hmm...what to do

I may have given myself permission not to run Cowtown. I have never signed up for a race and not run it.

I feel fine. I am excited about how I have recovered from IM Cozumel, but I sure am enjoying working out a little to stay in shape with no great pressure of an upcoming race.

I run 10-12 miles and then I want to be done. I don't want to run 26 miles right now. I know I could do it, but it would not be a well trained for run and Pete has never trained me to "finish". He trains me to race and he gave me a program to race Cowtown. I have shortened the last two long runs and that is not going to work. I decided that if I do not have a good 22 mile run this weekend then I do not need to run the marathon. Not sure if I will run one of the other distances or drop it altogether.

On a riding note, Pete and I have enjoyed an entire week of outdoor riding. It has been windy, but not cold. We rode the tandem a lot. It is a blast and we can cover a lot more ground because our average is a few mph faster than when we ride individual bikes.

So I guess I will decide on Monday about Cowtown. Oh, and I need to sign up for Boulder. Danna signed up and the price goes up on 2/1. That is the only race I know I will do for sure. I need to find a few more and get committed.

Cold Weather Blues

I hate to use the word "hate", but I HATE cold weather! The older I get the grumpier winter makes me. And this winter seems especially harsh.

I did my 14 mile run with Zach and we averaged 8:20s. That was too fast for me to be able to hold for much longer, so for my 16 miler this weekend I slowed down to 8:50s and that was fine; except that I was freakin' COLD the WHOLE TIME. As soon as I walked in the door, I showered and left to take the kids to Six Flags for the day and I stayed cold all day long. Miserable. Then my foot started hurting. Grrr.

We were at Great Wolf Lodge for the next two days, so I skipped my 10 mile run on Sunday and did a lot of stretching and massaging on my foot. It seems fine now. I will go do a short run on it this afternoon to see how it feels.

I am scheduled to increase each long run by 2 miles until I reach 24 and then back off. I love to run, but man, this cold weather is making me think twice about my marathon plans. Cold to me is 40-50 degrees and this 20-40 degree crap stinks.