Thinking ahead

I was in a hurry this morning and didn't get to mention anything about running. Last night I went over to Bedford to run. I did a couple of miles to warm-up before the others arrived. There was a smaller group last night. We started out at a rather pedestrian pace, but on the way back things started picking up a bit.

Kathy and Josh were out ahead of the rest of us. I could tell coming up the hill that the 4 of us in the chase group had picked up the pace. We dropped down from an 8.40 to an 8.18, and then I decided to pick it up further, trying to catch Josh and Kathy. My next mile went down to an 8.01, which is my Boston Marathon goal pace, but I wasn't done yet. The last mile went down to a 7.07, which I was pretty happy about, especially after a hill workout yesterday. I caught the leaders, and at about the same time, Tim the Elder pulled up with me as well. It was a great run!

I had a nice 5 mile recovery run early this morning, while it was still dark. I love mid 40s and mist. I think it may be my favorite training conditions; not sure why. While running, I've been thinking a lot about biking. I really look forward to having a great biking season, right after the Boston Marathon. I will be working all winter on making that happen by being on the trainer. I hope to do all 162 miles of RAIN (instead of the 158 + hospital plan).

The other big thing I look forward to next year is completing a triathlon. That's ambitious for a guy who doesn't know how to swim! This old dog is going to learn a new trick! I've been reading books about triathlon, specifically about the Ironman, which is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full 26.2 marathon. All events are back to back to back. I know I can do the last 2... Of course I have to start with a sprint tri, which is about a quarter mile swim, 10 mile ride, and a 5K run. If I don't drown, then I should be fine.