track fan

Your miles are so impressive! I wish I did two a days more often.

Thanks Auntie, I don't actually run by miles, I run by time (I do run on marked courses every once and a while to make sure I know what my "feels like" paces are) ... but I estimate I have averaged between about 65-70 miles/week for a little over a year now (it was in the 80's for my marathon training). The increase in mileage has made a lot of difference in my overall fitness level - the trade-off is that I am tired a lot of the time ;-). It took about 2 years to build up to this, but it feels pretty natural now.

I usually hit the track about a month or so from my key races -- or longer if it is a marathon or 1/2 I am training for.

When I go to the track is when I wish I had a nice group to run with like you do ... do you think it helps motivate you or are you pretty motivated anyway?

Man, I need you to come make my house sparkling, it looks a bit lke a tornado hit!

Have a great week! We are going to hit 100 in Utah this week, so I can not imagine what you guys are going to get! Oh, and my niece turned 16 today and got her driver's license, so watch out all of you Arizonians!

Yes! I really feel like the group motivates me for track workouts. I love to run alone, but I really hate the track alone. BUt, because I've been doing these workouts with the group for several months now, maybe it is something I could do on my own now. When the workout is broken up by all those intervals and stuff, it actually goes pretty fast! I'm always surprised by how many miles those workouts are.

I used to just run when I went out, but right now, I try to stick to the training plan for my running group. So, on my days of solo running, I'll have a certain number of miles to do at a certain pace. I really struggle with the "easy" miles; can't get them slow enough often. And, I often add an extra mile or so if I feel like it, just because 5 miles just doesn't feel like enough usually.