January is over, and as such, so is 1/4 of my training for Nashville. All in all, I'm very happy with my progress so far. I've had a couple of tough days, dealing with fatigue or drop in motivation to get out and get my workout done, but that's pretty normal in this phase. I never had 2 of these days in a row, so that makes me happy. I've managed to get myself back on track immediately after a bad day. The end tally for January...4 weeks of training, 219.44 miles of running.
Now comes February, and that will put me exactly halfway through my training. It's a 252 mile month. Wait a minute. A what?!? OMG. That's...yeah. A lot of miles. But I knew what I was getting into when I chose this plan, so it's time to get after it. I'll finish the month with my first half-marathon since San Antonio in Nov. 2008. I'll be participating in The last Chance for Boston Half-Marathon, in Dublin, OH, on 2/28. Initially, this was simply meant as a tune-up race, to evaluate my fitness level halfway through training. Now, it's more important than that. More on that in a minute.
New Shoes
Last week I got myself a pair of the Brooks Launch. Very lightweight, very comfortable, very colorful. Obnoxiously colorful! But that's cool with me. Nothing wrong with a little splash of color.
I've put 3 runs in so far. When I first put them on, they slid on really nicely and had an extremely comfortable fit around the ankle. The toebox is plenty big. My first impression was that there was going to be nothing to worry about. But when I started walking in them, I noticed that the top mesh of the toebox rubbed oddly against the top of my foot. But once I started running, I didn't notice it anymoew. And now, I don't notice it at all, even when I'm walking in them.
The shoes are a very stable ride. A little softer than I'm used to, but not obscenely so. The lacing midway up is a little different too. The laces almost run directly sideways, as opposed to diagonally. Seems to be a nice spot for a little extra snugness.
I give these a solid thumbs up. And at $90, a fairly decent price.
Fall Marathon - Chicago, 10/10/10
I'm going to fulfill one of my dreams...to run a marathon in the GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD. I am an official entrant in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, scheduled for October 10, 2010. Oh yeah, baby! This is a race I would consider a "bucket list" type of event. I don't have many running, bucket list items yet (Chicago, NYC, Boston, an international marathon, and a 50-miler), but Chicago is probably my #1 item on that list. Now, I'm committed to run, and they're committed to giving me a bib number.
I'm hoping to qualify for one of the non-open start corrals. The race is open to 45,000 runners. They have 4 non-elite corrals for roughly the fastest 12,000 runners, but you have to qualify for them with a recent half or full marathon time. Here are the qualifications...
Start Corral A
Half Marathon time: <1:25:59
Full Marathon time: <3:10:59
Expected capacity: 1,500
Start Corral B
Half Marathon time: <1:35:59
Full Marathon time: <3:35:59
Expected capacity: 3,000
Start Corral C
Half Marathon time: <1:45:59
Full Marathon time: <3:55:59
Expected capacity: 4,000
Start Corral D
Half Marathon time: <1:50:59
Full Marathon time: <4:00:59
Expected capacity: 4,000
I already have a time to qualify me for no worse than Corral D. I am very confident that I can run well enough in Dublin to get into C. I'm mildly curious if I can get into B. My initial thought is no. I don't think I have a 1:36 half in me (yet).
I'm sure I'll have a lot more on Chicago in the future, so I'll just leave it here for now.
Lastly, looks like I'm going to get some mild weather this week for training. That'll be nice given the bitter cold and winds we've had recently.
OK February, I'm ready. Bring it.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment