Friday, March 30, 2012

Charlottesville 10 Miler - Prerace

I did not travel this week in hope that to have a good tape week with a few easy runs.   Things don't always go as planned around here.  Monday into Tuesday night one of the kids was up sick multiple times through the night which prevented my run on Tuesday.  I decided to take Weds as a recovery day.   My taper week has been busy with work and I have been able to get some good rest and recovery.  The interesting thing about tapering is the impact on your mental view of running.   I often find that in the middle of the taper week I start to question if I will even remember how to run.  With the instant drop in running frequency I feel out of balance with my day to day activities.

Race bib numbers were issued today, and I will be bib number 1683. 


Friday, March 23, 2012

Mid March Review



The C'Ville 10Miler is in a couple weeks and I am excited to race again.   I am hopeful that I will meet my target pace of 8:20/Mile but have my doubts.  Taper week starts on Sunday after one last long run.  My training continues to progress and I remain healthy.  I am finding my business travels are having an impact on my speed workouts.   My typical speed workout is usually the morning after a long travel day, which has left me tired and the workouts more daunting than normal.  Much of the workout difficulty is mental, and I find once I get into the workout I am able to do what is required.   Due to travel, most of the speed work outs have been on Treadmills.  I find running on treadmills to be a constant grind, which forces you to keep up with no real time to recover.  The tempo and long runs have been difficult but enjoyable. 

I have enjoyed the best of weather in Virginia and Connecticut for running outside so far this spring. It is nice to shed the layers of winter gear for spring / summer gear.  I am hoping that it does not get to hot to soon.  The longer spring days are nice, but it is still dark when I head out in the morning.
My current training plan has me targeting 4 days during the week with a long run on Sat. With travel that has not been possible because I travel early one day during the week and miss a recovery run.  Even with that, I have been making the 20-25 Miles a week consistently since starting the plan.  That distance and frequency is proving to be  comfortable and challenging level. I have reached more than 25% of total mileage for the year, which is right on pace.  My run cadance has improved and staying on target for 90 Steps /Min. Looking back at Q1 2012 I am happy with my running efforts and results so far.

Friday, March 9, 2012

2012 Charlottesville 10 Miler

It is official!  I am registered for the C-Ville 10 Miler.   Training has been going pretty well despite my heavy travel schedule.   The next 3 weeks are a long haul with long runs, speed work and tempo runs.    I am excited to run this race again and hope to run the course a few times as I prep for race day.