Full Metal Lunchbox

 

Hey there, campers!  Did we all have a fun New Years Eve?  I myself had a good time, thanks to Firefly, Running Jayhawk, Out of Shape Guy, Jason and Leah, and of course Phog.

   Photos by Firefly



Now it's Thursday and I'm finally back at work.  *Groan!*  Best not to think about it.

Instead I'm focusing my energies on preparing for the 2007 Chicago running season, starting with....



I'm all signed up!  Are you?  I can't imagine anyone would want to miss the opportunity to run on cold, wet pavement and drink light beer at the finish line.

What's that, you say?  You haven't signed up yet?  Good God, man!  Hurry up and register for the Shamrock Shuffle right now.

I'll wait.

...

All set?  Good.

Now let's talk about 2007.

I officially kicked off my 8K training yesterday with my first outdoor run of the year, accompanied by Jeanne.

Distance:  2.98 miles
Time:  35:00
Pace:  11:58/mile

I know, I know, nothing to write home about.  We had decided to take it easy, since Jeanne and I both have old injuries.  And we were also slowed down by wind resistence and darkness.

Jeanne (and possibly Jay) will be accompanying me this Saturday for my first long run of 2007.  My goal will be to do four miles without hurting myself.

Here is my plan for the coming year...

Winter

Train individually at slow recovery pace.  2-3 days per week in the gym and 1-2 days outdoors (including one weekly long run).

training pace:  10:00-13:00/mile
goal #1:  Set 5K PR of 35 minutes at the Lou Pinella 5K
goal #2:  Beat 8K PR of 45 minutes at the Shamrock Shuffle
obstacles:  Frostbite, lack of enthusiasm, bad elevator music at gym

Spring

Jeanne and I are organizing a half marathon spring training group open to anyone interested in doing Saturday long runs at a 10:00-11:00 pace.  Leave a comment on mine or Jeanne's blog if interested.

In addition to the weekend long runs, I plan on doing lots of indoor cross-training at the gym and at least two midweek days per week running outdoors (including Wednesday evening speed training at Chase Park in Ravenswood).

training pace:  10:30/mile (long runs), 10:00/mile (mid-week), 8:00 (speed training)
goal #1:  Drink and run with distinction at the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon.
goal #2:  Excel as a member of the yet-to-be-named team at the Great Midwest Relay.  Try not to get kicked out of van.
obstacles:  voices in my head

Summer-Fall

If I have managed by this point to avoid injury, it's time to train for the big one, el gordo: the 2007 Chicago Freakin Marathon.  (Note that at the time of this posting a lump is already forming in my throat.)

How I train this year depends entirely on how my knee holds out.  I'm already feeling some pain even from my recent short runs.  Hopefully stretching and icing will keep the pain in check and regular cross-training will relieve the pressure on my IT band (and thus my patellar tendon).  My training goals for the summer will thus depend on my condition.  Here is my most optimistic assessment:

training pace:  9:30/mile
goal #1:  Beat my marathon PR from last year of 5:15
goal #2:  Beat Oprah's marathon time of 4:35
obstacles:  patellar tendonitis




And that's my plan for this year.  Comments, suggestions, and encouragement are appreciated.


Good luck out there, everybody!

Labels: 2007 Chicago Running Season