Seventy

Seventy is yet another number to live by. It's been my target for number of miles to run in a week for some time now. (Other numbers to live by are four, the hour I usually get up for my early morning runs, three, the number of months till Boston, and so on.) In the weeks leading up to the Freedom Park 24-hour Run, I had been doing seventy and more per week fairly consistently. Now in the weeks Since that run, I've still managed to maintain my mileage at that level. I think this is a good thing.

Good?: maybe; great?: we're not there yet. Determined not to fall into complete slug-dom as I did last winter, I've been trying hard to stay consistent. I've got a ways to go before I can say I'm doing a lot of quality stuff, but even in this area, at least I've been doing some hills. That's Hills with a Capital H, as in Heavenly, Hilly Hinckley, and the roads up and around Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The speed hasn't come around yet (and here's hoping that it will someday), and the weight, in the low 160's, is still a few pounds too high.

So the last few weeks I've done semi-long runs with friends on both Saturday and Sunday, followed by slightly shorter runs mid-week. I've usually managed to take two days off per week, and this is a good thing. It's enabled me to be at least a little fresh for the demanding weekend running.

Last weekend it was Debbie, Debbie, Dave and I who ran up and out of the valley to chalk up some big hills. And then I met Dan for 18 plus at Hilly Hinckley. I know: too many Debbies and Dans, but what can I do?

This weekend was even tougher. Dave and I ran with Connie, Bob and Frank at near-tempo pace for a good part of the first seven miles. Then Dave and I did 7-8 more. Today was the first of the Hinckley group runs that Connie and I are organizing for spring marathon and half-marathon training. I did 19 plus, mostly with Debbie and Debbie. To add to the fun: a nice, cold rain. My favorite running conditions. Oh, and did I mention the hills?

The plan is to keep this stuff up for another couple weeks, and then taking it easier for a couple weeks in mid-February. We will see how that all works out. Here's hoping I won't need much de-plumpification anywhere along the line.