The Michigan Rag

Looking through the stats for 2018 and not much changed.  I did continue to run slower and line up for less races.  I like to race.  It is something to shoot for.  The problem is I'm not much for pre-registering for shorter races and when the day comes I usually decide to keep the $40 in my pocket and go entertain myself with a run.  I've also noticed I run so much slower than others.  That's fine until it's not.  Running 12's on the trail and 10.5's on the road is good by me.  Survive for another day to train.  There is always a plan to reverse this and I honestly believe it could be done.  But it requires more time, attention to other details, and unfortunately a mentality that can suck the life out of other life areas.  None of this is new to anyone who does this. 

Yesterday was a good day.  I felt well and so I ran a couple hill repeats and 2 x 3:00 all at a good effort.  I intentionally kept the volume low.  In life it is funny how the brain subconsciously interjects great ideas without any governance.  It said you SHOULD do this sort of thing 3-4 times a week.  When finished the plan was to get back out later on a dog jog.  Thankfully we had freezing rain, so I copped out.  Truth was stiffness settled in.  Cinnamon buns on the counter?  Today there is one left.  Not a big deal because in reality a nice long easy effort tomorrow will suffice.  I'm just out here aimless, or am I?  2018 was a great year.

Top ten people I ran with:

Dewey - 39
Tim - 35
Robert - 15
Christine - 11
Dean - 4
Andrea - 4
Andy - 4
Clement - 3
Blanchard - 3
Swanson - 3

The first three I primarily run with at Menomonee Park.  Christine and I train for Ice Age.  The next four represents the Minooka group.  The final two is the Monday Lapham group I went to in December because I had some Monday's off.  I really have to get back to Minooka.  That has been my go to group for years, but after moving to the sticks I rationalize the 38 mile round trip too often.  It's not about the run anyway and I need to get back into the mix.  Just looking at the list I see that everyone on it has ran Ice Age.  Combined there are over a 100 Ice Age finishes.  Four had finishes last year and two (Clem and Christine) each won three in a row!

I covered 2,423.5 miles last year.  That's consistent with annual totals.  I ran the Southshore half with Dean, Andrea, and Clem, finished 29th at Ice Age (20 seconds behind Robert), pounded out another Al's Run 8k, and finished the Glacial Trail 50k in October.  That's it.  Consider this my annual report.