"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail"

I'm not going to write up a race report for this one. Since SGM, I've run very little, and have been have some nagging calf/shin issues. So, I've been taking it easy for a couple weeks, just hoping to be able to finish this half marathon without walking the whole thing.

Tom Slick came from Utah to run the full White Rock Marathon. As it hadn't rained all year, who would guess that we'd get rain in December? Well, it rained...for the entire 13.1 miles!! It was about 42 degrees, and I felt ... soggy. I wore a freebie poncho for 13 of the 13.1 mile--only removing it for the finish photo.

I was hoping to break 2 hours, and I actually finished in about 1:49 (I haven't even checked the official results, as it was a training run). I walked a few times, but overall am glad that I finished it.

Tom Slick did great -- and it was fun having him around to add his unique flavor to the event!

Next up is Houston Marathon on January 15th, then Cowtown pacing in Feb. I need to start ramping up.

Oh, the legs feel a little tight, but nowhere near as bad as when I ran 7 miles at Thanksgiving. time to ramp up the miles!

Lunchtime run w/ Darin. Calves felt a little tight, but not unusually bad. I'm hopeful the calf issue is behind me. We ran 2 miles out, then walked 1/2 mile, then the 2 miles back in.

AP: 8:33

45F, sunny, 5S

Lunchtime run w/ Darin. The weather was nice. I've lost some of my speed in the past few months, and the run today felt like a tempo run, but was barely faster than my MP. It'll come back.

Sunny, 50F, NE 5

AP: 7:27 (fastest was 7:19)

Ran 16 miles. Met Dave and John at 7:00AM at Lake Grapevine. Ran 3 miles with then, then met up with 5 others at 7:30. Calf felt pretty good. 

38-44 F, S5, partly cloudy

AP: 8:31

Lunchtime run w/ Darin. Wore HRM for the first time in a while. As suspected, my HR was a bit higher than I was seeing prior to SGM. I finished the last mile in 6:41, with a max HR fo 173, while the majority of the run was above 150. (I was seeing HR about 10 bpm lower at this effort prior to SGM. I gained a little weight and cut back on the miles, and my fitness shows it)

AP: 7:28

55F, E5, cloudy

It started raining as soon as Darin left on this run. We got about a mile out and saw lightning. It looked like it was far way, so we kept going. At about 1.5 miles, it was very close, so we turned around. We avoided the lightning but got drenched.

AP: 7:28

55F, rainy

Solo lunchtime run. Because yesterday's run was cut short by rain, I decided to run today. (normally, I run every-other-day). The calf is feeling good (I hope I don't jinx it).

45F, N15, sunny

Was a beautiful day for a long run. Ran 10 out and 10 back at the Rail Trail. I saw about 5 other people, and a stray dog on the trail today. Cross-wind for most of the run, felt good for this time of year. I wore the HRM today and kept the pulse at about 140 bpm for most of the run. I never got over 150.

55F, cloudy, S10

AP: 8:45

AHR: 142

After being sick all last week with a head/sinus cold (which seemed to have started immediately after my 20miler), I finally got out for an easy run.

5 miles at the HS track. Progressively faster

40F, drizzly, W10

AP: 745

Met Dave and John at Lake Grapevine to run some easy trail miles. Felt really good to run on trails. A little slow, but a nice change of scenery.

45F, 5N, sunny

AP: 9's??

Ran 8 miles with Darin and Dave at the Trinity River in Ft Worth. Then went to Fw RunCo and bought some new Brooks Ravennas (sp?). 

A great day for a run!

40F, sunny, 5S

AP: 7:55

With 2 weeks until Houston Marathon, I met Dave, Darin, and John at Lake Grapevine. Another perfect day for running. It was about 40 when we started and 55 when we finished.

AP: 7:45

40-55F, S5, sunny

It's been a roller coaster of a running year. I managed to get just over 1100 for the year, which is 100 more than last year. I'll go for more, injury-free miles in 2012.