cleaning out the brain attic for a sec.

tues. 6.5 miles with ava

Wed 9/29/10- 4.5 miles @ 8:00/mile with brandon.

legs still feel OK. soreness in the hamstrings, lingering pain in the left foot, but i think it's just beat up...not cracked or anything more serious.

i've been thinking about the winter coming up and running goals, a few scattered thoughts (i'm a little hungover and nyquilled up):

-core training. now that my torso is healed from the car accident, it's time to get the back and stomach in shape!

-revisit barefoot(ish) training. even though i run in pretty minimal shoes (i.e. racing flats and the inov-8 212's), it's been a while since i did any running in the vibrams/feelmax shoes. i think my feet could use the toughening up and i'd just like to start mixing up my routine a bit more. though the risk of injury is slightly increased, i think that if i'm wise that results will be only beneficial.

-learn to use and train with a heart-rate monitor. this is something i've wanted to do for a while but have been sort of loath to actually begin. i don't like having to deal with quite so much data post-run, but i've heard SO many positive things about using a HRM that i can't ignore it any longer.

all of these thoughts for winter running revolve around a similar theme: breaking out of a rut. i don't think i'm really and truly in one, but i think that now that the racing "season" is over (or at least i don't have any big races coming up for a while), i need a new source for inspiration in my running. i need a new way to push myself a bit more. my base is very solid right now and i really want to keep trying to become a better runner. honestly, i would love to see if i have the stuff to run at a much higher and more competitive level. i've thought about my reasons for this and as much as some of it is ego driven (as in, i want to win/be the best), i feel fairly secure in saying that the main drive to try and improve is simply that i feel like i can. my body feels pretty good and all signs are encouraging me to run longer and faster. i'm young(ish) and have been running a fairly short amount of time (5 years or so?) and it's too soon to stop being curious as to how far i can push myself.

thurs- 7 miles. HRM is fun.

fri/sat- off. my foot is still bothering, more now as i've started running on it. in an effort to speed the recovery, i've been drinking local brews by the growlerful and eating an INSANE amount of food from the farmer's market and the local orchard. it's time to ease back on the old appetite and get back to enjoying this beautiful fall running weather. my running shorts are starting to fit as tightly as the casing on the bratwurst i ate for breakfast yesterday.

sun - about 11 miles. pretty fast although the watch died fairly early on. my foot is still bothering me a bit, but i'm icing it and trying to treat it right. chocolates, flowers, love letters on the pillow, etc.

weekly total: 29 miles. still unsure of how i feel after run woodstock, i guess.