Friday, January 08, 2010

DOWNWARD TREND

I was working on updating some of the links to the right and a noticed a trend. The number in parenthesis equals the number of posts I had each year. Man, I was really gung-ho in 2005 and 2006.

► 2009 (119)
► 2008 (176)
► 2007 (194)
► 2006 (270)
► 2005 (281)
2010 started off a little slow for me as I missed 2 of the first 3 days with family in town. But I’ve run 5 days in a row, including a hill workout and a tempo run. I haven’t been on my skis in a week. That’s mainly due to the cold weather. But it also has to do with a new strategy. Rather than trying to ski as much as possible and mix in a couple of runs each week, I’m trying to flip-flop that equation. I may be wrong, but I think I can ski a decent Birkie and be in better running shape in March if I keep up my running mileage while mixing in 2-3 skis a week. For this to work I think I have to continue running hills, tempos, MP workouts, and 2+ hour runs and one of those skis each week has to be 2+ hours.

It’s as simple as that. Or at least I hope so.

I’ve now scratched tomorrow’s Pre City of Lakes Loppet from my 2010 race plan. One reason is that a 16K ski race doesn’t excite me. Plus, it’s supposed to be 13 below. So my next race will be the Winter Carnival Half Marathon. I used to run this race every winter and it always provided a good base line of my fitness heading into spring.

Quote of the Day;

“Remember, the watch is just a tool. Control it; don’t let it control you.” – Chris Lundstorm, in an article on Hi-Tech Watches for Midwest Events

7 comments:

Julie said...

Hi Chad,
Do you know if the winter carnival has a 5k or 10k? I would be interested in that. I am not ready for a half yet.

Chad said...

Yeah, they have a 5K too. Check out this link.

Julie said...

Thank you Chad!!

SteveQ said...

I was going to hop into the half if the weather was nice that day. Then I saw the price - I won't pay over $3 per mile (which is probably why I started doing long races in the boondocks).

Julie said...

Hi Chad,
I have a question....are you a writer for Down the Backstretch? I know that I have told you that I am a huge fan of Running Minnesota and I would love to see more stories on Minnesota runners. The reason I ask is because I noticed that the post on Jan 6th, Down the Backstretch has featured one of my favorite Minnesota female runners. In this post it says that she is considered the favorite for the Zoom Yah Yah! I have been following Renne's blog since my second 5k race at the end of August. She is a woman runner that I wish to emulate! Go to my blog and look under my favorites and find Renee's Ramblings. I promise you her blog will not disappoint. Check out her awesome times:) Anyway, I nominate Renee as your next running subject. Just check it out and tell me what you think!

Beth said...

I'll be at the Half Marathon also so I will look for you before the start. I just couldn't get out on the skis when it was so cold, but I'm going to try again tomorrow. I need to get going if I'm going to try the Loppet. I'm thinking the 10K would be good for me since I don't have much experience.

Chad said...

Julie, I don't really write for Down the Backstretch. I'd say I'm more of a minor contributor.

I am working on a couple of more interviews for Running Minnesota. I'll check out Renee's blog, but I won't promise an interview.