The Long Break and New Goals

Distance:  0.93 miles
Time:  10:35
Location:  Rio Vista School and back

A long and unexpected break.  When last I posted on here I had just run the R.O.C. Race in Del Mar, it was mid-May, I was beginning to get some maintenance runs in for the duration of the spring, and I was hoping to line up a 5K for the summer.  That last thing didn't happen.  Not even close.  Instead, this is how the last seven months went down, in a nutshell:

Only a few days after my last post on here I had to have cataract surgery.  I knew it was coming, but it was something I figured would set me back only a couple weeks.  Instead I was instructed to take a full month off from any strenuous activity, including running.  So I figured by the end of June, then I'd be good to go.  But the summer of 2014, in some ways, resembled the summer of 2013 -- completely lacking in the physical activity department.  Instead I was busy being a dad.  And it was an eventful summer on top of it all.  My sister-in-law got married in July in Las Vegas, and my brother got married in August in L.A.  Then before I knew it work had started back up, summer came to an end, and no 5K to speak of.  I thought for sure I'd get one in during the fall.  But, again, life made things pretty jam-packed.  Every weekend was booked up, especially once fall hit, with trips to the pumpkin patch, apple country, the fair, and then of course the holiday season.  This isn't meant to be a complaint of the last few months... on the contrary, I enjoyed every minute of it with my wife and our son!  But I did begin 2014 with lofty goals of running 5Ks on a regular basis, and really giving my running a boost.  And for the first five months of the year, I held true to those goals.  But the ups and downs are expected, and what matters is that I make sure to turn it back on again, which is what I am now on the verge of doing. 

Earlier this month I finally set my sights on a new race, only this time not a 5K at all.  It's the Encinitas Mile!  Yep, a single mile.  The thought of it is almost as intimidating as a marathon!  The mile is a fast race, and a brief glance at last year's times revealed that some serious speedsters take part in this race!  But after seven months of inactivity, I wanted a short distance (as well as something different) to really get my training nice and focused.  A competitive mile may be out of my league right now, but I'm throwing fear to the wind and going for it!  Plus, it would give me a pretty nice training window.  The race is on March 15, which would allow me 12 weeks to prepare.  I got my training plan squared away and this was my first week.  It's a race that I hope will keep my motivated, since I won't want to be the guy at the back of the pack posting the 10-minute mile.  But it's also a race that seems unique and memorable, as the course runs right through beachfront Encinitas' downtown. 

So this was week one, and it got off to a pretty rocky start.  On Saturday I got hit with some sort of stomach bug.  It kept me in bed all day Sunday, and even Monday I wasn't feeling 100%.  But this is the week of Christmas, and there'll be lots of running around to and fro, visiting family.  I knew getting three runs in would be challenging.  So with Monday out, Tuesday became a must-run day.  I still wasn't 100% come Tuesday evening, but I felt well enough to muster a slow mile, which was all the distance I needed.  It was a struggle for sure, but honestly not as bad as I thought it would be.  I took it slow (as the time above indicates) and stopped once to check out some Christmas lights, but overall it was a promising run, and without the sickness it would have been even better.  It was a slightly cold evening (54° when I started) and the lights on the houses kept things interesting.  It was only one mile, so a very small start.  But it's taking that first step that is usually so hard.  With one run down, I have 35 left till race day.  Let's see what running adventures 2015 might bring!