Break is over!

I decided to take a long break after running in Chicago.  That explains why I didn’t update my blog in such a long time!  Although I didn’t stop running completely, I reduced my weekly mileage substantially and have not raced since 10/10/10.  My body and mind need to heal after 18 months of continuous and very intense training.  

I am feeling very good and I am eager to race again!   I gained a few lbs. but my legs feel great and my weekly mileage is increasing steadily every week.  I have a good feeling about my next training cycle.  I am healthy and very motivated. I have not decided what races I am going to run this year yet.  I keep analyzing several possibilities that could include marathons in Rotterdam, Vienna, or Prague in the spring and Chicago, Amsterdam, or Marine Corps (DC) in the fall. I will make a final decision about my 2011 calendar in two weeks.

There is a good chance that I will run a 10k race on January 30^th and a half marathon in late February or early March (not sure where yet).  In the mean time, I am logging as many base miles as possible.  This week I did 40+ miles, the best week in a long time!  The workouts were:

S- 6 easy miles (high 7’s)

M- 6.5 easy miles

T- 6 easy miles

W- Tempo (3x1 mile @ 6:40)+ 3 easy miles

Th- 5 miles, very easy

F- Cross Training

S- 12 miles (low 8’s)

It feels great to be back!  I missed my long runs so much!