I'm alive

Hello, world! I'm alive. I haven't posted since January, eh? I thought about posting once or twice but didn't want to have to admit that this round of marathon training is eerily similar to last round of marathon training. What does that mean? Well, that means that I've been slacking. Or perhaps the word is inconsistent. I've had a few 40+ mile weeks. I've also had a good number of weeks in the single digits.

After a 42 mile week, a 30 mile week, and an amazing 15 mile run at medium effort at last year's marathon pace, my right knee started giving me issues. My family has a history of joint problems (my dad's hip replacement in his 40s, for example), so I made the executive decision to take a week off. I realllly didn't want to, though, because the hardest part of running for me is making it a habit. And sure enough, taking a week off of running broke my habit. But after a month of mediocre weeks, I'm back in the game now! My knee feels stiff sometimes, but it's not painful, and (I think) I'm not altering my stride. Lesson learned: cheap running shoes and crazy mileage increases will destroy you.

I've set a more realistic goal for Grandma's Marathon: 4:15. Okay, that's still going to be quite the challenge. But oh well. I'm not getting so bogged down with times lately. My friend Nicole has magically (errr, through consistent hard work) gotten speedy, and here I am, still poking around at about the same paces as last year. I'm confident that I'll at least PR, and honestly, what more can I ask of myself? I want to keep improving, keep striving to be the best that I can be.

Emphasis on the I. The best that I can be, considering the crazy weeks at work I sometimes have, the friends and family I don't want to neglect, TV shows I want to keep up with, sleep that I like to get. I want to keep running a healthy part of my life, not something that makes me feel guilty if I don't do it, and not something I do while sacrificing the quality of the rest of my life.

And so, with that said, my revised Grandma's Marathon goals:
Gold star goal: 4:15
Tinfoil star goal: PR (sub-4:38)

And if I don't make either of those, whatever. It's the journey, not the destination.

And I would like to point out that a 4:38 marathon is a 10:37/mi pace. I was disappointed with that. But as I'm doing my long runs now, I think, "Damn! That's kinda fast! How did I manage to pull that off?"