Every Run is a Great Run!

Wow - looks like a very admirable running schedule - shows alot of good dedication. Sounds like you have had some tough races with great effort and near PRs. Maybe you should run in that annual Disneyland Marathon since you enjoyed your running there. Do your 5 kids run?

Looks like a good plan there Tom. Wish I was out there to train with you. Your times are nearly identical to mine, except your 1/2 and M-pace is a bit faster than mine. Good luck.

Michael - Actually while we were in Disneyland Kim and I talked about possibly making a trip to Disneyworld without the kids which would include running the 1/2 marathon. Definitely on the todo list. We've had trouble motivating our kids to do much in the way of 'formal' running. They'll occasionally come out for a 1 mile or 5K fun run and our oldest son ran with us for a while, but hopefully through our example they'll be inspired to be more active that way at some point in their lives. I've actually offered a challenge to any of my kids where if they can beat me in any race of 1 mile or longer they'll get some big $$$$.

Jeff - You know there are a whole lot of homes for sale out this way right now if you were looking for a major relocation and life change :) Actually I'm thinking you have a bit more natural speed than I do, so I would bet that if you were able to simply string together a few months of consistent 50-70 miles per week of mostly easy miles you're 1/2 and M pace would drop to be more inline with the shorter distances.

Tom, I'm going to work on a 5-6 week plan here where I focus primarily on running my miles between 7:25-7:35 in hopes of lowering my aerobic threshhold. I'm hoping that this in turn will allow me to run my M-pace faster than I did at St Louis, but allow me to keep below the LT zone longer so that I don't drop off pace in the finish. I'm shooting for a 7:00/mile pace for a fall marathon (either Chicago or Grand Rapids).