Ringing in the new year STRONG...

WRAPPING UP WEEK 8 of 16 OF TRAINING FOR TAMPA

COUNTDOWN TO TAMPA: 56 DAYS - 8 WEEKS FROM TODAY.

Please allow me to recap a holiday running weekend of SPEED...

SUMMARY OF 3 RUNS - FRI thru SUN - 19 miles - Avg pace: 7:12
All of this weekend's runs were done in the Cranbury neighborhoods as usual.

Fri, 12/30 - 3:53 PM

I went into work for a little while and it was dead. I left early and came home to do a sixer in the late afternoon. Great pace. I wanted to make this a tempo run to make up for my struggles in Denver.

DIST: 6.0 - TIME: 42:52 - PACE: 7:08

Sat, 12/31 - 3:58 PM

We did a lot of work getting stuff into storage to prepare for our move today. However, that didn't deter me from getting into a New Year's eve trot. The snow started falling with huge flakes right as I began. I wanted to fly through this 3 miles - and I did.

DIST: 3.0 - TIME: 21:09 - PACE: 7:03

Sun, 1/1 - 11:33 AM - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

OUTSTANDING 10-MILER - For New Year's Eve, we had no plan whatsoever for anyany parties, socializing, etc. I'll stand by my firm belief that New Year's Eve is always overrated (may hav to do with a lack of a real social life, some might say).

Anyway, Jen and I ended up going out to the Outback for dinner. I am officially instituting an individual boycott at what I believe is an excessively priced restaurant chain. OK, granted, I tend to have a few beers with dinner, which typically drives my bill up, but still, $79.00 for 2 (before tip) for 2 rib dinners, a fried onion and a few drinks? Not worth it. So, what does this have to do with my run??

The point is that I had a big fat overpriced meal on Sat night ... AND a poor night's sleep. Don't know what happened, but I was up for a few hours.

NEVERTHELESS, I still was able to get out and crank out a seriously great run today. I usually break up my long runs into 5 to 7 mile increments. NOT today - I cruised through 10 miles straight with no pause at a torrid pace. I kept moving through all of the Cranbury streets ; simply choosing a path as I went along and monitoring my distance on my watch. I was flying. Check out the splits...

Mile - Pace
1 - 7:10
2 - 7:11
3 - 7:20
4 - 7:41
5 - 7:32
6 - 7:14
7 - 7:08
8 - 7:05
9 - 6:58
10 - 6:55

DIST: 10.0 - TIME: 1:12:42 - PACE: 7:16

RECAP OF WEEK 8 - Mileage target of 31 exceeded!

Mon - Skiing at A-Basin in Colorado
Tue - 5.1 miles in Littleton, CO
Wed - 8.2 miles in Littleton, CO
Thu - Rest
Fri - TEMP0 6.0 miles
Sat - TEMPO 3.0 miles
Sun - RACE PACE 10.0 miles
TOTAL: 32.3 miles

HEADING INTO MY WEEK #9... This will be my first of 4 "peak" weeks of 40+ miles per week. January is critical month and I intend to stay really focused on proper diet and sleep this month.

AND FINALLY, HERE IS MY 2006 TOTAL MILEAGE GOAL: 1,200 miles!

I have never documented my mileage for an entire year, and this blogging thing will help me do it for the 1st time.