Sign Me Up!

Look out southeast Michigan, here I come!  I am now registered for the Crim Fitness Foundation's 10-mile race on August 27th, and the Brooksie Way half-marathon on October 2nd.  I LOVE having races on the calendar (these were on the calendar, now they are just more official), it gives me a concrete goal to train for and I generally hold myself more accountable to my running.

The Crim is a 10-mile race in Flint.  I ran the race in 2009 with a time of 1:37:44.  With that being the only 10-mile race I've run, I have no doubt that a PR is achievable this year.  Tentatively, my goal is a sub 1:30, but I will re-evaluate closer to the race.  The course is known for being hilly, but I didn't think it was too bad last time.

The Brooksie Way half starts on the campus of Oakland University and runs through downtown Rochester and Rochester Hills before returning to Meadowbrook Hall via some (mostly paved) trails.  This race is pegged as very hilly, and quite challenging.  I'm not setting a goal for this one yet, we'll see how marathon training goes and if I just decide to use this as a training run or really race it.  My brother and sis-in-law live in Rochester, so travel for this one should be a breeze!

I don't intend to change anything from my current marathon training plan to accommodate these races, they should fit in nicely (I may have to add a few additional miles after the Crim).  I plan to run a few of my shorter runs over the bridges near home to add in some hills where I can.

Speaking of training, I got an 11 mile long run in this morning, mostly on the rail trail out to the State Park and back.  Ugh - my legs felt SO heavy and tired this morning.  This entire run was a battle; my pace was much slower than desired and I was taking quite a few breaks, but at least I got the miles in.  I got started early to try and finish before the heat kicked in, but the sun was high enough on the horizon for the second half to make it pretty warm.  And now, I am sitting on the couch writing this blog while I ice my legs and enjoy a protein shake :)

Week 4 of marathon training down; here's how it shaped up with 24.28 miles running and 4.0 on the bike:

S 7/3: Rest (Up north)
M 7/4: 3.9 easy, 36:32, 9:22 pace
Tu 7/5: NRoLFW Stage 3, Workout A-1
W 7/6: 6.23 pace, 54:44, 8:47 pace
Th 7/7: NRoLFW Stage 3, Workout B-1; 3.12 intervals (1.2 mi with Lucy, then 1:00 sprint, 2:00 recovery x 5), 26:59, 8:39 pace
F 7/8: Biked to work, 4.0 miles total, 21:55, 10.9 mph
S 7/9: 11.03 long, 1:50:09, 9:59 pace