RUNNING UPDATE & BRIDGE TO BREWS 10K

Hi all - as you know I've been very bad about updating my blog! As mentioned, I was struggling with motivation this winter but still made myself get out there. Most weeks I managed three runs, sometimes I only did two, but I ran enough to stay in somewhat decent shape as evidenced by my Shamrock performance. Since Shamrock, I have been doing the same thing, trying to get out there three times each week. Most of the time I am able to do so. The weather changing definitely is a big help.

What I need to do is get some races on my schedule. It is much more motivating when you are working toward something. So I need to get a half or two planned. However, I think I want to do some shorter races before I get back into "half mode." Most of my races these days are halves... and while that is my favorite distance, one goal this year is to get a little faster for the marathon so I can beat my time from last year. I want to get back into some speedwork this year, and having a couple 5Ks or 10Ks in the schedule will help motivate me to get those done. Then, come mid-June or whatever, I can then start focusing on the fall marathon with a half or two along the way.

On the topic of 10Ks, I have one this weekend! A friend is coming in from out of town and we are running the Bridge to Brews 10k. This is the final year they are running it over the Fremont Bridge, so that will be cool to experience while it is still a thing. Now, this race won't be ideal for testing my current fitness. Neither of us are going to take it super serious because we want to have fun in the days leading up to it. So that will include hikes and booze. Which won't be ideal come Sunday morning. However, we'll try not to screw ourselves over too much and then just run it hard and see what happens.

I do have a goal for this race... average under 8:00/mile. Earlier this year I did a few tempo runs where I managed to do four miles under 8... just barely. So that might be a stretch, but I think it would be possible with a hard effort. I did 8:10 at Shamrock, and that is three miles longer and generally hillier (this race isn't necessarily flat either). So I'm hoping I can get 7:50-something. We'll see. My preparation for this race won't be ideal, I've done no speed work since Shamrock, but maybe I'll be able to gut it out.