Ugly Toes

At the end of June, I'd run 633.89 miles. I'm rapidly closing in on last year's sad total of 790.63. By the time the marathon is over (and barring injuries), I should be at least at 1371 miles. I've only gone over 1000 miles twice (1465.97 miles in '04 and 1380.11 miles in '96) so this is pretty good for me.

I've run 6 races so far this year:
20K | 1:36:12 | 7:44/mi (PR by 1:35 from '04)
15K | 1:11:24 | 7:40/mi. (PR by 6 seconds from '05)
10 mile trails | 1:36:55 | 9:41/mi (9:05 better than last year; not really saying much)
1 mile | 6:19 (technical PR by 14 seconds from '95)
3 miles | 20:22 | 6:47/mi. (PR by 14 sec from '97)
5 miles | 36:30 | 7:06/mi. (PR by 1:19 from '04).

I'm pretty pleased with my racing this year, since I haven't really specifically trained for any race I've done so far. The 3 and 5 mile races are especially encouraging, considering that they were 25 minutes apart, I was coming off of a 38 mile week, had no taper and haven't really done speedwork. Apparently slow + miles = faster! I was booking at the end of the 3 miles and really wish it had been a 5K to see how close I could have come to my high school PR (20:43). I was in pretty good shape when I ran that, and have considered that to be a time I'd have to work really hard to come close to. Now I think I might be able to come close to it, if not beat it, in August. I'm also thinking if I ran smarter, and more even, I could do some damage to my 10K PR (45:32); probably not a significant amount, but the high 43s aren't looking that far away. Too bad I have no 10Ks that fit into my schedule - the only one I have planned for this year is the week after the marathon and that's not going to be a fast run by any means.

Last week was my 2nd 38 mile week, and it went pretty well. I took Molly out for a 3 mile walk on Monday and was noting how I haven't been very sore or having many issues. I have a knot in my right hamstring, but I think that has more to do with my new weed-pulling obsession. Let me share a tip: if you decide to pull weeds before a run (say maybe a 10 mile GA run or some races), sit on the ground or squat. Do not stand and bend at the waist - your hammys will get mad at you!

So at the midway point of the year, and with 16 weeks of marathon training, I'm feeling pretty good about everything running-related!