A Big Milestone

I logged 60 miles this week, which I know in the world of ultra running is nothing, but for me it is an all time high. My legs felt a bit achy and inflamed toward the end of the week, but I never really had to slow down. And I don't feel overly tired from the week's effort.

The breakdown:
Sat: 18.5 miles on the Minto "trails" (2:28)
Sun: off
Mon: 6.5 miles w/ 4 miles tempo (7:24 pace)
Tues: 14 miles - the "crack house loop" (so named for a rural home in need of a "few" repairs, along with the beater truck on cinder blocks! other than that it is a very scenic run).
Wed: 9 miles w/ 8 x 4 minutes at 7:10
Thurs: off (I meant to run but I had to work early so couldn't do the AM routine, and then we had dinner with friends after work, which left me too stuffed and tired to run!)
Fri: 12.25 miles (it wasn't supposed to be quite that long, but I wanted to hit the big 6-0!)

The mileage was doable, but it did take a lot of time. I just don't have the schedule to be one of those super high-mileage people so I doubt if I'll ever get much beyond 60 mpw, but I am ok with that. After CIM, I plan to get on a more "ultra" type schedule with one really long run instead of a bunch of medium distance stuff. And at some point I am going to have to find some real trails to run on. But overall I feel like I have somewhat of a plan for going into next year and I am pretty happy with my progress considering I struggled to complete a 10K last January!

A Running Problem

I couldn't resist - I signed up for the California International Marathon. I don't really expect drastically different results, but I just couldn't seem to let the idea go. With my parents living just outside of Sacramento, it makes for a pretty cheap running road trip (free food and lodging!). Plus, it gives my parents their first real opportunity to see me run since cross country nationals my junior year of college (15 years ago - egads!). So how did my mom respond to the good news: "I probably won't go. It seems like a pretty boring thing to watch."

At least I'll have the camaraderie of the other 6,000 runners who understand the marathon insanity. Also, I think I will be starting off my 2009 adventure in ultra-running with the Hagg Lake 50k. Hopefully, that'll keep me motivated to do some long runs in the rainy Pacific NW winter weather.