LONG(?) RUN FOR MIAMI

So, Miami is coming up really quick. It always seems to surprise me... you have the holidays and whatnot and just when you are settling back in after those... BAM! Fly to Miami and run a half marathon you jackass. Anyways, this year, as I've mused, should be an epic shit show. With only two weekends left before the race I decided I better start getting serious. Normally I'd run farther, but I'm being cautious in ramping back up my miles so eight miles was the plan for this weekend.

I figured if I could do eight miles successfully this weekend then I could shoot for ten or eleven next weekend and call it good. I'm really counting on muscle memory in my legs to get me through this as I haven't done the training needed to run a good half marathon. However, I'm not that far removed from the double marathon experience or the Hot Buttered Run Half, so I think I can bullshit my way through this. And by bullshit my way through it, I'm talking about running the first ten miles before exploding into a walk/jog death march to finish just below two hours. That is the goal.

Anyways, the long run this weekend actually gave me some hope. I haven't ran more than five miles since the half marathon back in late November, so I wasn't quite sure how eight miles would feel. It was also going to be a good 75 minutes of cardio and the most I had done since the marathon was 50 or so. Luckily, the run went fantastically! The weather was nice, mid 40s and sunny as all get out. My only compliant was the wind, which was whipping at times and pretty cold. Overall though you can't ask for much more in Oregon in January.

Death in Miami, year one.

My legs felt great the entire time. The only thing holding me back was my cardio, so it is definitely true that cardio is the first thing to go. The 9:25/mile pace felt harder than it should have but still reasonable and a "conversational" pace. Matt came along and it was nice to have a buddy. By the end of the run my legs still felt fine and I could have done ten miles easily. So that was a bit of a confidence boost. I think my legs still have some miles in them. The question in Miami will be my cardio. Even if I were able to get it in decent shape here in the next two weeks, the weather in Florida will be an issue. The first year I ran it I was in great shape but the humidity killed me about halfway in.

The goal next weekend will be ten or eleven. I'm leaning toward eleven just because this eight went so well. I'm happy to report my legs feel pretty good today and there is no sign of the crippling soreness and swelling that caused me to take a month off. Whether the recent cross training or time off is reasonable for that, I don't know, but I'm happy to be able to run again without feeling like my body is rejecting it. I felt great after the run yesterday and was reminded why I actually enjoy it from time to time.