Programming Notes & Rest Day

First, the day after my long run I still feel great. I am ready for the 50k run.

I'd like to clarify what my future training plans are for the foreseable future. It is always good to write down your goals so you can come back later and reference them.

Here are my upcoming races:

• Nov 26th, 2009 - Run thru the Woods - 5 miles (Turkey Trot)
• Dec 5th, 2009 - Texas Trail Run - 31 Miles (5oK)
• Feb 14th, 2010 - Austin Half Marathon - 13.1 Miles
• April 25th, 2010 - LoneStar Olympic Triathlon - .9 Mi Swim, 24Mi Bike, 6.2 Mi Run

5Mi Run thru the Woods:
The 11/26 run is this Thursday. Annie and I are both doing this and it fits perfectly with our current Hal Higdon training plan. This race is in the Woodlands, which is like 20 minutes from our house, so we decided it would be fun for both of us to run. No real goals for this race other than to just get my training in. I should try and run it at a 9 min/mi pace (45 mins) but inevitably my competitive side will kick in and I will bust it from the starting gun because I can't help it.

50K Texas Trail Run:
The next event is theh Epic 50K Trail Run. I get anxious just thinking about this race because the distance of 31 miles on State Park Trails is intimidating. Heck 31 miles in my car is sometimes intimidating - especially in Houston traffic! I usually get agitated when I hear people say their goal for an event is too: "Just Finish". To me that is code for: "I didn't put in the time training that I should have and this race is going to kick my butt and I really am not ready for this!"

Now that being said, and that my own hypocrisy never really even surprises me anymore - I really want to Just Finish! Not because I don't want to set a goal but because I have no idea what to expect from this race. I have never done one of these. I have never talked to anyone who has. Race reports I have read really have given my no indications of what to expect. I have only run one small portion of the trail and supposedly this is the easy section. If I was doing a 10k and said I wanted to Just Finish I would hope my readers would bash the heck out of me in the comments and tell me to HTFU. But with 31 miles on hiking trails and no idea what to expect I am okay with Just Finish (This one time!).

13.1 Austin Half Marathon:
This race is not about me. It is all about my wife Annie. Annie is signed up to do the FULL Marathon. Seven years ago Annie had a herniated disk and had to have surgery on her back. It was a long and painful recovery but she worked very hard and now her back is as good as ever. I think in a way this marathon represents to her that she has finally beat the back issues that had limited her so badly in the past. Annie has been into fitness and clean eating a lot longer than me and was one of my main inspirations when I decided to change my lifesyle. She has supported me on all my races and I want to be there to support her. So I am doing the half mary. I plan to do it in about 1:50 minutes or less and spend the rest of the day cheering for Annie!

LoneStar Olympic Triathlon:
After the 50k run I am going to begin training for this event. I plan on doing the Essential Triathlon Swimmming DVD that is listed over to the right --->>> and following a 1/2 IronMan training program. This Tri is being held in Galveston and is an ocean swim in the Gulf of Mexico. From all the reviews it is considered a great event and I am excited to be competing in it this year. This is my "A" event that I will be focusing on it for the next 5 + months. I need to really make some positive strides with my swimming and biking so after the Trail Run this blog is once again going to become Triathlon Only driven. The good news is that with all the running I have been doing I should have one heck of a base to begin.

That is the Reader's Digest version of my upcoming training and events. I am not really sure what I am going to do after the LoneStar Tri. I think that depends on if I enjoy doing an Oly distance Tri or not?

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff