29 January 2011

Again with Big Sur

Just finished the workouts for Week Five, ramping up - again! - to the Big Sur International Marathon.

Last year I was encouraged to run, and encouraged in my training, by guys from church who also ran the 25th Big Sur. This year that encouragement, and training partner, comes with daughter Kathryn. Kathryn was at the finish line last year, and her first word in the recovery area was, "I want to do this!" Well, so we egged each other on, and one day we both registered for BSIM 2011 ... and got consecutive bib numbers!

My goal this year is to run the course with Kathryn. She thinks that will mean "sacrificing" my run. But she is training for a 4-hour marathon, and my time last year was a respectable 4:09. Hey, it sounds like a great idea to me.

We have talked about trying to do the long training runs together, when - or as often as - we can. This week was our first time to actually pull that off. We had hoped to run in Chicago, in her favorite forest preserve, with her roommate Lauren. That changed, we opted for her to come out to the 'burbs and we ran a few loops in neighborhoods contiguous to the homestead.

With temperatures barely reaching 20F, we headed out at 9:30am. It took a while to settle into a pace that worked for us, but ultimately it really did work. We chatted most of the way, and finished 10 miles in almost exactly 100 minutes. That is a pretty solid 10-minute mile, which if it continues to work for Kathryn as the distances increase, will set her up well for the 4-hour goal.

I love the exercise I get with Kathryn. She gets, and does not fear, that cycling and running have as much to do with eating as anything. So we enjoyed lunch with my Karen, a nice way to celebrate our first long run, and a harbinger of May 1, when we cross the finish line together, meet up (again!) with Chris as he finishes the 21-mile walk, and head off to lunch with Karen and Pat.

3 months to go!

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