A look back at week 9 - things are going well

THE ROAD TO THE TAMPA MARATHON
TRAINING WEEK #9 of 16 SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED

First off, thanks to all of you who commented on the question on how you deal wtih the treadmill vs. the tough winter conditions. Luckily, since I posted that question, we've been blessed with some very mild weather here in CT.

This has been a busy week personally. Since we arrived back from our holiday trip to Denver, we've been working non-stop to get our townhouse ready to sell. We are excited about our plans to relocate to the Chicago suburbs. The challenging part is that we decided to not use a realtor and we therefore are doing all the prep work for showings and listings.

This selling the house gig is quite draining. For example, I finished a strong and tiring 16-miler today, only to be not allowed into the house until our prospective buyers arrived and went through it. (The wife didn’t want me stinking up the place).

It will be a monumental achievement to train for this marathon, sell the house rapidly and keep up with work. So far, I seem to be able to handle it. Here's a look back at my last 3 runs.

Thu, Jan 5, 2006

The Rose Bowl National Championship kept me up rather late on Wed night, so of course I was a slug trying to get out of bed on time. No running in the morning on this day. I wasn't able to get out until 5PM. I ran from work into Silvemine, which is ill-advised after sunset. It was downright too dark and as a result too dangerous. There are few streetlights and the roads are a bit narrow. Cars are whizzing by me in the dark hogging the road. Despite the darkness, I did get it done.

TIME: 38:47 - DIST: 5.2 - PACE: 7:27

Fri, Jan 6, 2006

Despite a busy morning, I was able to break out of work and get my 5 miles in. Very similar course as yesterday in the Silvermine section, but much faster. Glad to get a little speed work in.

TIME: 36:13 - DIST: 5.0 - PACE: 7:13

Sun, Jan 8, 2006 - Start time: 10:21 AM

It was a very pretty winter day here in CT. The conditions were very favorable - about 35-40 degrees and very sunny. My goal for today was to run around 7:40-7:45 pace.

I guess I have never officially stated it, but my goal marathon pace is approx 7:30. This would get me to around 3:16-3:17 (PR is 3:23:55 - Houston 2005). I'm going to work on some speed repeats in the upcoming weeks to help get me there.

Today's run was very successful. I broke it into 3 pieces. I ran a 7.5 mile piece - and came back to GU up and rehydrate. I then ran a 4.5 mile section (which included an unexpected visit to the local McDonald's restroom) - then another quick water break. I then had only 4 miles to go, of which were my fastest 4 miles. Great stuff.

TIME: 2:02:12 - DIST: 16.0 - PACE: 7:38

MILEAGE TOTAL FOR WEEK # 9: 38 miles

LASTLY... my mileage YTD for 2006 is... 41

Here's a look at planned runs for the upcoming week...

Mon - 3 EZ miles early - Hockey game @ 10:10 PM
Tue - 7 Tempo late afternoon - after dentist's appt
Wed - 3 EZ or XT
Thu - 6 Rep
Fri - 3 EZ
Sat - REST
Sun - 18 LONG - then our open house at NOON!
TOTAL PLANNED MILEAGE: 37-40