(Long) Overdue Running Update!

So what have I been up to running-wise the last month and a half? After the half marathon I switched gears and jumped back into marathon training. Since it worked so well the last time, I decided to stick with the same Runner's World plan I used for the San Francisco Marathon.

I did re-input the numbers so that the goal pace for all the runs was tweaked, but the mileage and workouts are all the same this time around as the last time. If you take a look back here, I am currently on Week 10 and just finished up the Tuesday run (today's stats: 10 miles, including 7 miles at an 8:58 pace).

So two things...

One, I am in peak week for CIM training. How that happened, I have no idea because the training this time around has been flying by so fast! I guess that is a great thing because I am finding myself much less mentally exhausted this time around than I was during San Francisco Marathon training.

Two, I am finding myself running these training runs at paces which are incredible for me. About 3 weeks ago something really clicked and my pace for all types of runs dropped dramatically. As a comparison, today's run the last training cycle was done with the 7 mile pick up at a 9:29 pace. The last few times I've gone out I actually wondered if Garmin was broken and was playing some cruel trick on me.

I don't know if anyone ever looks at the sidebar -->

For a few weeks my biggish news has been plainly posted there. I scheduled a trip home to Hawaii in early December. I figured I'd beat the expensive holiday plane prices by going home before Christmas. A few days after I booked my ticket I thought maybe there might be a nice 10K I could run for fun while I was home. Lo and behold, I found out I was going to be home for the Honolulu Marathon.

So against all injury prevention wisdom, I'll be running back-to-back marathons. It actually worked out pretty well. I never really had much interest to run Honolulu. A lot of family members back home kept asking if I was going to do that race. I always said it was on my long list of things to do. There is something about running 26.2 miles in Hawaii's heat & humidity which is just not appealing to me. I could never imagine training for months knowing it would be a lackluster performance on (what I consider to be) a pretty drab course.

But since I'll be "fresh" off of CIM there is no additional training required! Honolulu also gives discounted rates for Hawaii residents. I had my parents' addy for a mailing address and my passport still says "Honolulu" in it, so I registered at a reduced rate, too (I missed the dirt cheap price.... My friend back home once told me it only cost $35 for Hawaii residents. I ended up paying a fair bit more than that). I am hoping to slam down a PR at CIM so will probably be pretty beat up for Honolulu. But even if I have to walk the last 10 miles I figure I'll carry my camera and have a fun time with the race.

So that is the news in a nutshell. I apologize for the long running silence. I'll try to keep up better!

The above was taken after my recent 20 miler the week before last. Michael B. and I share a love of Goldfish crackers and I brought my 2 lb. carton along for the ice bath ride. Yes, it long gone. And yes, after seeing this photo I'm planning on buying another one tomorrow :)