It has always been beneficial to me to have goals as a runner, and while they are not as ambitious as when I was younger (half marathons instead of full marathons, slower finish times) they still help to focus training and carry us to another finish line and its feeling of accomplishment. The next goal for both of us is the Bethel Half Marathon on October 12, less than three weeks from now. It is as short a time to "ramp up" for a race as Martha's handful of training runs before her Senior Games. But perhaps we will both benefit from the down time as I am speculating she did.
My tried-and-true training plan for a half marathon consists of increasing weekend long runs, once every two weeks, from six to eight to ten to twelve miles, and mixing in hills and tempo runs during the week. With only three weeks, we have done the best we could, running six miles the first Saturday we returned, and yesterday jumping up to eight miles; the plan is to run ten miles next week, back off for a week, and then run the race. It has become very hot and humid here after that brief respite last week, into the upper seventies by mid-morning, so we set the alarm early yesterday and got started at 7:30 a.m. It went well, although I could feel the effects of the heat toward the end. But it was nice to be running on familiar Fort Macon Road again, flat, sea-level, and little traffic. That is why we enjoy training here in January and February so much.
This afternoon, we had a nice visit with Artie and his stepson Troy, and then moved into the condo for a week. It was good to be here again, and the improvements made since our last visit are good ones - new surfaces in the hallways and the balcony. And, of course, that glorious wide beach, significantly warmer in September than in January.
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