Yearly Distance PR!!

In 2010, I ran a total of 911.42 miles, and that's my biggest year ever.

After my run early yesterday morning, I have a total of 913.8 miles for 2012.

AND IT'S STILL NOVEMBER!!

I tweeted my realization, and THIS was my favorite response:

So I've already set my new "yearly run milage PR," and I have almost 5 weeks left to SMASH it. It might be possible to hit my big yearly goal of 1,000+ miles. We'll have to see what December holds. It's supposed to be nice this weekend (highs in the mid-40s), so Henry and I hope to add 11-13 miles to my total together.


In related running news:

My new "go to" speed workout has changed. It USED to be 3x1600 on the track with 90 seconds to 3 minutes rest between. But my achilles tendon doesn't always like that, and I'm NOT getting any younger (...meaning I need more time to recover from a hard workout like that). So I've been doing 2x2 mile intervals with 3:00 rest between for the last 2 years (Coach Jen Harrison first turned me on to this workout). I've grown to like these for 3 reasons:

1st: You can get a good workout by doing only 2 (after a solid WU and before a good CD). Mentally, only doing 2 is nice - you're either on your first interval or you're on your last.

2nd: It's not as taxing on my (aging) body. I run 1600s around 5:30 - 5:45. I run 2 mile intervals around 5:50 - 6:15 / mile. That slowdown keeps my body healthier (well, "less injured" at least).

3rd: It's more "helpful" for training for slightly longer races (which I've been doing more of this year). Look back to my 2nd point: when am I racing around 5:30 pace? Only in my best 5Ks. When am I racing around 6:00 pace? Well, my 10K a week ago was right at 6:00 / mile, my last 10 mile was 6:08 / mile, and my best half marathon from a few months ago was 6:10 / mile. Running some 6:00 miles is more "race specific" for the distances I've raced this year, whereas running 5:30 miles is just "running super fast" without being specific to much other than 5K training.

Yesterday morning, I ran my 2 mile intervals in a not-so-fantastic time, but it was a good workout at 4:30 a.m. on a 25 degree morning. My half-mile splits were:

3:03, 3:08, 2:58, and 3:00 (for mile splits of 6:11 and 5:58) = 12:09

3:03, 3:11, 3:04, and 3:01 (for mile splits of 6:14 and 6:05) = 12:19

(Nine months ago, I did the same workout in 11:36 and 11:37 WHILE PUSHING HENRY IN THE STROLLER. So I've slowed up a bit. Dang.)


Oh, and one quick final thing. I got this sweet goodie package in the mail 2 days ago from my favorite PR firm:

LOTS of GU goodies, and a RoadID Supernova Firefly
(which is TINY, but can been seen a mile [literally A MILE] away)

I was running low on Roctane GU (and all the blue in the back-right is my FAVORITE Blueberry Pom Roctane), and I was nearly out of Roctane Drink (all the packets standing in the back). During my 10K race with Henry on Thanksgiving, I was sipping on Roctane Drink the whole time - that's a BIG benefit to racing with a stroller!

That goodie package is a not-so-subtle reminder to enter my GU, Injinji, RoadID, and Hydrapak "Stocking Stuffer" giveaway! Good luck!