The Best Laid Plans...

So, by this time tomorrow I had hoped to at least make, if not achieve, another sub-2 hour HM attempt. However, a certain someone named Irene had other plans.

So instead of a race report, I'll briefly discuss how my Cape Cod Half Marathon Training is going!

Three weeks have gone by so far, and already, I'm doing a better job training this time around. Not only have I hit my long runs on schedule, including a HM long run on Friday night to make up for the Bronx, but I have finally executed two tempo runs. I was supposed to do about 9mm and I did within the 8:50s across 3 miles with very little variation, so I was happy about that.

My speed work is also slowly progressing. I have only done one workout so far, and while I ended up taking my fast workouts too fast, it made feel better knowing that I could do my upcoming mile race at a sub-8 minute pace. Still, when I attempt my next speed workout next week, I'll try and reign it in a little. I've also been advised to vary the interval lengths a little bit, so I'll look into doing that as well.

Last weekend, I attended Long Training Run #2, which NYRR held in Central Park. I met up with Kathy and Wallis, and the three of us ran with Wallis' friend. The pacers we started out with went too fast, but on our second loop we had a pacer who stayed steadily at a 10:30 pace. I got 11 miles in successfully, and probably could have eked out another couple of miles had I wanted to.

On a different note, I discovered that doing a long run at night was more difficult for me than I thought it would be. Even though I completed the 13.1 miles in lieu of doing the now cancelled Bronx half, it was far more difficult to do so without either the race or company as a motivator. Still, the miles got done, and now I am watching the rain pour down in the city.

This represents a major mental shift to me - when I first started out back in November, I wouldn't have thought that missing a run was a major deal, but this week, I felt that missing my long run was simply not an option, so I did what I needed to do to ensure it didn't happen, even if it meant running at a time that was not ideal to me. I guess I've finally become an addict :P

I'm probably going to order a couple of running books to read - I'm thinking of getting the Pfitz book and the Glover book - I've heard great reviews from several running friends and I know I still have a great deal to learn.

Next week is a cut-back week for me, so I look forward to getting some quality cross training in before NYSC shuts down the pool for its annual cleaning. I hope the hurricane doesn't do too much damage this weekend!