"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail"

Ran my first miles of 2011 in my VFFs (because I forgot to pack my regular shoes when I packed my running clothes)

Ran on the MWRT alone -- 4 out and 4 back. Felt good.

44F, E10

AP: 7:29

I decided to ramp it up a little on my last vacation day before heading back to work. My plan was to run with Darin and Dave at 7:00AM for 7 miles, then run some more on my own. I got a flat tire on the way to Darin's so, I got there as they finished. So, my run today was solo.

I'm running a 15K race on Saturday, so decided to go run the course -- twice. First time, forward, second time in reverse direction (not running backwards -- but running forward from finish to start :)

I made a wrong turn and ended up adding almost 2 miles to the first 9.3 miles (7:54/mi for 11.25 miles). I stopped at the car, downed a bottle of water and a Honey Stinger, then headed out for the second pass. I was making mental notes of various distances (2 miles, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25) from the finish line (just in case I have some kick left on Saturday..so I'll know exactly how much real estate I have left to cover)

I did quite a bit of walking on the the second 9.3 miles--especially when my total got above 17 miles. (keep in mind that my last marathon was June at Utah Valley---and my last run over 15 miles was at the end of July 2011 - El Scorcho). I had forgotten that stiff/tightening feeling -- and the sore feet. I guess there's a reason we ramp up for marathons. I took it easy -- today was about finishing the 20 miles, not about speed. I have about 7 weeks to be ready to run a 3:40 marathon at Cowtown (I'm pacing for the 3rd consecutive year...and it's not a gimme this year!) :)

45-53F, partly cloudy, light wind

AP: ~9:00

I didnt' sleep well last night. Woke up at 3AM to my dog barking. Decided to skip the run with Darin and Dave, and got an extra 2 hours of sleep time.

Ran at lunchtime alone. Weather was great. Felt pretty good -- but only had time for 4 miles. Will take another rest day tomorrow in prep for 15K race on Saturday morning.

AP: 7:21

55F, sunny, 5S

It was a perfect day for a race. 38F, sunny, slight breeze.

Had no idea how I was going to do. I have been ramping up the miles this week, and even ran this course twice on Tuesday to become familiar with the terrain.

Someone said "Go", we started running, and about 10 seconds later the gun went off  :). I got into a good rythm early on, and felt pretty good. The plan was to go out at 7:30 first mile, then try to speed up -- and like 100% of all my other races, I DID NOT stick to the plan. I hit the first mile at 6:55, and felt fine. A few of my buddies were running with me, too. I was with Dave and Scott for the first 3 miles, then let them go ahead of me (It is much better to be passed by your friends early in a race, rather than late in the race). I kept about 50 yds behind Dave and Scott for the next few miles. Dave started pulling away, and I was kind of resigned to finishing right with Scott. But with 1 mile to go, I started gaining on Scott (this was an uphill section). Before I knew it I was passing Scott.

I finished strong -- passing Scott and 1 other runner in the last mile. Though Scott is in a younger AG, the other runner I passed was in mine -- which allowed me to take home 3rd in the 45-49 AG!!! Woohoo! Dave finished 1st in our AG about 40 seconds ahead of me.

My final time of 1:05:23 is a PR for 15K!! (My Garmin had 9.4 miles, AP: 6:57)

It was a fun race, and it was fun to see a few of my running buddies take home some hardware.

38F, 5MPH N

6:55,6:50,7:04,6:53,6:55,6:59,7:10,6:59,7:00,