Press On!

"Brothers, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead" Phillipians 3:13

This past week I felt like I was finally able to regain a little consistency with my running. With the holidays and some less than cooperative weather, it has been a struggle to maintain the discipline to keep a steady training schedule. I enjoyed a good couple of days off after the Swinging Bridge race and was able to get some chores around the house completed. Since Wednesday, I have been able to run everyday, it's the first 5 day stretch that I have had in while.

I was fortunate this weekend to be able to take the family down to Lake Anna and visit with some friends that have a place on the lake. This provided me an opportunity to run Saturday and Sunday on the trails of Lake Anna State Park. This is the site of my next race, the ICY-8 Hour sponsored by Athletic Equation. The ICY-8 hour is the first timed event that I will have competed in and started thinking on Saturday that I will have to managed the clock for the first time. The race is set up with the option of 2 loops, a longer 8 mile and a shorter 4.7 mile loop. To count toward the total mileage, a loop must be completed prior to the 8 hour time limit. I was able to run 2 of the big loops on Saturday and 1 loop and some additional side trails on Sunday. I am really looking forward to this event in 2 weeks. I think the addition of clock management will keep the race interesting, I'm not usually a fan of loop courses. If anyone has any timed event recommendations, please share, this is new to me.

Most of my training last year was done on a fairly consistent pace, although I varied the terrain, trails, and time of day for a lot of my runs, the effort level was pretty consistent. This year I am going to try and get some "speed work" into the training schedule. Speed is a relative term for me. I am not a track runner and absolutely hate running in small circles and think that I hate sprints even more. I have always been a fan of Fartlek training and on Friday was able to incorporate that into an 8 mile run that I have been doing on the way to work. I usually take the Metro into work for my compute option but have discovered the WO&D and the Custis Trails that allow me to get off the Metro early and run the remaining 8 miles into the Pentagon. It has proved a great way to get my run in early when life and work start to get busy. I hope to be able to maintain the consistent running this coming week, it feels good to be on a schedule again. Run Strong

Semper Fi and God Bless,
Mike

Training for 19-25 January: Weekly Mi (37.5), Monthly Mi (123), Yearly Mi (123)

Mon/Tues: Off Lift /
Wed: Lift / Precor EFX 546 CrossRamp (5.5 mi / 50 mins)
Thurs: Off
Fri: 8 mi, WO&D Trail (Fartlek)
Sat: 16 mi, Lake Anna SP trails
Sun: 10 mi, Lake Anna SP trails