It's been a long time...

More than 2 months since my last posting during the dog days of summer. At first I stopped blogging due to a lack of motivation. I kept on running but just didn't feel like posting about it. Then life got in the way and time for blogging went with it.

I started a new job in August and my kids went back to school at the end of last month. In order to get in the running and be back in time to get the kids ready for school (my son started middle school and has to leave for the bus at 7:15am), I'm now up even earlier in the morning. I usually wake up around 4:50am and get out the door before 5:30. The days I run longer, I wake up even earlier.

The whole family is trying to adjust to our new schedules as it's the first time we've had both parents working. Just what the world needs is more latch-key kids :-)

Anyway on the running front, training has been going well. In July, I missed 3 days due to travel and sickness and ran 283 miles. In August, I missed 1 day due to a achilles flare up and managed to run 297 miles. I ran a 10K race in 36:59 at the beginning of August, which was a nice sign that my training was getting better.

In August, I also started using a modified Pfitzinger 18/70 plan to train for a possible marathon attempt at the California International Marathon in Sacramento on December 3. For the most part following the plan (and adding some extra mileage) hasn't been too hard. The only difficulty I've run into is the mid-week medium long run that eventually goes up to 15 miles. The distance itself is not a problem, but the logistics of getting the run in is.

A 95-100+ minute run during the week means I need to get out the door even earlier than usual. For example, I ran 13.5 miles this past Wednesday and started around 5:05 am. Even then I got back in time for only a few minutes with my son before he had to jam to the school bus stop.

Once the marathon training is done, I'll have to reassess how much mileage I want to run and how early I need to get up because this current schedule is getting old fast.

I hope I'll be able to update this blog on a regular basis moving forward. Keep up the good running....