ON THE CUSP

“Put up or shut up” was the other title I had in mind for this post. When you’re between seasons, it’s easy to say what you want to accomplish next year or write down a schedule that spells everything out. It’s another thing to follow through when the time arrives. For me, that time is now. Right now I’m on the cusp of taking my training to another level. I took some time off after last season and gradually built back up to similar levels I’ve seen in the past. Now is the time to make it all happen. For the first time during this training cycle, I’ve spelled out what I want to run each day for the next two weeks.

I want to make sure I get my rest during this stretch, so last night I went to bed at 8:30. Today’s run called for 12 miles, meaning I had to get up at 4:30. The continued “warm” temps (basically 25-35 every day for the last month) have finally cleared a decent portion of the trails I run on. I was trying not to run hard, but it felt like I was moving pretty good. I ran miles 9 to 11 at 8:05 pace – not flying, but considering I was closer to 8:15 pace in October, I feel confident with my progress.

If you look at the links on the right hand side of my blog you’ll see links to a list to the best U.S. men (sub-2:45) and women (sub-3:15) marathoners in 2004. New lists are now available for 2005 men and women. I haven’t gone through the list completely, but some names stand out to me. Jenna is #40 and Joyce in #204. Chelle is #327. While it’s not uncommon to appear on the list 2-3 times, Duncan appears 9 times (remember, this is just 2005). Although he’s not on the 2005 list, check out the report that will land Mike on the 2006 list.