Runniversary 4

No new speed records this month. I haven't really pushed myself on a timed run since the end of June. I did do a 10k that was almost as fast as my fastest 5k, which felt like a significant an accomplishment. And I did a 10k Fun Run which my running buddy and I were the first to finish. But it's hot these days. Just finding time to run when the sun isn't beating down on me has been a challenge. Fast is not on my agenda right now; far is.

My mileage is up. I'm now doing 45-55 km a week. I've tentatively set a goal for myself -- a Half Marathon (21.1 km) race in early October. I'm not sure which one (4 hours west? 7 hours east? first weekend? second weekend?) but I'd like to find some way to squeeze one into my schedule. The best candidate is the Harvest Half in Calgary October 4th. Hopefully I can find somewhere for the kids to be, as we'd roll it into a trip for violin/viola lessons.

So I'm running with a goal and a training plan in mind, even if the event might not work out. This means 4 to 6 days a week of specific running assignments. Speedwork intervals, easy runs, "tempo" runs, long runs, race simulations and more easy runs. It's kind of nice to have the structure. My dream goal is to run the Half in under 2 hours. We shall see.

And next spring, assuming I can find ways to continue putting on 45 km a week during the winter, I hope to find a marathon to run. Not to belittle the challenge, but I really feel like I'm one of those people who can add miles at a comfortable pace quite easily. I got back from a 20 km run this morning and while I was glad to be home because it was getting hot, and I definitely would have preferred to have done the run somewhere other than up a mountain pass, I really felt like I could have gone on for quite some time yet.

And some day I want someone to drive me to Kaslo, the town 43.3 km and one significant mountain pass away from our driveway, and let me run home. I can dream.