Running through the cold

It appears for now that I'll be doing quite a bit of running this year as opposed to my original plans to race my bike this year, however, I can't really complain because I have been enjoying running again at a level I haven't had since college. It has been hard to stay motivated as the temps continue to stay low, but I have been getting my miles in regardless. I have been very cautious to build up from zero to 25-30 miles/week at the moment.


Yesterday was perhaps the first run in a while when I felt the desire to be in short sleeves or wanted to ditch the gloves, but that was probably due to the 2 miles in the middle of a 6er at 6:05/mi pace (ouch). I got caught in the middle of a coach/former runner/current runner hammerfest with the high school crew, and I wasn't going to be left behind. By the end of our run the four of us had averaged just over 7:00/mi for the 6 mile route, and the last 3 miles was in around 19:40, which was faster than a 5k I ran in August. My feet are refreshingly feeling great, and the IT band is holding up, so it'll be fun to see if I can continue to push my mileage up gradually leading into some warmer (hopefully) weather. I think my shoe change from the Asics Kayano to the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 has paid off big. I don't remember ever having a shoe that fit this well, so its a good feeling to finally find my treads.


So for now it looks like my events this spring summer will be focused on some local running races, including the Sawtooth Relay again with my brother-in-law and some good friends from Idaho. I'll probably throw in a couple trail half-marathons and 10-milers and see how the legs hold up. If they can go through the spring without injury then I'm setting my sights on qualifying for Boston at the City of Trees Marathon in October. I doubt I'll actually go to Boston (although its on my "bucket-list") this year, but it doesn't hurt to try and qualify to see if it is in my range.

The focus on running has also centered my perspective on my family, and I have been thoroughly enjoying being a dad. When I get back from running my son is ready to pounce and a exhausted and sweaty runner is quickly reminded of priorities. Our little girl has began to crawl so we are having fun keeping up.

I am looking forward to riding at a much more leisurely pace this spring since all the pressure of going to Mohican is off. And, you never know what race I'll show up at with bike in hand ready to survive another two-wheeled adventure...