Not Yet Race Ready, But Hopeful All The Same

As most reading this likely already know, I didn’t participate in the Harbison 50k due to last-minute time constraints. But I was able to push my registration fee to next year’s race and recouped my hotel fees, so I’m not out a single cent. And not knowing if I was truly in good enough shape to actually be racing the course, my no-show is probably a very wise decision indeed.

School began last week, therein lying the reason this posting has been so long coming, as the time I’ve spent on it in the past (during the slow moments at work) is now occupied by schooling (and wanting to keep all “free time” at home actual “free time”). School is going fine/well thus far. And with that I'll end the talk of school.

My legs are still feeling good, though I’m starting to wonder about my ability to put fast miles on them (which will be necessary for the impending—February 5—Critz Tybee Half Marathon); I’ve been focusing so much on long, slow distance that I’ve not spent the necessary prep time on speed training. Having been able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles is a very different thing than being able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles, especially when you’ve been targeting 7:00+-minute miles in your training (that’s my long way of saying that my legs haven’t been responding as well as I’d hoped in the last week or so of speed work). Unbeknownst to many of you (because I still haven’t tallied all my 2011 goals on here), one of my running-related goals for this year was to better my times for each of the distances in which I participate. With 1:23:28 being my fastest half marathon to date (which averages out to 6:22 per-mile), I just don’t know if my legs are ready for that kind of terrorizing. But, I’ll give it the old college try and see (but not at the risk of a setback to my Boston preparation)—despite not training for the 2010 Trick or Trot 10k, I still put down my fastest time, after all. I’ve still got a couple of weeks in between now and then to “get my fast on,” anyways. Not optimal, but perhaps still time enough to ready my legs for a sub-1:20 result.