February Mileage

I may get in a few more miles on my bike while watching the closing ceremonies, but here's my weekly and February total mileage...

This week:
running: 28.9 miles (couldn't I have gone just .1 longer? ;) )
cycling: 8 miles

February totals:
running: 109.4 miles
cycling: 35.7 miles

Not too bad! It's good to be back above 100 miles per month running...

Hal Higdon seminar and Spring Thaw 10-miler

I just wanted to start with a little bit about the Hal Higdon seminar I went to last night. He’s a really good and interesting speaker (although he did tend to get off track when answering people’s questions) and I’d recommend going to see him if you get a chance! The event did not go quite as planned, as over 300 people registered for it and at the scheduled start time, there were only 10 people there. Apparently a moving van got stuck on the road leading up to where the seminar was being held. Eventually about 50-75 people trickled in. My favorite thing that Higdon talked about was actually how, while running 7 marathons for his 70th birthday, he came in second-to-last in a marathon that he had won when he was younger. It just made me think about how everyone who gets out there and runs is a runner and should be proud of themselves for finishing – whether they’re first or last. After the seminar I bought one of his books for him to sign and got a picture with him :)

The race this morning went pretty well. It was still snowing when I left and was sporadically snowing during the race. I got there at an hour and a half before the start and it took me over 30 minutes to find parking and get to the start line. Ugh. Fortunately, the rest of it was better organized. I got my chip, used the bathroom and then found Maria and Bernadette. We went out to the start line and met up with Valerie there. Val and I decided to run together, since we were both planning on using it as an easy training run and were just thankful for the opportunity to get 10 outdoor miles in without huge piles of snow and ice patches! I had originally wanted to run the first lap (5 miles) easy and then run the second one at half marathon pace, but I ditched that idea early on. I just wasn’t feeling it, although we did end up running the second half at a faster pace than the first (except for the mile that I stopped to stretch because my hip was starting to feel funny…)

After the race there was soup, pizza and hot chocolate! I also stuck around for a free massage and while I was in line, the race director (who also owns a running store) came over and gave me a coupon for a free pair of smartwool socks at his store! I’m not sure what happenjavascript:void(0)ed, but he had a stack of coupons for various things and just started giving them out at random. I’m totally excited about it :)

Overall a fun time and an automatic PR since this was my first 10-mile race!

mileage for the past two weeks and other random thoughts

I realize I've been a bit of a slacker in posting here (already!)

2/8 - 2/14
running: 28 miles
cycling: 18.4 miles

2/15-2/21
running: 25.7 miles
cycling: 0! (it was a crazy week!)

This week my running schedule was a little bit off and I ended up doing my intervals the day after my long run. Needless to say, they were not quite as up to par. Ouch.

My favorite mile I ran this week was at the gym on Friday with DB by my side :) He ran an entire mile with me and I am super proud of him.

My first race of 2010 is this upcoming weekend. It fits in nicely with my training plan and I'm hoping I can stick with my goal of doing the first lap (5 miles) easy and the second lap at goal half marathon pace. It's my first 10-mile race, so it's an automatic PR :) I'm also looking forward to seeing Valerie and Maria there and to going to a Hal Hidgon lecture this weekend!

snow snow and more snow

I just got back from running 2.2 miles in the same amount of time that I ran my slowest 5K of the year! Then again, my slowest 5K was not in 2 feet of snow with 15mph winds. I'm just happy I got out there. One woman even said I was her hero ;)

I'm thankful that I impulsively bought a pair of smartwool ski socks a few weeks ago, even though I've never been skiing in my life. They've been keeping my lower legs warm and dry, even when I have to step into a big snowbank. I'm also thankful that I finally got a pair of warm, fitted running tights!

Mileage for the first week of February

I'm on track so far for hitting 100 miles this month!

Running: 26.9 miles
Cycling: 7.2 miles
Plus two strength training sessions

January 2010 mileage

I'll hopefully be posting my weekly mileage on a regular basis, so I might as well start with my monthly totals for January:

96.2 running miles
23.1 cycling miles

First Post

Welcome!

I've decided to start a blog about my running goals and my races. Hopefully I'll remember to keep up with it.

Running Goals for 2010:

-Stay healthy and uninjured! I need to continue to take care of my knee issues so they stay pain free and listen to my body so I don't injure anything else. I think this is the hardest goal.

-Run 100 miles a month.

-Run my second marathon... preferably with a huge PR :)

-Break 2:30 on a half marathon and 30 minutes for a 5K. Last year I was within a minute of each of those times...

Upcoming Races:

(so far, I'm sure more will be added)

February 27: Spring Thaw 10 miler
March 27: Just a Short Run half marathon
May 2: Pittsburgh half Marathon
June 20: Father's Day 5K
September 11: Ikea half marathon
October 10: Towpath marathon

Spring Thaw will be my first 10-miler, which means an automatic PR. I'm following the Ryan Hall training plan for the Pittsburgh half marathon, which is my "goal" race for the spring. I haven't picked out a training plan for Towpath yet, but my summer plans are still up in the air and I'm sure no matter what I plan right now, it will have to be changed.