over 100 miles...

wow, when i look at that title it screams at me: you slacker! (it refers, of course, to my season mileage, but we'll get to that).

i didn't run at all this week. i have the usual guilt about this, mixed with a growing fear that i have not been training as hard as i need to be. i missed wednesday practice for a once-a-year whisky-drinking expo with the scots and of course didn't get up thursday morning after that to run. yesterday i had off but did i run? no. why? well part laziness and part my shin splints have been really killing me this week. not so badly that i can't walk but bad enought that they hurt literally with each step. i fear this is also a result of me not training as hard and i feel and anxious nagging that i need to step it up. the question with me always is...will i?

i get wrapped up in the city. in work. with being social. while on one side i overcommitt myself, on the other extreme i get all lazy and unmotivated when i feel overwhelmed. i don't know how to say no. i go out too much. i am terrible at carving out time for just me. oh wait, that should be my time running on my own...but sometimes i just want to sleep and sleep and sleep. i'm feel tired my friends, very tired!

sorry for the odd rant...i'm probably just feeling guilty for not training as much as i know that i should and can. it'll pass.

today, for example, turned out to be a great run. it shouldn't have been. all signs pointed to bad run. the rookie surprised me with an extra ticket to cold war kids at the bowary ballroom (the show's been sold out forever and i had been whining about it), and so we were out until after 1 rockin' with all the hipsters. it was a great show. the 1st opener, delta spirit, totally has a ton of it and they were really freaking great. and middle band i liked, but not as much as the first, and cold war kids simply kicked ass.

so that meant...to bed around 1:45...up at 6:15 to scarf some cereal and drink water, back in bed until 7:30...scramble around for cold weather running clothes (um, what happened to spring people - can someone get on this?)...be on the corner for rand to pick me and cap up by 8. see? i'm tired.

we are running the brooklyn 1/2 marathon next weekend, and so i didn't want to run more than 12 so that that would feel like a bit of a milestone (it's all about the build-up, right?). everyone's assignment was to add 2-3 miles to their longest run, which worked perfectly because we had done 10 last weekend so 2 loops it was.

the first loop went pretty smoothly except for my damn shin splints. they are really bad and i'm not going to lie - since sk8's diagnosis i'm extra paranoid. i ran with the rookie and we were both kinda quiet for a change. it was a very mellow morning. at mile 6 we stopped back at bag-check for water and fuel (me: goo, rookie: banana). time-wise we are going much faster than i did last season which i am quite proud of - i think exactly a 10 minute mile. we headed out for a reverse look, and i decided i needed music (and the rookie probably needed to run faster than my "pokey" pace) and so we parted ways.

my 2nd loop was great. i hit play on my old running mix (which is still quite good i have to say) and got in a groove. i was feeling good and strong, despite all the hills. i was warmer, my shin splints stopped biting at me by the 7th mile or so, and i was pleasantly surprised to find i had run 4 of the 6 miles in less than 40 minutes...what? not one to question, i kept going and going. around my 11th mile i ran into an old collegue who broke me out of my u2-induced-day-dreaming. she asked if i was going to run a loop, and i said "actually, two! i only have one more mile left." and she gave me one of my favorite kind of compliments: you look like you just started! (i greatly enjoy knowing i don't look like i'm going to pass out at the tail end of a run).

that and one of my favorite songs kept me fueled for the last mile, and i arrived back to our spot with a big grin. 12 miles and feeling great is a really really good feeling.

and BONUS! i decided to be anal-retentive and actually map out the run just now, and when you count in the transverses, the distance is actually more like 12.8...which means, i'm averaging 9:45 minute miles! i knew i could do it at short distances...but 12 miles is pretty damn good for that speed. i wonder to what distance i will be able to maintain that speed...and if i can break 4:30 in the marathon...and i set my jaw and promise myself to train far harder for the rest of the season.

today's mileage: 12.8
season mileage to date: 104.7