I like new stuff

Despite the global economy being in the toilet, Mrs Cookie and myself are trying our hardest to keep things afloat. As a result, and despite my constant claims of needing to 'cut back' I managed to drop $200 on some shiny toys this weekend. I justify these as required for my continued training of course.

What did I buy you ask? Well, a new pair of strides and an iPod Shuffle! Honestly, I needed the shoes. I needed to retire 2 pairs of shoes and so purchased a new pair of Brooks Defyance 2 as a replacement. I ran in them on Sunday night and they felt great, ironically during that run my knees felt the best they had all day! Yay for spongy shoes! The iPod however is a little less easy to justify but I'll find a way.

This week I ran a total of 23 miles. I missed my Thursday night 3 miler due to work however met all my other goals including a Wii Fit cross training workout on Monday. The week was due to be easier but the drop down in mileage from last week which was disappointing.

I have a BIG leap coming up now; 31 miles are scheduled for the coming week with the Saturday long run being 13 miles. For that, Trevor will join me and this is the first of only 2 weeks when our individual training schedules mesh perfectly. Until now, he has been running on after I stop, this is where we cross paths and his mileages holds or declines whilst mine increases.

Over the next few weeks my mileage will slowly increase towards a max of 50 miles a week, I anticipate having a running mate for no more than 15 of that. See, I already justified the iPod...

Week 2

Not great but, a good week. I missed one run of 3 miles but aside from that I hit all my goals. As a result I actually ran 2 miles less than last week for a total of 24 miles run.

My long run of 11 miles this week was good, completed in a time of just over 1h30m which equates to a 8m11s pace. If I can keep that kind of pace going as my distance increases I will be delighted.

For next week, my midweek and Sunday runs increase to 6 miles but my 'long' run is a modest 8 miles only. This is a rest week on my long run, this step back will occur every 3 weeks and is a nice respite from the long runs. Unfortunately, the week after I bump up 5 miles to 13 miles! I will already be half marathon ready!

The time has come for some new shoes. Two pairs that I purchased in mid 2008 are approaching 300 miles so it's time to retire them. I will be getting another pair of Brooks but, I am not sure whether to go for a paid of Defyance 2 (I will be retiring a pair of Defyance 1 so am familiar with them) or a pair of 'Summon'. This is a new shoe for Brooks, I plan on a visit to Runners Den this coming weekend for a test run.

I am enjoying being back in training mode.
The commitment is challenging, it takes
me away from my girls more than I want
but I hope they understand how much I
enjoy this.

A great week

My first week back in training and I met all my goals. A total of 26 miles ran and 10 miles biked.

My long run of 10 miles was very strong this week, completed in just over 1hr20m, that's an 8min/mile pace which translates into a into a sub 3h30 marathon! That's definitely a little pie in the sky, it would be a 25 minute improvement on my NYC marathon time but it's nice to think about!

Next weeks total mileage increase by only 1 mile, and that's on my long run so I'll be doing 11 miles next weekend. I'll be doing that with Trevor, my Saturday running partner. I was pleased to hear this weekend that Trevor is planning on running through the end of April with me which is a great help. I sometimes question if I would be motivated to run 10+ miles alone and he feels the same way, those long runs can get a little dull.

As I get more into the mileage I need to make a
decision on some accompaniments.

My previous iPod died during the NYC Marathon
training so, I am overdue a replacement. This
time I will not be worrying about having the Nike+
distance/pace training system however as I am also
trying to decide whether to purchase a GPS running watch.

The Garmin 405 is rated as being excellent
but, has a hefty price tag. Every month I say I need
be less 'spendy', buying iPod's and GPS watches is
not going to help!