Usually, I don't run between the Columbus Marathon in October and February 1, when I start training for the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. This year, I trained through the winter because I hated to lose all the fitness I gained last summer, which in turn would have led to another summer of losing races to my running partner. I concentrated on building my mileage, to the point where I'm doing 70 miles a week in singles (6 sessions, one day completely off). It may not sound like a lot to some, but it's the highest consistent mileage I've maintained since . . . ever.
I ran some indoor track meets this winter against college kids (in which I was the oldest participant by at least 7 years). Then, as I spouted off here last week, I won a local 5K in the fastest time I've run since before I got married. I got another chance to test my fitness this past weekend at The Columbus Distance Classic, and I'm pleased to report that the winter work has paid off, to the tune of a 1:13:45 half marathon, a PR by almost 5 minutes. That was good enough for a 10th place finish out of nearly 2,700 finishers. I even beat a guy from Malone, which is always especially gratifying. (And as an added thrill, I got to chat a bit with the winner, Daniel Cheriyout, who is a prince of a guy and will be at the Indy Mini.
Today, I feel like hammered shit. I jogged about 3.5 this morning, and it was all I could do. I'm going to take it easy this week, and see if I can maintain my fitness until Indy. I may also run a 10K race next week instead of a threshold session. If it goes well, you'll hear about it. If it doesn't, you won't, natch.
