Races this Year

I ran my last marathon in 1997. Since then I've continued to run, but not particularly consistently. Just a few miles here, a few miles there, a little hashing. I've also done a lot of physical stuff- hiking, mountaineering, road cycling, moutain biking, skiing, snowshoeing, etc. But I haven't been consistent and my fitness has suffered. I feel relatively fit, certainly better than the average American, but nowhere near where I've been in the past. So I've started running again. Because I miss the way I used to feel when I was running 40-60 miles per week. I also miss the way I looked, but more importantly, I want to feel like that again. If I can look that good again too, that's great, but that's a secondary goal. I just want that old feeling back. I miss floating through a solo ten-miler in the country in 75 minutes. I miss the camraderie I felt after a brutal group workout. I miss the anticipation of racing. So I've been running more, but still not as consistently as I'd like, and I decided that having a goal would help me out with that. So yesterday I registered for the Seattle Marathon. I'm going to go into like I'm a total newbie, since I haven't run a marathon in thirteen years. I'm going to try to train smart and not get injured, and I'm not going to worry about time. I'm just going to do it to finish and to have a good time. In the meantime, I've signed up for some shorter races- the S.O.B. (Siskiyou Out and Back) 15k in July, and the Haulin' Aspen Half Marathon in August. I may jump into a few more here and there too. I'd like to try to do one race each month from now til November. Currently I'm running about 20 miles per week, and I'm forcing myself to only run every other day for the time being. It's hard because I feel really good and I'm really enjoying getting more consistent- so I want to be out there every day- but I'm trying not to do too much too soon. When I did my first marathon, I went- no kidding- from running, at most, 12-15 miles per week to 40+ with no injuries at all. But I was also 24 years old... I'm trying to be smarter now. Running every other day, cycling every day, and I've just recently started doing core-strenght exercises. I'd add speed work, but I don't need to- trying to keep up with G-Man at the PTR (Portland Trail Runners) Thursday night runs is speedwork enough! I'll be blogging about my running experiences over the months to come for those who are interested. Encouragement and tips are welcome. But don't worry, this won't become a workout-log-blog,the captain will continue to provide you with all the poignancy, drama, excitement, and adventure you've come to expect from him!