OK, so today was an off day. I'll start off April anyway. It's less than 4 weeks until race day and I guess I'm getting a little antsy.

Windy last night, gusting to 50mph, with ice pellets. Satellite dish for the TV set fell off the wall, so after wasting time with that and then eating dinner I did not run. Gotta go tonight. Simon.

Did my first ever progressive run last night on the track at the gym. First mile was a comfortable pace. Then I lowered the pace by about 15 to 20 seconds on the next mile and the next and the next. Was pretty tired after only 4 miles of this and it showed in my run tonight. I was scheduled for an easy 5 miler but ended up cutting it short and did only 4 miles. The strong winds may have also had something to do with it (but not like Simon's 50 mph wind) or maybe, I'm just getting too comfortable running in the gym where the wind in generally pretty calm. I will try to get the 5 miler in tomorrow at an easy pace and see how it goes. Plan to be back in the gym as we are supposed to have thunderstorms here. wbertha ps we leave in six weeks to drive to Fargo...YIKES!!!

It's less than 4 weeks until race day and I guess I'm getting a little antsy.

Tomorrow is my 4 weeks & all is going well so far. No injuries and runs are on schedule, times have mostly met my goals. Several days I've found myself holding back because I felt so good on easy days, hopefully that will payoff on race day. Planning a hilly 8.1 miler tomorrow and then 14 next Sunday. Tempo runs of 5 miles with 1.5 mile warm-up & cooldown on both Wednesdays. On race day I just have to roll the tempo runs & long runs into one big half marathon. Simon be careful out there in the dark. Them cars can hurt you. I only run in the dark on Wednesday evening in the winter & I wear a neon yellow shirt. The road our group runs on is completely closed on half and has only one-way traffic on the other part, so it is pretty safe. I carry a headlight because my band broke & discovered I like it in my hand better. When there's no snow on the ground it is very dark and we have almost ran into deer several times (actually within 2 feet of a collision).

Haven't posted in a couple of days. Got a good steady, easy, 5 miles in on Thursday night. Then Friday was a "rest day". So after working all day, I came home to start on some yard work. We have large yard with a lot of old trees and this winter's winds, snow and ice storms have really made a mess. This will be an ongoing project. Hope for a completion date sometime next week. Did my first double digit run for 2008 today. Ran 11 miles. But you folks always keep me honest so I will have to admit that the last .75 was a run/walk combination. Seemed long but doable. Plan to do it again and again every weekend until race day. I might throw in a 12 miler or two just for variety. Have 5 more times to try it so hopefully it will get easier. I'm a bit tired tonight but not really sore at all. Will see what the morning brings. I would like to do a few easy miles tomorrow just to work out the stiffness that I generally feel the day after a long run. I would really like to be able to continue to do a LSD each weekend after the race. Maybe about the 10 mile variety. Think it would really help to keep me in shape for up coming events. Well, spring has finally arrived. 70 degrees and sunny here today. Good runs and fun weekend to all. wbertha

Nice job wbertha on the 11 mile run. I ran 8 today at 8:30 pace. My goal race pace is 8:20 - 8:30, and my race is next weekend, so hopefully that wasn't foolish. I ran with my running partner and he always tends to make me go faster. The good news is that I felt really good. The bad news is that I was really glad I was only running 8, not 13! I pulled a calf muscle (not running) a couple weeks ago, so the week before this one was really light. Anyway, 1 week to the race, and I guess I'm as prepared as I'm going to get. I definitely could be more prepared, but I'm pretty happy with how things have gone, so we'll see. After that, I'm looking forward to doing some nice SHORT races.

15.4 miles this morning, giving me 44 for this week. Good running, everyone.

Way to push, Simon! That's fast! I tend to cough a lot after runs. It never lasts too long, though. Time to pack for my trip!! My packing list is mostly running stuff! Teresa