Jingle Bell Run + Running Week in Review

I ran the Jingle Bell Run this afternoon in about 46 minutes (9:12m/m). I didn't bring my watch because I wanted to try to run just by feel, but I didn't really like not having it. Plus, there wasn't anybody calling out our times at the splits so I was pretty clueless as to how fast I was going. I did hear somebody say they had run about 7:30 for the first mile, so if that's true, I may have started out a little too fast. I missed the mile markers for 3 and 4 as well, which added to my confusion.

I had to stop and walk twice in the first half so that I can use my inhaler, because as you know, geeks are required to have asthma, and it bothers me most when the air is cold. I saw Jessica twice during the race, and it was nice to have someone cheer me on. I saw Sarah too, but she was focused on taking photos and missed me. And of course there's Jon, who was running "to pace Waverly," but she had already dropped him and JoePa whe I saw them after the turnaround. And we met up with Lisa after the race, and we all got a picture together - Jon, Waverly, Cassie, Me, Lisa, Jessica, Sarah, and of course Joe Paterno.

So, this week, I ran 5 days, about 28 miles, which is the most I've run since before the NYCM. And I had absolutely no trouble with my foot either yesterday or today, so I'm pretty optimistic about my running. My races weren't PRs, but they were both pretty strong efforts. There was an article in Runner's World a few months ago that compared running to bull riding, and that dude said you should get points for your time on the course, and for the conditions surrounding your race (i.e. the ferocity of the bull), and since I don't feel like I could have run either race very much faster than I did, I pretty happy with it.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
3 miles	3 miles	3 miles	13.8 miles	5 miles	27.7 miles

So, 28 miles this week, and I feel pretty good, so I'm going to try to get back into a decent training schedule, and I hope my foot problems are behind me. I STILL haven't decided on the Houston marathon situation. In some ways, I feel like a marathon would really disrupt my training, and I'd probably have to recover for a month afterwards instead of being able to train that month.

Anyway, here's my plan for this week.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
3 miles	4 miles	2 miles	5 miles on the bridge	2 miles	18 miles	4 miles	38 miles

That's right. Running everyday.

Rock on, Bloggers. It was great meeting you. You should come down (or up) to the Clear Lake area and we can take a run (Pasadena sucks, Clear Lake is better). Does anybody want to take on the bridge?



Keith.