Just for the record, I made no resolutions for 2010.

However, late last week I decided I should plan a race schedule for the year. First of all because it gives me something to look forward to during tax season. Second of all because it’s fun to make schedules and lists.

I have a couple of ‘definitely’ races, and a bunch of ‘maybe’ races.

Unfortunately what’s not on here that I would someday love to do is the Salt Lake City Track Club’s winter running series. It’s a 5K at the end of January, a 10K two weeks later, and a 15K two weeks after that – all for $40! Unfortunately I just can’t commit to that 10K and 15K in February with tax season. But maybe someday…

Okay:

January 30 (maybe): Hale Theater 10K in Orem, UT. We’ll see if I have time and how I’m feeling.

April 17 (maybe): SLC Half-Marathon. If I have time to get in some long runs right at the end of tax season, this shouldn’t be too big of a deal.

April 24 (maybe): A friend has invited me to come do the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville with her. We’ll see if I can find cheap flights or anything.

June 18 – 19 (definitely): The Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. This is my third year in a row, and I just got confirmation my team is still willing to let me run with them

July 4 (definitely): Park City 4th of July Mountain 5K…or whatever it’s called. It’s the same race and course it’s been for as long as I can remember. It’s my favorite run.

July 17 (maybe): Bryce Canyon Half-Marathon. I’ve wanted to do this for a couple of years now. It starts super early so you finish before it gets super hot, but it’s a fast and largely downhill course. Plus going down to Southern Utah, Chris and I could probably bag a peak or two – check out chickensox.org/utsummits for more info.

September 6 (more than likely): Miner’s Day Funky 5K. Why the heck not? Doesn’t everybody want to get up early and run UP Park Avenue?

September 11: Mid-Mountain Marathon. I’ve volunteered at the finish line for a couple of years, and the truth is – this course scares the crap out of me. It starts at Deer Valley Resort, follows the mid-mountain trail through Park City Mountain Resort, over into the Canyons Resort, and ends at the bottom of the Canyons. I’ve asked a good friend to run it with me so it won’t be as scary for me mentally.  Plus I’ll have this goal of trying to keep up with him, which should keep me at a good pace.

November 25 (definitely): some sort of Turkey Trot. Wherever I am, wherever it is.

“In this great auditorium under the sky, all of us are free.”
- Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior under FDR

I’m tired today. Just tired. I even took a nap before I was intending to do my long run this afternoon.

I really started getting ready with the intention of 13 miles. I filled up two water bottles with electrolyte drink, grabbed some gels… But it didn’t feel right. In fact, it just felt wrong. After a ‘will I or won’t I’ discussion with myself, I decided to go out for a six mile run. This would allow me to stop upon returning home or keep going.

It was a battle…the first four miles. I had to keep telling myself ‘if you ever want to be good, you do it no matter what’. I felt sluggish, torn, and jumped at every little unexpected noise…but only emotionally. My body felt pretty good, considering my mental battle.

All in all, I felt really good having pushed through 6.2 miles. And I held a pretty decent pace – just under 10:30 minutes per mile. It really was a beautiful afternoon. I just hope next week I feel like doing more mileage.

The big run for the weekend is going to be tomorrow. It’s a great break for a Sunday, plus it helps me get Chris to the gym on Saturday.

I had planned some light cardio, then some arm and ab work.

My courage came through today, and I wore some tight running shorts that I’ve been toying with wearing since getting them at a great 50 cent price at a garage sale this summer. I wasn’t sure if they’d be good for long runs or not, and that is still something I have to find out.

For some reason the elliptical machine cut me off at 10 minutes instead of 15. So I got on the treadmill for another 5. Good start to trying out the new tight shorts for running, though I’ll probably try them for a longer (4 to 5 mile) run sometime next week before taking them for a long run.

I did some ab work, then on to my pitiful arms. Actually, my biceps aren’t so bad. It’s the triceps. They’re so sad. I did some work on both. I was slightly miffed when I discovered my right bicep is ridiculously less strong than my left. When I got home, I think I discovered the main culprit. I shred cheese with my left hand. I tried shredding with my right…it didn’t work.  Going to have to find a way to get my right side working hard.

It’s amazing how good a nice, easy, short workout can make you feel. Almost all my runs for the last few weeks have been so intense and at least 40 minutes. Today I had planned, and did, a 30 minute treadmill training mix. It was still tough.  It has some hill work and some speed work, which I took very seriously. But the absolute shortness of the workout was so refreshing.

Since it was so short, I wasn’t afraid to push it a little. The treadmill training workout starts out with 3 or so minutes of walking with some ‘warm-up’ movements, then 3 minutes of easy running. You use these 3 minutes to find a good base pace for the workout – one that is comfortable, but that you know you are still working.

Then starts the hill work. Without changing your speed, you do three different percent inclines (between 4 and 6 %) for 30 to 45 seconds each. After a 4 minute recovery from this you start speed work, my favorite part!

These are relatively short intervals – 50 seconds, 70 seconds, 90 seconds, and 50 seconds. The goal is to go as fast or faster every interval. The workout ends with 3 or 4 minutes of easy running to cool down.

I did my intervals today at paces of 8:20/mile, 8:00/mile, 7:40/mile, and 7:20/mile. How impressed with myself am I?

One thing that gets me about this workout (proudly produced by Nike+) is that the narrator keeps telling me to drink water. The workout is only 30 minutes – you want me to do to what? Usually I wouldn’t ever think of drinking water in a 30 minute workout, because I would expect it to bring a small side-cramp.

But I learned something recently from runnersworld.com. If you are drinking water/electrolytes/other while running, don’t sip the liquid. Gulp it. It actually does work to reduce the frequency of cramps from drinking. It helps your stomach absorb the liquid better.