Hot Thoughts ... And A New Running Partner!

To say that I have not run consistently in the last year is a BIG understatement!  Although in that time frame, I have run a marathon and a 50K ... I was definitely NOT trained properly for either.  I was working through a knee injury, a job change and just plain laziness!  And I had big plans to run Big D in April.  That's not gonna happen.  But now I'm finally ready, finally focused and actually signed up for El Scorcho Sin Lun6.  Race is 19 weeks from today and I'm starting out slow and training the right way instead of just a few long runs here and there.  I loved this race last year.  It's in the heat of the summer and starts at midnight and you run all night long.  Very cool!  And I'm a much better warm weather runner.  Hate the cold!

So here we are at week 1, day 1.  I ran 3 whole miles.  LOL!!  And it was tough.  Mainly because I have always run alone.  But I got a new dog and I'm going to make her my early morning running partner.  HOWEVER ... she has NO CLUE how to run on a leash.  So today was a run and learn.  :D  My arms are sore from re-directing her and making her slow down or stop sniffing trees, etc.  But she'll get there. Meet my new running friend Marly.

Pretty sure she's in better shape than me right now!!  Look at her big smile after our run.  :)

Mondays and Fridays will be my rest days so no running tomorrow.  Then just 2 milers for this week.  I wrote my training plan yesterday and Saturday will be my long run day, followed immediately on Sunday with another long run (though not as far as the Saturday run).  Back-to-back long runs are a good way to build endurance for an Ultra.  Weekday runs will generally be short but Wednesdays will gradually build up to a mid-week 8 or 10 miler just to get some mileage in.  I have a LONG way to go to be ready for this race but I'm feeling good about it.  Just need to follow the plan.  If I do that, I can see a 5:30 finish at the El Scorcho 50K on July 15th.