Running More is Overrated...

Well, that's probably not true, though it seems to feel that way to me this year.

During this year's marathon plan, I averaged 46 miles per week and ran a 3:33. Last year, I averaged 32 miles per week and ran a 3:23. In 2007, I ran 30 miles per week (plus two days on the bike) and ran a 3:18.

Sort of flies in the race of that, "to run faster, run further" talk, eh?

Honestly, I don't know. I'm eager to blame the poor day on a lack of speed training, but am still wrapping my head around it all.

The best part about blowing up your marathon plan so early in the season is that it leaves a lot of fall to race in. I'm looking forward to the Hands-on-House 1/2 Marathon in two weeks (where I have my current 1/2M PR) and a week after that will try to defend my title of two-time age group champion of the Knoebels Lumber 5k. Big dreams, folks, big dreams.

Technically, the 1/2 marathon is three weeks after my marathon, and you're supposed to wait a month before racing, so I'm not so certain how that will go. However, I really like the course and I'm very eager to see if I'm truly as bad as my recent marathon performance dictated, so what the heck. I'm going to go out at seven minute pace and see what happens. I've run this course before to know that the first four miles will be fine and are followed by four curious miles of crazy uphills and downhills. After that, you limp home with what you got left. But I've done that race in 1:34 and would really like to see if I can shave just a little off my time.

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