For the first time in many, many years, running took a back seat in 2011 to other priorities in my life, the biggest being my brand new baby boy. W was born in late June and since then, it’s been a struggle getting back into a running routine but I think I’m finally there. I’m now running 3-4 days a week for around 15-20 miles per week. I’ve done unstructured speedwork about once a week to keep things interesting and it’s paying off as most of my runs are around 8 – 8:30 pace and I had a successful 1500 race a couple of weeks ago. While this is by far the lowest mileage I’ve run in years, it’s a balancing act to fit it in between W, work, and graduate school and I’m slowly coming around to understand that it is enough for now. So 2012 will be a year of low mileage for me… But that doesn’t mean I won’t be running.
I signed up for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler lottery on a whim and I got accepted so I’ll be running in DC on April 1! I’m going to find training plan for some workout ideas and see what I can fit in as it gets closer. I’m already running up to 7 miles once a week, so I don’t think a 10 mile race in April will be too much of a stretch. I’ll see as it gets closer what kind of shape I’m in… I’ve also signed up for the PPTC Cherry Tree 10 miler in February to gauge where my fitness is and make sure I can run 10 miles before the race in DC.
Since I’m pressed for time most of the time these days, I’m also going to try and add in some strength work by way of the 100 pushups training plan. I picked this to have some structure since I won’t do it at all if I don’t have a plan and because it doesn’t take up much time. We’ll see how it goes – I tried it a couple of years ago and got stuck at 4 weeks in so hopefully I’ll get further this time.
2012 is going to be another challenging year for me with all I’m taking on, but I’m ready for the challenge. Hopefully at this time next year, I’ll have a happy healthy 18 month old at home, be done with my classes for my master’s degree, and still be able to run a 6 minute mile.
I’d just like to be able to run a 6-minute mile!
Awesome! Excited to see how you progress. Let’s meet up for some runs in BK over the winter.
I guess 2012 is the year for balance, it’s also one of my goals for 2012. I’m also running the Cherry Tree 10 miler. Good luck in DC, it was a great race!