Eyes on the Prize

I am so close to reaching my 5 run week! I had three good runs at the beginning of the week (Sunday through Tuesday) and have taken the last two days off while Annie’s dad has been in town. He left this morning to visit her sister in Washington for a few days so it;’s back to the gym this evening after work. If I get a run in tonight and then my long run in tomorrow, that will make 5 out of 7 days this week that I’ve run for a total of 20 miles. While it’s not Olympic marathoner mileage, I admit, it’s a step in the right direction. Now that I have finally completed two weeks of intensive running at these distances (3.5 miles for easy runs, 6 miles for long runs) I can increase my mileage by 10% (3.85 miles easy, about 6.6 miles long) safely.

Quick injury update: My arch pain has all but disappeared thanks to my new kicks. I only feel a few twinges here and there, but it’s not nearly as painful as it was and I think that in another week my foot will have healed enough that I’ll feel good as new. My shin splints have been kept at bay and I think taking the last two days off was helpful to totally healing them. Nonetheless, I plan on continuing my post-race icing regimine to minimize future occurrences. Other than that, no real pain to report! I’d say I’m about 90% at this point.

So, I’ll get another 3.5 miles in today after work. Since it’s Friday, there shouldn’t be too many people in the gym, which will make the run go faster. Whenever there are people walking around the gym or when it’s busy, I find it more difficult to concentrate on things like my form and pace. This is also why I like doing my long runs on the weekends when there are even fewer people at the gym. Speaking of which, Annie is going to the 10AM spinning class tomorrow, so I will probably go with her and do my long run while she’s in the class. We’ll go a little early so hopefully that will give me enough time to complete the 6 miles at my long run pace of about 10:30 min/mile.

I mailed my registration in for the Great Strides Against Prostate Cancer 5K yesterday, so I’m officially committed. It should be really fun and will be a good opportunity to see my improvement from the 5K I ran back in July.
Which reminds me! I still haven’t gotten my T-Shirt for the Run to Cooperstown 5K! Well I learned my lesson and will get to my next race early enough to assure myself a shirt. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame…on you…no me…YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!