Getting My Mojo Back

As many of you might know, I've been in sort of a funk since Boston.  With Jerry's death, the hardwork for Boston, the great race, the after race, and then the impending summer weather, I just wasn't feeling up to it. I was running, but it really wasn't doing it for me.  I knew that I needed to keep it up, but my mileage in May suffered with travel to Boston, illness, travel, etc.  Well, since June has arrived, I re-committed to getting back at it and getting back at it happily.  I've re-committed to the gym as well and have had some good sessions already and hope to maintain/add to the strides I've made in the strength area over the last few months.  After all who says you can't be strong after 50.

The good news is that in spite of the heat, my runs have felt good, and some have even felt great.  The 2nd Sole group has ramped up with a fall marathon plan and it is good to have that direction.  Even though I'll be off to western NY and Chautauqua this week, I'll still be virtually connected and it is incentive to stay on track for the summer.  Of course, today is our first 90F day with dewpoints around 70 which means that our workout tonight might be a bit toasty.  No worries as it will just bring me back to running in Hotlanta. I know I'm not quite used to it yet, but at least I have memories of it.

Back to my running for the past week.  The actual runs went very well and included a very fun "fartlek" run on Thursday with the 2nd Sole group. Thursday's run was also memorable as my twin, Amanda, showed up to run as well.  Amanda is trying to get her mojo back too, so this was fun.

The Saucony rep arrived so we got to try out some new shoes, and new shoes always make things great.  I have not run in Saucony shoes since wearing the "Dixon" in the early 1980s when Rod Dixon won the NY marathon and had a shoe named for him.  So it has been a few years.  I tried the Mirage and i really liked the lightness and firm ride of the shoe.  It was very similar to my beloved Adidas Bostons, so if the new Boston isn't for me, I know that this shoe could be a good choice.   The workout consisted of a 1.5 mile warm up followed by 5 x 90sec fartleks at 7:40 or so pace followed by a 1.5 mile warm down.  I had done a fartlek workout the day before, so I was cautious, but it fet good, and I ended up leading the group.  I realized that I still have a great deal of residual fitness, and I have not lost quite as much as I thought.  Of course, Saturday's long run was a bit different as I definitely felt the miles (only 11) at the end of the 100 min.  It was even cooler, but I still need to keep it slow and steady as I ramp it all back up.

Mileage recap:

Mon - Day off
Tues - 5.4 miles easy which was a bit tough in the humidity, Weights & core work with Jake
Wed - 6.3 miles done with 8 - 1 min on/1 min off segments.
Thurs - 5.7 miles done with 5 x 90 sec fartleks.  Didn't realize that this was the group workout, but felt ok even good
Fri - Weights & core with Jake
Sat - 11 miles easy
Sun - 4 miles easy.  Ran at noon as I slept in after a night out with the girls.

WTD: 32.4 miles  

YTD: 813 miles still ahead of last year even with 3 marathons by now in 2013.