Today's Report (and Day Dreams about 2011)

I did as planned yesterday, doing my usual gym mini-tri, starting with 1750 yards in the pool, followed by 30 minutes of hills and surges in Renee’s Tuesday Noon spin class, followed immediately by a 5K run on the treadmill, which took just under 25 minutes.

I’m really working the ankles afterwards and in the evenings, stretching and doing light strengthening exercises. My favorite is using the rolling pin to massage the arch. Feels so good.

I did relace my newer shoes, leaving out the last hole completely. So far, whether because of that or the fewer number of miles, my ankles feel pretty excellent. I know I don’t have the issue licked yet though. The test will be once I ratchet up the miles again, especially the long runs of 2 hours or more. It’s been around 13-15 miles that I typically feel the discomfort.

Today I stuck with the no-run plan and spent 25 minutes on the rower, covering 6000 virtual meters. I also got a little racquetball in with Robert and actually beat him in one game. I tweaked a glute muscle just a little on a lunge, but not too badly.

Tomorrow, I’d like to do the full noon spin class, but I also want to work the running muscles some, so I might have to do a double day. I won’t have enough time at lunch to both spin and run. All I need is about 45 minutes on the treadmill, so I might be able to sneak it in in the morning or maybe during the last hour before heading home. I want to stick to the treadmill since the surface flexes and is more forgiving, favoring the ankles.

This Sunday is the XTerra trail run at Black Mountain. It was to be the capstone event to the first six weeks of my marathon buildup, but I feel like the money could be better served elsewhere. I can run this trail anytime on my own. I’d be paying just for the ego of having an officially recorded time and maybe placing in my age/sex division (not to mention getting a shirt and a medal). Those are vanity things, and with money being tight, not really worth it. Perhaps I’ll redirect those funds to the America’s Finest City half marathon coming in August. I know that’s quite a way’s away, but registration is open and I’d hate to get closed out by a sell out.

I was thinking ahead to 2011.  One idea I had was to run the Carlsbad full marathon in January and see if I couldn’t get a Men’s 50-54 Boston marathon qualifying time (3:35:00) that would be applicable to the 2012 Boston Marathon. From my experience running the half, it’s a good course conducive to fast times, and with a first marathon experience under my belt, I think I could hazard an attempt at a time goal instead of just a finishing goal.

It would be kind of neat, too, to run the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. Just an idea. I don’t know what I’m going to want to do for real after the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll. Maybe I’ll never want to do a marathon again.

I’m shooting for the half marathon Triple Crown this year, but next year I might try to finish the alternative hat trick: San Dieguito, Heartbreak Ridge and Silver Strand half marathons.

Who knows? I’m just fantasizing. Maybe I’ll strive to do triathlons next year. I like having something to shoot for. Fitness “maintenance” is boring.