What if Your Best Friend Slows Your Runs Down?

First off, I'd like to thank the Academy - or rather Yourrunning, which syndicates my blog and recently awarded me a very cool t-shirt for my post about my bad race. There's an irony there - getting a prize for not winning a prize.

Along those lines, there's a column in this month's Triathlete Magazine which suggests that taking a week off of running results in a 10-15% drop in fitness. If true, coupled with the high mileage week that followed my vacation, that probably indicates why the race went so poorly for me.

In other news:

a. Still ramping up my mileage - currently doing 32-35 miles most weeks - but still feeling a bit sore on it. I'm wondering if cross-training will be the best route for a good injury free marathon. The plan? I've got a 5 mile road race planned on July 4. If my VDOT bumps up, I'll stick with running only. If it doesn't, then there's no reason to risk injury via additional miles. I'll put together a cool cross-training program for the marathon. Three months ago

b. Trail race this weekend. While they tell me nothing about my fitness level, they're fun. I can't wait.

c. So the dog has been a bit hyper of late, which makes the family hyper, which makes me grumpy. Solution? I've started jogging with him in the morning. He's slow - 10:30 miles - but we do a 1.25 mile loop. The pace is plenty slow to not hurt me, but in the end, I figure that could add up to a few dozen miles per month. We'll see how it goes... I don't see us becoming running pals, but if it serves a purpose....

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