Review the week of Dec 4 - 10

I have decided that 30 miles per week for the next few (Winter) months is a good goal, with an eye on "peaking" for the new Super 1/2 Marathon on Feb 5th in the Springs - put on by the Pikes Peak Road Runners.

Course of the race from PPRR website

Having really only getting back into running for 2+ years now - Winter months have been very non structured and definitely sporadic for my running.  2 years ago I did the Winter Distance Series w/ my son, then last year I did it w/ my oldest daughter - I'll do it again with her this year, moreso for her as she likes running a lot but doesn't like to go alone.  During those years I never really followed a plan at all.

This year will be different - I came up w/ a plan for the next 8 weeks -putting some structure and a format into aiming for the 1/2 marathon.  Ideally I would like to PR it - and get that down to 1:35.  We'll see how that goes.

For 11 of the past 12 weeks I have done 30 mile weeks - some a little higher.  So the next 8 weeks is not really much new - aside from having that kind of base work already established as I look forward, but become a little more race goal specific.

Likely obstacles will be weather and health - which is why I am planning on running only 4 days a week, consisting of a long run, a hill run, a tempo run, and a short run - likely w/ the kids as part of their getting ready for the Rescue Run and then the Winter Distance Series (4 races in Jan and Feb).

The past week the knee flared up so I was kind of forced to take 3 days off, but still ran 12 miles around the rolling roads near home last Sunday, by Wednesday I was able to get out again and did 8 miles on the home (dirt) roads in the morning.  Friday evening I hit the Santa Fe Trail at Goose Gossage Park and went North 3 1/2 miles at an 8:15 pace, then back at a 7:30 pace in a nice full moon.  Was a good sign for me to keep up that pace for that amount of distance.  Something to build off. 

Saturday the family decided not to go to the site of the Rescue Run (Palmer Park) - instead we have a good and similar course near home - complete with a similar hill climb.  So we all did 3 miles - at varying paces and times.

I'm a person who likes and functions fairly well on a structured plan (as long as I am the one who comes up w/ the plan - being a little bit of a control freak) - so to map out the next 8 weeks and have a goal at the end makes me happy.