A time I remember oh so well

 When awake in the middle of the night,  often thoughts lead me to running.  In anticipation of Ice Age in just over 7 weeks, a process begins of what should I be doing?  Even though the die has been cast it is tempting to look over past years and look for patterns which worked.

 What could I be doing?  Well there is a could, but can I perform/train to this degree?  Most times the answer is no.  There were things pulled off in prior training I simply cannot do.  I cannot string together 3-4 days in a row of 10-14 miles at moderate pace, rest 1 day and boom out a long one.  Not going to happen.  This is why you see all the 6.3 mile runs of various paces.

 Are you getting in enough long runs?  The thing is the definition has changed significantly, even in the past 5 years.  Runs over 30 miles are a pipe dream.  They take too long, they wear me out, and a fair dose of walking, like 25-30% is honestly a different workout than mostly straight running.  I have to use time.  Mostly the longer effort will be 4:00 - 4:30 time wise.  How I  break up the effort is dependent on how I feel that day.  Sure, I might get around 5:00 hours once,  but this will more than likely be a test effort of what I'll look to do May 13th.

 So what looks like one other piece you could add?  It is hard to look over a lifetime of running and step outside yourself and make a practical decision.   The decision I made was every 3rd weekend, instead of a longer Saturday effort to run 2 hours at a moderate pace (stay on the line, be somewhat aggressive) on Saturday and the 2 hours Sunday at whatever pace.  No doubt about 30% walking this day.

 So far I am pleased with the weight loss and the tempo efforts.  I was 175 today.  It seems reasonable to reach 170 by May 13th.   There is no doubt shedding 10 pounds has made things easier.  There are other items I simply cannot control.  Most of the numbness in my left leg has gone, but I'd say I'm 90-95%.  This seems permanent, but when you go to the biggest dance of the year you dance with the one who brung you.