AM - 7 miles. Started off the morning running 2 miles with Andrea! Yahoo!!! Then I went down to the gully and ran 5 with the Alta XC team. PM - 5 miles w/ Andrea (bike). Been thinking a bit about the second half of the year, and where I want my big focus to be. A month or two ago I was toying around with the idea of trying to go after the TOU/STG double. Luckily, that idea only remained interesting for a few weeks. Over the weekend I started thinking about the USA Championships (Twin Cities), especially since they'll cover my expenses and championship races have a certain allure to them... but I don't really want to start a marathon buildup as early as August. Too soon. And with Andrea getting back to normal, we want to travel and go on fun vacations during the summer. So I think CIM is the likely long-term objective for a fall marathon. I want a fast marathon on a legal course. I'm not putting the pressure on myself to start chasing the OT standard this fall (its a long qualifying window!) but I really want to run under 2:20 on an honest course and start moving in that direction. For July/August, though, I'm going to run the local races, and then decide how to move forward based on where I am at that end of the summer. One step at a time. I'd love to somehow fit the TOU Marathon back in the picture, but I don't know if that is realistic, without compromising my chances at accomplishing some of the other goals I have.
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