To Excel In Life...Run!

     It's Championship Season for Indoor Track and Field. So many young runners are racing their butts off trying to get to the next level of competition, while are others are setting PR's, finishing strong and otherwise helping their teams in what may be the final indoor race of their careers. It's a mixed bag as the season wraps up, so many emotions, so many opportunities. It happens every season, time and effort come down to a single race or event throw or jump and it can be a heart breaker or a dream maker.      For most of the distance athletes, they will have outdoor track, then summer training, then fall cross country to plan for and stretch themselves to new goals. And of course it's only natural for these young athletes to always be thinking of how to train better, to get faster, to be their best. They are amazing performers, balancing so much with school, work, training, being away from home, I'm inspired by how hard they work and how much they attain in

     First week of marathon training in the log book, 43 miles. Goal for the next four weeks is 40 to 45 a week, just getting in the miles and upping some of the long Sunday runs. Our group is excited about Grandma's Marathon, but as we begin to dial in our specific plans, it looks like we'll be breaking up a bit for some or our key runs. We enjoy running together, it's been a major reason we have all been able to keep up our winter training, however with each of us knowing that our time goals are a bit different, it will be a bit of juggling to keep meeting on a regular basis, but we will do it!      Bryan, our speedster, has his marathon in May, and has the need for speed the rest of can't support him with. Today he was able to train with a 2:32 marathoner and they ran 16 miles at 7:00 minute pace, hitting some 6:33's along the way. It was a great confidence booster for him, and a good benchmark of what all his training has been doing for him. Three months out an

     18 weeks out until Grandma's Marathon. Those famous words, "In Training" officially begins tomorrow, although with the mild winter we have had, our training group, and most likely many other Minnesota runners, are well ahead of their start-of-the-year base training goals. Old man winter has been very kind this season, and we are all in better shape because of it.      Don't think it's been a cake walk, it is still cold outside, today in fact our run began with the temperature reading 7'. Thank goodness it was sunny and there was very little wind. Once we got a couple of miles into the run it was actually rather nice and since we've had only a trace of snowfall the paths are very clear, making for excellent footing. No major falls at all this winter in our group.      Last year our group decided it was time to train outdoors more often during winter. Ugh! 86+ inches of snowfall, from October through April! We made it to the end of January ok, but the

     Superbowl Sunday! Feels like a holiday, so a long run was in order to start the day. Our group   ( me, Jeanette, Bryan and Dave ) met just before 8am, weather was great at 26 degrees and no wind. With a fair amount of moisture in the air and low clouds hanging overhead, it seemed a bit more like fall, not February, in Minnesota.      This evening, two teams will battle for the NFL championship, and many runners will be kickin' back in front of the TV, watching what they eat a bit, but knowing they put in a long run in the morning and not be too worried about a few extra calories. Might even get a nap in during part of the game if the commercials are boring or the game is one sided. Football fans will be going crazy, and come tomorrow they will be talking about the coming season.      Most runners are sports fans, we do cheer for our favorite athletes, teams, and countries...especially during this Olympic year...but we are able to enjoy our sport with the elite in a way other

     Friday night, party night...not! In-training for Grandma's Marathon and tomorrow morning it's a 5:30am wake up call. Running with Dave at 6:30am so after a very busy week it's an early dinner and plenty of sleep.      Tomorrow is 19 weeks out from race day, so this coming week is the last week of 'casual' training. Then the 18 week program begins. I'm really looking forward to the training season, in part because with this mild winter we've been able to maintain a decent fitness level without having to battle the weather too much. Even though we have Feb and Mar to go, all indicators point to a very early spring.      Most seasoned marathoners know the toughest part is the training. We know what we are in for over the next three to four months and look forward to performing on race day. Newbies seem to focus more on the anxiety of race day, and don't really understand the essence of what the training season is all about.      I term training as &