Three weeks to my first U.S. Championships!

I am starting to get a little more excited now. This past weekend I ran a half marathon in Birmingham 4 minutes quicker than my last one (a month ago). I feel I am right on target to hit my goal in New York (http://www.newyorkultrarunning.org/caumsett_state_park_50k2008.htm) of running 31 Miles (50K) in under 3 hours. If I do that I should make the U.S. team for the World Trophy in Irleand. My aim is to run 5:35-5:38 pace (2:53.30 -2:55 finish). Each week I am feeling much stronger and now I am adding speed to be able to feel more relaxed at that pace. Of course, with the weather in New York, anything can happen.

So what's next? I have a couple of tough workouts and one 5k left. This is my last 100M+ week, so I look forward to fresher legs shortly. I do not know who will be contesting the 50K in New York but I really don't care about that right now. I am staying on a strict pace for the first 25M, before making a decision on how I will run the last 6, at mile 25, and not before. In some ways I hope the top guys will be there (such as Mike Wardian), but if not, it will make it easier to focus on pace rather than competition.

Healthy Running - MC

382 Miles Ran - January is in the books!

I am now just over 4 weeks away from my first U.S. Championship. On March 7th, I will try to run 31 Miles in under 2:55. Hopefully, that will make me eligible for the U.S Team to compete in Galway, Ireland on August 29th, 2010. Ever since I moved closer to becoming a citizen this was a dream for me. To pull on a US singlet would be awesome....no matter what my family says (they jokingly call me a traitor)!

January was a very good training month, despite quite challenging weather. As we move into February, it appears my body is being rewarded for the pain and suffering over the last 35 days or so. This week I have felt much fitter, stronger, and finally faster. I am expecting some pretty tough competition in New York (for the 50K), but I am more concerned with keeping to the set pace. I think in many ways, the 50M trail races are much easier to run due to the slower pace. I don't know how 26-31M is going to feel, I guess I will find out soon. Last Sunday I ran a 27M run the week after running 25M. Each week feels a little easier.

What's next? Well, I am looking forward to the Mercedes Half Marathon on February 14th in Birmingham, Alabama. I am hoping to run somewhere between 68-69 minutes. However I will running around 100M that week, so we will see how the legs feel.

That's all for now. Thanks for the recommendatinos for this blog....keep them coming.

Cheers,

Malcolm