs moving again.

Tonight, 6 mile tempo run. Of course, I really have no idea how to choose a tempo run pace. I haven't raced in about 4 years so can't really pick a pace based on a recent race time. Guess I'll just choose a pace that seems difficult and go with it. :-)

SRD tomorrow - eye exam and might go skiing.

I'll do a 14-miler on Sunday.

snow

I took yesterday as USRD. My standard 12-minute commute home took 1:20 - heavy snowfall started right as rush hour (well, VT rush hour) began, it came down thick, and holy smokes the roads were awful. I didn't see any accidents, but folks were sliding all over the place, myself included. I barely made it up the hill leaving work, slid all over the place getting to the interstate, and then almost slid into the left lane while on the interstate going 5 mph. Anyways, I was happy to get to my house in one piece, so wasn't going to travel the extra 1.5 miles to go to the gym.

I haven't needed snow tires for the last 2 winters, but after last night's commute, I'm forking over the cash and getting some this weekend.

Anyways, I digress.

Today is SRD due to work event tonight. Back at it tomorrow with a 14-miler on the treadmill at the gym. Need to get that in before our next storm hits (Saturday night through Monday, forecast for 6"-24"). OY.

Did 5 easy miles tonight, 57:30. Back at it tomorrow w/ another 5 easy miles...

confession time

OK, in the spirit of confession, I'm going to post my PRs, lame though they may be. I haven't done any short races since 2002, and will admit up front that I was pretty inconsistent with my running back then (that's the understatement of the year actually).

I am going to *CRUSH* all of these in 2008!
5K - 33:12
4M - 44:23
5M - 57:04
10M - 1:55:55
½ Mar. - 2:39:53
Mar. - so bad I won't put it in writing, but rest assured, I'm planning to take an hour off it this year.

I have these posted on the edge of my computer screen at home so I can look at them every day...

yay!

OK, I finally got some running MOJO back!

I got to the gym last night for my long run. Did 10.4 miles in 2 hours (5.2 mph). I was happy to stop but could have kept going no worries.

SRD today, back at it tomorrow with 6 easy.

I'm going to rotate between 2 hour, 2.5 hour and 3 hour long runs for the next few months. That's anywhere from 10-15 miles, maybe a bit more if the legs feel good (and as my fitness improves).

I have 3 halfs scheduled between January and June, so that'll keep me in fine form.

I'm already looking forward to next summer, when I can start my fall marathon training with a solid solid distance base. I am going to ROCK New York next year. You heard it here first! :-)

I've just registered for a few more races in the spring, should help keep me honest. :-)

* Road to the Pogue - early May, trail run, around 10k in length - they're considering changing the course this year.
* Covered Bridges Half Marathon - early June, this race filled up in 2.5 hours last year, and in about 2.25 this year. I set a reminder on my calendar so I wouldn't forget to register this a.m. right when it opened up at 9 a.m.

I have a 12-miler on tap for tonight, treadmill of course...

My 2008 running goals

MY 2008 RUNNING GOALS:

* consistency is key - learn it, live it!
* maintain at 30 mpw for a bit, then slowly move up to 35 mpw. Weekend long run should be somewhere between 14 and 18 miles every week.
* speed work - I'm sick of being slow.
* starting in June, train smarter and harder, and achieve a HUGE pr in my fall marathon (NYC, of course). I will go sub-5:00 if it's the last thing I do. seriously.