455 MILES

I currently use this online running log. It’s nice because you can set up a team and see how others are training. I’m on two teams; a group from the hillrunner forum and alumni from my college. One guy from the latter group is running Twin Cities Marathon. He just finished a 455-mile month. That’s “only” 103 miles per week, but it looks like a hell of a lot more when you see each day broken out. I was more impressed with his comments. Nearly every comment spoke of something hurting. I guess that’s a given when you’re running that much. Maybe that’s the difference between “average” and “above average”. The average runner takes the day off; the above average runner pushes through and gets his mileage in.

After reading Self-Made Olympian, I decided to get Daws’ other book, Running Your Best. Last night I read the first couple of chapters. He mentions Ron Hills’ streak of running 20 years in a row without missing a day. Now I hear about “days run in a row” streaks all the time. What makes Hills’ streak even more impressive is that it includes running TWICE a day everyday (except Sunday) for 20 years. I’m sure he wasn’t pain-free for each of those 7,300 runs!

Speaking of books, I’m trying to add to my collection of out-of-print running books. I also bought Clean Pair of Heels and Kiwi’s Can Fly through adebooks. I also picked up Steve Scott the Miler, 26 Miles to Boston, and On the Run From Dogs and People from Half Priced Books. I mainly bought those last 3 because I had a gift certificate from my birthday.

With a race tomorrow, there’s nothing exciting to mention regarding today’s run; 5 easy miles with 3 strides thrown in at the end. I could mention that the weather was stunning, 65-70 and sunny with a dew point less than 45. Alumni weekend is notoriously hot and humid. So it figures that after a summer of bitching about the weather, tomorrow looks like it will be awesome; probably 60-65, overcast and low humidity. I think I can break 31, but would guess that sub-30 is out of the question. Goals: 30:30 and top-3 in my age group.