Training for another Half-Marathon

I realized last night while reading a post on Don's Facebook page that I had promised to blog something.  Two weeks ago.  And promptly didn't. Oh christ, I can't believe how bad it's become (forgive me Sixpack for I have sinned).  Basically, I've been trying to churn out words every day for something entirely different than running related prose, and the result is a complete evaporation of mental capacity by 5 PM.  And my prime blogging period has always been between 5:15-5:17:30 PM GMT.  

You can see the bind that left me in.

Although I haven't posted, there is actually quite a bit happening on the running front.  I have not joined a running group yet, but I did submit a ballot entry for the London Marathon.   The date is in early April, and in the interest of establishing a base for it I am (again) training for a half-marathon.  I will be running the "P.F. Chang's Rock & Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix Arizona" because it fulfilled my only race requirement, which was to run in a race whose title is so long that it uses up every letter of the alphabet, twice.  Call it the ("The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog" x 2)  principle. 

My training is going pretty well.  I used the Smart Coach to finagle a plan that starts at 21 miles a week and steadily increases to around 30 or so by late December.  I am currently in a "recovery" week, which means that my run on Sunday is only 5 miles (Kaching!), but I ruined the spirit of the week by pushing off my 9 mile run from last week to Monday morning.  It's not that I didn't want to run on Sunday, it's just that I was debilitated from drinking too much tequila Saturday night.

Running in London is eclectic.  At times the sidewalks are very small, and the buses are very large and constantly attempting to knock off your elbows.  Sometimes, like yesterday for instance, you find yourself wondering if you can get ebola from street water while rolling on the ground because you tripped while trying to avoid people walking with ginormous umbrellas.  Other times though, you find yourself in beautiful parks, like here in Greenwich:

These pictures aren't the best, but I'm only "borrowing" them anyway...


Basically, all my runs thus far end up in Greenwich.  The park is 2.5 miles from our apartment, and I've found a few additional miles within the park itself.  It exhausts itself after about 9  though, unless I want to start running in circles...which I generally don't enjoy.  Eventually I will need a new plan, but until then all roads lead to Greenwich, which is way okay with me.

So, here are my last 5 runs:

As you can see, I'm GETTING SLOWER :) 

It's funny, but I think the cooler weather is somehow freezing my muscles, which is making it harder to move.  My biggest challenge is finding ways to run in daylight.  The sun sets at 4:30 PM...and it doesn't rise until around 7:30...which means we must have found the only south London apartment north of the Arctic Circle.   Oh well, I'll just have to buy some bright clothes.  And watch out for Polar Bears.

Overall Impression:  I Like the Consistency, and I'll Get Fast Later (I.L.t.C.a.I.G.F.L.)