few random thoughts

Nice to have the van when you finish a 10 mile run in a steady rain
and can climb in the back to change into some dry clothes. Even nicer
that it’s still 60 degrees and raining instead of 30-40 degrees. Only
24 more days until race day. We’ve been pretty lucky this cycle in
regards to the weather. No really cold days. No really miserable
cold, rainy runs.

Greenway here in Murfreesboro has been pretty deserted for the last
several weeks. Really since the change in weather and the Middle
Half. Most of the regulars still out every week, nothing as colorful
as these folks. Some new faces and so old ones that don’t come back.

Don’t know why I’m having blister issues this cycle. First was a
blister deep under a callus, that I thought was a stone bruise.
Didn’t realize it was a blister until a week later. Second was a
blister that developed during my last fast finish long run. Didn’t
know I even had a blister until I pulled off my shoe and saw my red
sock from all of the blood. Strange that I didn’t notice it during
the run. (but it was a pretty intense workout with the pace and wind)

Put some moleskin on that blister 2 days later to do my speedworkout.
The moleskin stayed in place until mile 4 of the workout and then
slipped. I ended up caving on the last 2 miles of that workout trying
to run through the blister discomfort. (big sissy, I know) Tried to
convince myself that I need to be able to run through that
discomfort come race day, but it just wasn’t working. The pace kept
suffering.

Muscle must really weigh more than fat. I’m weighing in at 150
pounds. That’s about 5 pounds lighter, than the last cycle. Must be
the lack of weight workouts. Did my second weight workout since I
broke my collarbone back in May. Never really had much muscle, but
it’s noticeable now. Need to keep this going to tone some of the
muscle. More importantly, I think it helps keep the body more erect in
the latter stages of the race when I become fatigued. (least that’s
what I’ve read, and tend to believe.)

Fun little marathon this weekend at Percy Warner Park. Still one of
my favorite places to run in Middle Tennessee. Don’t think I’ve even
been out there this year. I’m volunteering to work the finish line.
This gives me a chance to get in a long run, without having to run
the entire race. Maybe next year, will be my return to the Monkey.
I’d still like to run a 3:30 or better.

May rethink the strategy to try and run a fast 5k in the spring. I
barely broke 19:00 on 50 miles per week. It would an interesting
experiment to run 60-70 miles per week with 5k specific training and
see how much more I can chip off. Guess I’m scared of getting hurt
trying to race any distance before my goal race. It’s happened to
many times, and its way to much training to waste chasing one PR at
the expense of another.