Once you catch the running bug, you can never be idle.
So, having been sick for the last few months, it has been a huge goal of mine to get back out there and start racing again. I haven't run a race, for various reasons, in over a year now, and I haven't run one that I have taken really seriously in exactly two years. So I've been building up mileage and getting my body back into running health for a few months now and I am ready.
I am hoping to pull a modest 1:52 in the Long Branch half marathon on May 1st. This time around it is much more about going the distance than setting an awesome PR, but this is a time that I think I will be happy with, all things considered.
With this race on my radar, I started kicking my butt again with tempo runs and speed work about two months ago, and reintroduced myself again to the indulgence of a weekly long run. It's been fantastic. I can't wait to see what I can do on race day after being a sickly, twice-weekly-if-that, malnourished jogger for so long.
I am starting to feel super comfortable in my long runs (11 miles max so far, but 12 this Saturday) and powerful on my tempo runs. Long runs have always been my favorite and are thus seemingly less tolling to me, so I always find that I can more effectively judge my progression through the runs that I find most difficult- the tempos. Feeling good on a tempo run is so important and such an indicator of what race day will be like. Speed intervals also are not my best friend, but the burn of a mile long sprint repeated multiple times is just so terrible that my inner masochist (don't lie.. every runner, if not every person, has one) somehow finds joy in it. Plus, any run that causes you that great discomfort is so sweet to get through. It's like you're walking on clouds for the rest of the day. Talk about a runner's high.
Anyway, I know I should have started this a while ago, but I'm going to do some strides at my goal race pace on my long run this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. It should also give me a good idea of what to expect next Sunday.
Looking farther ahead, I have a few more races planned for the year. This race coming up is really only a first step in a long line of goals to get me back to being the runner I used to be. After the half I intend on starting a training plan for a 15 mi scenic race in Killarney, Ireland taking place in July. I hope to really focus on bringing up my speed on this one. This is the first training plan I've ever crafted myself, so I'm excited to fine tune it and see how it works out for me.
Then, after six months of rebuilding my base and renewing a taste for speed and racing, I feel I'll be ready to zone in on my ultimate goal of the year: a fall marathon. This particular race is very special to me, as it is one that I have been meaning to run for three years now. More on that later =]
Also, I have decided that this dear runblog will double as my training log. Sweet deal.
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