Lazy Blogger, Too

So obviously, the Goofy Challenge is complete!  I finished, and finished strong, uninjured, and feeling good.

I don't feel like posting my own recap at this point in the game, so feel free to hop on over to my training partners' blog to read her race report!  We ran the whole thing together, so her race report is essentially mine, too!

Race Report

T-2 Days and Counting...

Well...tomorrow is the day we hop on a plane and fly to sunny Disney World in Orlando, Florida!  Or not so sunny...cold-maybe-rainy Orlando, Florida.  That's right...after all of my looking forward to a 50s/60s temp for the marathon, Florida is experiencing on of its longest cold snaps in years.  The one year I've chosen to do the Goofy Challenge...

But, honestly, I am not that upset about the weather.  I'd prefer cold to 80 degrees, which they had 3 years ago.  We've trained in snow, sleet, rain, 20s, 30s, 40s...I'm probably ready for anything!

My training recently though, has been a bit lacking due to the severe weather we've had here in Maryland.  I missed my last 22 mile run due to the 2 foot blizzard, so my taper was actually 5 weeks instead of 3.  I had a bit of a head cold/allergy issue and missed the 12 miles the next week.  I made up for it by running 6,5, and 5 respectively last week...but then a wind chill of 0 and 30 mph gusts on Sunday kept me inside and I missed 9 miles.  This week has been busy, and I'm just hoping to get out for 3 before I begin packing.  So, if training hard and then resting really well means a good race...I should be fabulous!  I think it will all be ok, though.

Wish me luck!  Race reports to come when I return from the Land of Mickey!

Slacking Off...Even in the midst of my taper!

So somehow, I've made it to the taper stage of my Goofy Challenge training.  Hallelujah!  Unfortunately, I seem to be using it as an excuse to completely slack off of running.  Last week, I ran a total of 7 miles.  Seven!  And it was difficult to even do those!  I mean, granted...it was Christmas week, and we did have 2 feet of snow on the ground/sidewalks that didn't melt for a week...but I still felt lazy.  And ate a ton of food.  I know they say you are supposed to gain a little weight during the taper, but I'm at a whopping 4 llbs!  Must be all that chocolate cake and Chick-fil-A I've been putting away...

I've also had a bit of a stuffy nose/head, which has made me lazy.  At least, that was my excuse for skipping 12 miles on Sunday.  I ran 6 with my training partner in the cold, windy dark last night instead.  It actually wasn't too bad.  We're going to attempt to get 6 more in Thursday after work.  Except, it is supposed to rain/snow again.  Lovely.  This weekend is scheduled for 4 miles on Saturday, and 8 on Sunday.  I'm going to up it to 5 and 9 to try and make up for some of my recent laziness.

The bonus to this 5 week taper is I think my body is starting to heal from a lot of the little nagging injuries I was ignoring during the high mileage portion of training...a crunchy ankle, tight hip, and achy achilles/calf.  All of those have pretty much gone away, and I feel ready to take on a half marathon followed by a full marathon.  Mileage-wise, I have 24 more miles to run before the races.

If I ever say I want to do something like this again, someone please dissuade me!  I know I will be so happy to have finished, but it has really taken a toll on me!  Back-to-back weekend runs allow no time for sleeping in, or the weekend AM coffee-in-hand-couch-lounging.  I can't wait for the "mandatory" 2 week break that I'm supposed to take once we are done with the races!  I know some people run/exercise after a few days, but I will not be one of them.  If the experts say I need to take two weeks off, I'm going to listen to them.  Who am I, the Lazy Runner, to question the running experts?

Blizzard '09

Remember that winter storm I mentioned in the last blog?  Well, it definitely hit...and thus I didn't complete the 22 mile run.  By the time I woke up Saturday morning, there was already 4 inches or so on the ground, and it didn't let up.  We ended up with over 20 inches of snow.  Yikes!  I have never seen that much snow in my life!

I did get 11 miles in on Friday morning, though.  We ran from my house through Eastport, to the Naval Academy, and back.  I'm glad that was accomplished, because I still don't think I'll be able to get out on the roads to run anytime soon!  There are still huge mounds of snow in most places where the sidewalk should be!

Today, I managed 3 miles on the dreadmill at the office during lunch.  My training partner (who ran 20 miles on the treadmill during the snow...crazy!) is out of town for the holidays, so I'll be running on my own this weekend.  Since we are now in the taper phase, I have 4 on the schedule for Saturday, and 12 on Sunday.  I don't look forward to running 12 by myself, so I've talked my boyfriend into riding his bike on the NCR Trail while I run.  He won't be with me, but at least I'll be motivated to get out there!

Playing Catch Up on This Here Blog

Well, since I last posted on this blog, I've logged 51 miles.  Yikes!  It has only been 2 weeks, but that shows you how much I've been running!

The 10 miles/20 miles weekend was a tough one.  Saturday morning, we ended up running in rain/snow.  We logged 10 miles on the BWI Trail Loop around the airport.  The weather started out as rain, and gradually changed over to snow as it got colder.  My rain jacket doesn't work so well anymore; thus, I was soaked through by the end of the run.  We went to lunch afterwards, and it took me about 3 hours post-shower to warm up!

Our 20 miler was a test of will.  We woke up to clear skies, but the snow from the day before had frozen over, so the B&A Trail was rather icy.  3 miles into the run, I wasn't at all sure if I could continue.  At about Mile 6, I started to feel better, and by 8 I was ready to finish the whole thing.  My only issue was a very tight hamstring for the last 2 miles.  I suffered through, though.

Last weekend was an easy 6 miles on Saturday, and 12 miles on Sunday.  To get the miles in, we actually ran the Anniversary Race through Quiet Waters Park.  The race is only 9.3 miles, so we ran 2.7 beforehand.  It was, of course, raining.  I was soaked again, and chilled again.  This run wasn't the greatest...I was tired and didn't want to do it at all.  I perservered again, though.  Perserverance seems to be becoming my running theme...

This weekend is going to be rough.  It's our last long run weekend with 11 on Friday morning and 22 on Saturday.  The issue (besides the distance)?  The forecasters are calling for a Winter Storm.  Of course!  That's just what we need for our 22 mile run...snow and wind all day.  Lovely.  I am planning on heading out to by a new rain jacket...but if it's too bad, I'm going to bag the 22 and just do as many as I can.  It's not worth getting sick over...at this point, we've logged 2 20ish mile runs, with back to backs, as well.  If we dont' get 22 in, then we'll just have a month long taper.  You do what you can...

Too Much Time off for Turkey Day

It was a real struggle for me to run during Thanksgiving week.  But, I managed to get some miles in anyway.  Not the mileage that I needed, but I was proud of myself for doing what I did!  Tuesday night, it was raining, but I knew I needed to do something to prevent my legs from forgetting how to run.  I ran 3 miles by running up and down my street twice.  Boring.

I flew to SC for the holiday, and forced myself to get up and out for 3 miles on Friday morning.  We had early mornings each day I was there.  I was supposed to log 6 on Saturday, but I just couldn't do it!  I was awake in time, but I couldn't get myself out the door.  It was in the 30s, and I had neglected to bring warm enough gear.  I also just wanted to sit, relax, and drink my coffee.  So that's what I did!

Sunday, I was back in town, and met some friends for a nice, slow 12 miles.  We ran to Thomas Point, and then an abbreviated Bay Ridge loop.  Surprisingly, it wasn't really a tough run, even with all of the hills!  My total mileage for the week was 18...lower than it should be, but I think I will survive.

This weekend is another "cornerstone" with 10 and 20 on the schedule.  I popped out 3 today on the dreadmill at the office, and will hopefully have rested legs in time for the 30 mile weekend.  I believe we will be running 10 miles in the rain on the BWI trail Saturday.  It's back to the good ole B&A Trail on Sunday for 20 miles.  Sunday is supposed to be sunny, but cold.  I'll take cold over rain for 20 miles any day!

10K X 2!

Last week was one of our "off" weeks in terms of mileage.  Our longest run on the schedule was "only" 12 miles.  Ha ha!  I ran 5 miles on Thursday evening with the 10K class (they only had 2 on the schedule so we had to add an extra loop).  Saturday morning was a quick 5 miles from my house down to the Bay and back. 

Sunday was the Cold Turkey 10K race in South County.  I've run this race for the past 3 years or so.  It is usually cold, and typically a pretty day.  This year was no exception.  The difference is that I am normally not really trained up to 6 miles.  As we were pulling up to the high school where the race begins and ends, I tweeted that it only seems reasonable to run a 10K race, finish, and run the course again when one is in marathon training.  And that is what we did!

The race was actually about .2 miles short.  Which explained why I was shocked to be averaging 10:30 minute miles doing Galloway at Mile 2.  I slowed down a bit, but still was averaging just under 11:00 minute miles.  I find it's pretty difficult for me to conciously slow myself down during a race.  This could potentially be a problem during the Half-marathon portion of Goofy.  I have one more race to work on this: the Celtic Solstice 5-miler in December.  It's the first leg of our 22 mile day, so hopefully I'll be able to keep it slow and easy.  We'll see.

Anyway, even with the short course, I averaged 10:50 minute miles for 6 miles.  Yikes!  We finished the race, grabbed some water and snacks, and headed back out on the course again.  Luckily we waited long enough that everyone was pretty much finished by the time we headed back out.  While I thought doing the course again would seem tedious, it really wasn't all that hard.  We were much slower, of course, but mentally the out-and-back nature of this loop makes it pretty easy to handle.  My legs were a little tired from running the first half quickly, but they persevered.  It is a pretty hilly course, though!  Thankfully, it was much easier than the 12 miles I struggled with a few weeks ago.

With this week being a holiday week, I'll be scrambling to get my runs in.  Tonight, I'm going to attempt to get anywhere from 3-5 in, and then my Thursday and Saturday runs will be in South Carolina.  I'm aiming to get 9 or 10 miles in total there.  I'll be back Saturday night, and we have another 12-miler planned for Sunday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Field Trip!

One of the few things I can say I really enjoy about long runs (besides the unabashed joy of being finished with one), is the excuse to take running field trips.  When we were training for my first marathon 3 years ago, we took all kinds of field trips to run...to the Mt. Vernon Trail in Virginia, to the NCR trail North of Baltimore, and others.  Since I moved to Annapolis, I've always wanted to go on a longish run through DC.  When I first thought about running in DC, I was thinking 5 miles or so around the Mall.  But, you know, 19 worked for me too!  Why run 19 miles on a trail we know or around Annapolis, when it can be a fun adventure in DC!

I have to be honest, I was a little nervous about whether or not I would be able to finish this run.  It was our first of 3 major back-to-back weekends in preparation for Goofy.  With the route I mapped, we had no real bail-out places since we had no car...only cell phones for communication and Metro Stations here and there.  On Saturday, we had run the Cold Turkey 10K course with the 10K class as a race preview, and then tacked on 3 extra to make our goal of 9 miles.  The course is very hilly, and I actually could feel it a bit after 9 miles.  Not a good plan the day before a 19 mile run!  I was busy the rest of the day on Saturday, and we even had a concert Saturday evening with a lot of standing!  Luckily, my training partner enjoyes sleeping in, too, so we set out from Annapolis at 10AM and caught the Metro into DC.

We started off at the Smithsonian Metro on the Mall right in front of the Washington Monument.  After a potty break, we got started and went past the monument, down the reflecting pool, past the Lincoln Memorial, and over the Memorial Bridge.  It was a beautiful day...few clouds, pretty sun, but it was around 67, which was a bit hot for a long run.  We managed ok, though.  Once we got to the other side of the Potomac, we picked up the Mt. Vernon Trail which runs along the water with great views of DC.  The trail goes through Gravelly Park just north of the airport, which is a great place to watch planes land and take off from DCA.  We turned around just before the ariport and headed back towards DC.  At Mile 8 of our run, we turned off the trail and headed over to Roosevelt Island.  We carried our water bottles with us, and I had read that the island trails had water fountains, so we could refill there.  Unfortunately, they were apparently turned off for the winter!  Rats...on a warm day, I knew it would be a thirsty time until we could get to a populated area and find a convenience store!

The island was really pretty...fallen leaves, water, and even some ducks!  Once we got back on the Mt. Vernon Trail, it was up, up and up again before we hit the Key Bridge.  This was about 10 miles into the run.  We turned down M St in Georgetown and the first place we found for water was Dean and Deluca.  At this point, I was really thirsty!  We split a giant bottle of water into our smaller bottles, and headed back off down M.  I would not recommend M St in Georgetown on a pretty day...the shops were all open and tons of people were ambling down the street.  Not conducive to a run!  We turned off down Wisconsin and headed toward the water again to pick up the Rock Creek trails.  This took us along the river by the Kennedy Center, and back up to Memorial Bridge, where there was no crosswalk!  We back-tracked over to the Lincoln and managed to pick the trail back up on the other side.  From this point on, I was really glad that my training partner had printed a map of our route!  I think we pulled it out every half mile or so after this point...we were at about 13 miles.

We circled the Tidal Basin and went by the Jefferson Memorial, and up 15th st back to the Mall.  There was a lot of people-dodging going on again because of the crowds (likely due to the pretty day).  We also hit a lot of lights which slowed us down.  By the time we got to the Capitol, we were at about 15 miles.  I have to admit, we walked up Capitol Hill.  There was just no way my legs were going to carry me up that hill running...after 15 miles of hills behind them!  Luckily, Disney is pretty flat, so we didn't need  the hill training!  After getting up the Hill, we headed down Pennsylvania to the Eastern Market area, turned down 8th to East Capitol, and headed back towards the Capitol and the Mall.  At this point, I was very much ready to be done!  Running down Capitol Hill hurt almost as much as walking up it!  We finally hit 19 on the Mall, headed back to where we started!  We both downed Gatorades we bought at one of the street vendors, stretched, and got back on the Metro in search of food!

All in all, it was a good run!  Especially since I was able to finish the back-to-back days!  I was tired that night, but not too sore on Monday, which is a good sign!

This weekend/week is an "off" weekend in terms of long runs, so we have 5 tonight at the Community College, I'll get 5 in at some point on Saturday, and then we are running the Cold Turkey 10K on Sunday.  We need to get 12 miles total in on Sunday, so I think we'll just go out and run the hilly race course again.  Slowly!

Weekly Update...

Last week/weekend was a busy one in my regular life, so I had to squeeze my runs in where I could!  Last Tuesday, I ran 4.5 miles with the 10K class around the community college.  I really hate that loop, but since it's well lit after dark, it's where the class always meets.  I'll be glad when we can figure out somewhere else to have our evening runs in the winter!  It was a slow 4.5 miles, with a couple of stops here and there.

Saturday, we were scheduled to run a 5 mile race through Downs Park in Pasdena (MD, not CA).  It's quite a lovely park, right on the Bay.  We had 9 miles on the schedule, so we ran 2 before the race to warm up (which was necessary...it was below freezing!), 5 during the race, and 2 afterwards.  I ran the race faster than I wanted since this was supposed to be a training run.  I actually averaged 11:00 minute miles for the 5 during the race.  Oops.  It didn't really bother me on Saturday...

...but Sunday's run was tough.  We had 12 miles scheduled, which didn't seem very difficult considering we ran 17 the Sunday before.  However, I think my legs were feeling the faster 5 from Saturday, because I started getting pretty tired around 8 miles.  I also didn't fuel up properly for the run...Junior Mints and champagne at the opera the night before just won't cut it!  We persevered, though.  Our route took us to Thomas Point and back, and then through the Hillsmere Shores neighborhood in Annapolis.  It was a pretty run with no rain (finally!), but I just wasn't into it.

I think my lessons learned from this training week are to eat properly the night before the run, and that I will need to hold myself back in the 1/2 marathon leg of the Goofy.  When you're trained up to 20 something miles it seems easy to run some of them faster, but I will pay for it the next day.  Which is what I'm desperately trying to avoid for Goofy since I'll be running a marathon the next day!

Today, I squeezed in 3.25 on the treadmill at lunch because it's a concert week, so no other time to run.  Saturday, we've got 9 on the schedule.  The 10K class is previewing the Cold Turkey 10K course, so we'll run the first 6 miles with them, and then finish up with 3 on our own.  Sunday, our rain-postponed DC monument tour is back on tap.  Except, this time it is 19 miles.  The weather looks as if it will hold out for 60s and sunny.  I'll take it!  Look for a full report here sometime next week.

Weekend Running Round-Up

Whew! I logged a lot of miles this weekend! Actually, all of my miles for the week were logged this weekend. I was supposed to run 3 or 4 on Thursday, but after a stomach virus felled me on Tuesday and Wednesday, I decided to take Thursday easy and save my energy for the weekend. No relapses for me!

Saturday, I had planned on running with the 10K class I occasionally help out with. However, a strange noise in my brakes made me re-think that and decide to take my car in to get it checked out instead. If I weren't training for something, I would have just called my Saturday run off, but with this Goofy Training I knew I had to get it in! So, I dropped my car off, informed them that I was off to run 8 miles and to call me with the diagnosis. I thought I made it clear that I was technically "waiting", but I'm not sure they got that. I ran from West St in Annapolis to downtown, city dock, over to the Academy, through West Annapolis, by the Naval Academy Stadium and back to West St...all in the rain! I cut the run short to 6 miles because I hadn't heard from the car place. It was actually a pretty easy and enjoyable run, even with the rain. Luckily, nothing major was wrong with my car! The men in the shop kept laughing at me though...and were amazed that I was training for a marathon!

Sunday, my Goofy partner and I had planned on running 17 miles in DC. However, waking up to rain changed our minds, and we headed up to the B&A trail. The extra hour of sleep helped tremendously! I felt pretty good through 11 miles, got a little tired around 15...and was ridiculously happy to finish 17. The last 2 I was forcing myself to keep going. I think I could have gone farther, but was mentally only prepared for 17! Thankfully, it started to clear up about an hour or so into the run. We averaged almost 12 minute miles, which is my target pace for the race. I took 2 Gus during the run, and had a pumpkin tart at our 11 mile water stop. Afterwards, we refueled at a local grill/bar while watching NFL.

My total mileage for the week was around 23 miles. Next week I'll be jumping to 27...which is technically 1 mile more than the recommended 10% increase. I think I'll be ok, though. Not much I could do about being sick...!

This week's planned runs include 3 miles on Tuesday/Thursday, a 5 mile race plus 4 on Saturday (for a total of 9), and 12 miles on Sunday. 12 seems easy at this point...

Update on Last Week's Runs

Last week, on Tuesday I had a very fast and easy, if dark, 4 miles around my neighborhood. The temperature was perfect, about 59, and I had a really easy time breathing. Oh, if only all runs could be that easy!

Sunday, we had 16 miles on the schedule for Goofy training. My training partner has run in a costume for the Halloween 5K in Annapolis for the past few years, and she didn't want to give that up this year. So, the first 3.1 miles of our run were in the 5K race. No matter how hard I tried to keep myself slow, the best I could do was an 11:02 pace. And that was running 2/1 Galloway. After the race, we had a quick break while she got her award, and I planted water, gatorade, and snacks about 4 miles into our 13 mile out and back from the 5K location. We ran from West Annapolis over the Naval Academy Bridge (we walked the hill part to save our legs!), up 450 to Boulters Way, connected up with the B&A trail, ran to mile 3.5 of the trail, and turned around. Our water stops ended up being at miles 4 and 9 of the 13.

It was a stunning day, cool and clear with eye-popping leaf color everywhere! Despite the hills on this route, I felt great for most of the way. My legs were a little tired at the end, but that is to be expected. For the last 13 miles, we averaged about 12 minute miles, including our bridge uphill walks. I was really happy with finishing the run, though.

My first run of this week will be a 3-4 miler tonight. This weekend is a double-header with 8 planned on Saturday, and 17 on Sunday. The 17 will hopefully be a "scenic monument tour" in DC if the weather holds up. I've mapped out a good course around the Mall, Mt. Vernon Trail, Roosevelt Island, Eastern Market, and a little bit of downtown DC. I am hoping I am up to all of this since I contracted a nasty stomach bug on Tuesday, and am just now back at work and recovered. With proper nutrition and sleep, though, I think I will be just fine!

Weekly Training Update

Well, I managed to get most of the miles in I needed last week. Barely. At least most of the miles were on my feet, if not running.

Thursday, my Energizer Bunny Goofy Training partner pulled me along for a fast 2.75 miles. We averaged right at a 10:00 minute pace. Which is pretty fast for me these days. But, it was a cool night and I was feeling good, so I loped along with her.

Saturday, I got up and joined the 10K class for 4 miles, with a plan of adding a mile on at the end to make 5. It was a warm, humid morning, and I had a tough time breathing. I ended up walking most of the last mile of the 4 with the class. Then, I walked another mile to at least get the mileage in on my feet, even if I wasn't running.

Sunday morning was a bit of a disaster. We had 14 miles on the schedule. This was definitely one of those mornings that I should have just thrown in the towel before I got out the door. I was out until 1:30 AM the evening before at a cast party for a show my boyfriend performed in. I was also wearing new boots that gave me blisters. I only had one glass of wine so that I wouldn't be dehydrated. We had to schedule our run at 8AM despite the late night because we had another concert to sing in the early afternoon. I woke up at 7 AM, and discovered the coffeemaker was broken. Then, I couldn't manage to get any food down. I had 1/4 of a peanut butter sandwich. Not good. My training partner arrived at 8, and I decided to ignore the bad things and get out for the run, anyway.

It took a couple of miles to warm up, and then I was feeling good. But, after we stopped for a potty break at 7 miles, things started to crash for me. I was a bit dizzy, tired, and had to walk, a lot. We cut our route short so that we'd be closer to the start in case I needed to turn back. At 9 miles, I threw in the towel and walked 2 miles back to my house. Not really the way I wanted to have a long training run turn out, but at least I logged 11 miles on my feet.

This weekend is a "light" week, with 7 miles on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. Thankfully, neither of these runs have to happen in the early hours of the morning!

Weekly Training Update

I haven't really gotten as many miles in this week as I had planned. Our weekend long run was 10 miles on Sunday morning. We ran the BWI Loop and started at 10 AM. I foolishly had a 7 course dinner with wine pairings on Saturday night. Seriously...I have never felt so heavy on a run in my life! It also was a little on the warm side by the time we ran. Originally, the forecast called for a high of 70, but I think it was more like 78 by the time we finished around noon.

I skipped the Tuesday run, but will hopefully get 3 or 4 miles in tonight. Last week's mileage was 13, this week's will hopefully be around 19. Here is an inaccurate Nike+ log of my run...



I really need to get that thing calibrated. The real distance was 10.6 miles or so. I walked the last .6... I think I'll make calibration tonight's post-run goal.

Up this weekend is the Metric Marathon on Sunday morning. I got roped into running this race since my Goofy partner runs it every year. It's either run 16.3 miles (26K) with the possibility of being around other people, or run 13 miles by myself. We have 13 on the schedule, and were supposed to do 6 on Saturday, but are compromising with the Metric Marathon. Ick. Only about 100 people run this race (it's long and hilly), and they are all fast. Looking at last year's finish times, it's likely I will finish dead last. Oh well, at least I'll get the training in! Saturday's run is out because we are tailgating at and going to the Navy vs. Airforce football game. I will have to hold back on the heavy food this time...

Goofy Challenge Training....Whoa!

For the past 3 weeks or so, my weekly running mileage has gone up significantly due to our Goofy Challenge Training. I transitioned out of Triathlon training into lots and lots of running. For those unfamiliar with Goofy- it's Disney's marathon and a half. Essentially, we run the Disney Half on a Saturday in January, and then turn around and run the full marathon on Sunday. Our training plan involves back to back Saturday/Sunday longish runs.

The first weekend, we ran 5 miles around Annapolis on Saturday, and 10 miles down to Thomas Point Park on Sunday. I was a little tired, but it didn't take too much of a toll. Last weekend, we had Rosh Hashanah services to sing in the AM (which involved standing for almost 3 hours!), and ran the Bay Ridge 5 mile loop around 4 PM. Sunday AM, we ran 11 miles on the B&A Trail. It was a tough run for me...being on my feet so much on Saturday and running late in the day didn't give me enough recovery, I guess.

My old Achilles issue seemed to be bothering me a bit on Monday after the 11 miles on Sunday. It went away quickly, though, and as I assessed it, I think it was more likely a tight calf...from 3 hours standing in heels and all of the abuse I put my feet through that weekend! We will see... I took a couple days off from running just in case. Last night's 3 miles was easy with no pain, so I'm hoping that will help.

We have 10 miles on the schedule for Sunday. We were supposed to run 6 on Saturday and 8 on Sunday as an "easy" week, but my training partner and I have rehearsal at 9:30 and busy days the rest of Saturday, so we are making it a particularly easy week. Next week will only be a Sunday run as well since we are going to attempt the Metric Marathon. Gulp. 16.3 hilly miles...and I likely will come in last. Seriously. Only about 100 or so runners and they are all fast.

So far, I am enjoying the training. We are at the beginning of a long road, though, so we'll see. Hopefully stretching and avoiding heels will help my calf/Achilles, and other than that, I just have to do the work and get the miles in. I'll try to be a more regular updater of this blog, as well.

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