An interesting mileage target today…

My legs this morning were still just a little tired, but felt pretty good for the most part so I was good to go for my targeted 13.73 miles for today. Why such a specific mileage you might ask. Well, good question. Let’s run through a math lesson real quick:

• In 2010 (365 days), I ran a total of 709.16
• Half of 709.16 is 354.58
• Prior to today my MTD was at 340.85
• 340.85 + 13.73 = 354.58
• So if I hit my target of 13.73 miles today I would be at half of last year’s total in only 79 days of 2011

Well, it was a quality goal, but of course it wasn’t going to come easy like I hoped. Why is it that when you target a milestone like that everything seems to go wrong? Maybe it’s mental, maybe it’s Murphy’s Law, who knows. This morning I headed off to 24 Hour Fitness to hit the treadmill to get in my miles. I wanted to use the treadmill today because I thought using it to keep my speed relatively low would help my legs after yesterday’s races. My legs did get tired, but that wasn’t the main problem. I wore my new K-State running shirt that I got yesterday and found an unfortunate design flaw. There is a seam right across the middle of the chest. Let’s just say in the future I need to wear some protection when I wear that shirt, I was starting to get pretty raw in a couple spots you just don’t want to get raw in, if you catch my meaning!! It would have been a struggle, but I felt like my legs could carry me the whole way through, but eventually the shirt issue became too much to deal with so I called it quits at 6.7 miles in 1:09:04. Fairly slow paced, but again, I did not get a rest day between my races and my Long Run.

Ok, 7.03 to go. I went home from the gym and had lunch and rested for a couple hours. Eventually I headed back out, this time outside on the roads. I talked to my wife and she had a 4 mile long run scheduled in her training for her first 10k, so I asked if she wanted me to join her. She is on a run/walk plan, so it would be tough to slow down to her pace, but I thought it’d be nice to spend a little time together running. I want to take a second to say how proud I am of her. She has had the most ridiculously erratic schedule for the last few months and it has made it very difficult for her to get runs in. I believe that in the same situation at least 95% of people would have just quit, not worth the effort and frustration. Not my wife, she’s stuck with it. She gets runs in when she can. She’s lost some speed and some of the endurance she was starting to really develop, but she won’t quit. She keeps saying that when her schedule gets back to normal over the next few weeks she’ll be fine, so she doesn’t want to give up. That impresses me very much and I’m so proud of her. It displays the strength, toughness and independence that first made me fall in love with her. Anyway, we ran/walked together for 3.25 miles (45:52), then she headed toward to house and I headed off to finish my run. I completed my 7.03 miles in 1:13:04. Not a time I would normally be very excited about, but it was great to spend some time with Kristy, so it was well worth it.

It feels really good to have already hit half of my total miles from last year! I know I will be racking up some decent miles by the end of the year since pretty soon I will need to start preparing for next year’s Brew 2 Brew with Jill. I still can’t believe I committed to a 44 mile race!! I guess I better let Team Ruhs talk me into a 50k before the end of the year to help me get ready!! Speaking of, I’m so glad that Facebook has opened my world up to such great people! I have very few friends that are runners, so having all the support from my Facebook friends really helps. I never would have pushed myself as far as I have without their encouragement. Jill Mignacca and Bobbie & Ron Ruhs are perfect examples. They are three of the main reasons I felt I could push myself past the marathon point and shoot for an ultra. It’s a lofty goal and it’s scary, so it takes some people to push you to do it. I’m so proud of now being a marathoner; I can’t wait to start preparing for the next step.

It’s been an interesting day and my legs are tired. It’s now time to get my stuff ready for work tomorrow, stretch and get some sleep. I hope everyone had a great weekend! Happy running!!