just catching up

Okay, I have to get back into it - this blog thing and running in general. Work, life, etc has been pretty demanding lately so my mileage has been way down - much to my marathon "training" detriment. So with 10 weeks left until OBX, I have to start cram-training.....again. My mileage totals for the past few weeks:

Week Ending - mileage total - long run
7/5 - 18.9 - 8
7/12 - 28.5 - 10
7/19 - 26.7 - 12.5
7/26 - 26.8 - 12
8/2 - 35.5 - 14.3
8/9 - 21.8 - 10
8/16 - 41.1 - 16.6
8/23 - 18.4 - 6+ (no LR)

My mileage was way down last week b/c of vacation and all of the driving we did. I did get 2 speed workouts so maybe that makes up for some of the slacking. Tuesday's workout was 4X800 +/-. I ran at a good clip for ~3:30 figuring it would be about 800m - only problem was I forgot which street I started and finished at after my turnaround (I ran an out & back). So, I wasn't really running for consistent pacing but more just to get some speed done.

I'm hoping for some solid weeks in the high 30s and 40s over the next few weeks. We'll see how that all pans out. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get my weekly mileage up there. I'm hoping that the 41-mile week wasn't an apparition.

I did have a nice hill workout today at work (2 mile run to get there & then back). Five repeats with splits of 1:19, 1:20, 1:21, 1:22 and 1:24. By far the speediest I have run the hill despite the extra baggage I'm carrying. I guess it provided a little shot of confidence - a badly needed shot of confidence. With all of the hot weather running lately, it's so hard to gauge my fitness level. I'm still feeling lost and everything feels slow and sloggy - even the speed workouts (today included). I'm waiting for that first light-on-my-feet run to happen. Not to mention, my running plan is so redundant. I try to mix it up with hills, intervals, tempo runs but I think I need a little more excitement in it.

Sorry for not being around lately and not checking in on you all. Work has been super demanding and there have been rumors that the IT police are at their old games again of public hangings.
Screw 'em.
Lots of travel lately as well.

Time to start cross training - this one dimensional thing will kill me. I have to force myself away from my desk on Thursdays for a swim/bike/lift session.

Got a bunch of personal stuff going on - dad getting 1/2 of his thyroid removed this week, uncle w/shoulder reconstruction, co-worker's wife has stage 2 breast cancer (I just found out today) and is in for several weeks of chemo, then surgery, then radiation...
Yikes. Life is starting to hit.

Good runs all.
Ciao

Oh, and I think a BQ attempt is out of the question for me. Just not enough time to get myself adequately prepared to give it a legitmate shot.