Monday, January 5, 2009

The Preseason

Back when I was a star tennis player in high school (okay, mediocre doubles player), I always looked forward to the captain's practice weeks. Right at the end of summer, before the practices with the coaches started, we would meet and hit balls. I loved getting back into the swing of things (ha ha) without having to go through the torture of drills with the coaches.

The next few weeks are like my captain's practice for running. My "official" training for the Green Bay Marathon starts on the 26th. I need a little bridge between the chocolate-laden holidays and marathon training, so I've declared myself in captain's practice preseason mode. As you might have guessed from my last post, I'm trying to do some speedwork. Starting this Wednesday, I have a babysitter coming when Sophie goes to bed so I can do a mid-week, middle distance tempo run. And I AM going to get a couple of longer runs in. (And yes, I'm going to pay a babysitter to sit in my house while my child sleeps. Don't I get extra miles for that?)

Our wonderful sub zero temps are attempting to screw with my preseason. I really am going to try to suck it up and get out there anyway, provided it is not so cold that my face will freeze off. Because I'm sort of attached to it. (It really needs to warm up soon. Otherwise I'll need to change the name of this blog to "Girl Who Never Runs Bitching About the Weather.")

In honor of the preseason, I'm also trying to cleanse my diet a little. Chore #1: no crap at work. We have so much candy around this place, it's like trick or treating every day. Chore #2: less Diet Dew, more water. This again, is mostly a work related problem. Maybe I should just quit my job so I can really focus on my running.

8 comments:

BeachRunner said...

Enjoy your captain's practice time.

Oh and if you can find a way to make money by just running for a living, I am SOOO in on that shiz, partner.

Anonymous said...

Cleaning up the diet is something I really need to crack down on. I started to incorporate a middle distance run before my last marathon and I think it really helped. I am going to continue to do them as long as time permits.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

ya, work gets in the way of a lot of my life and goals too :) good luck with cleaning up the diet thing, i need to do the same.

Marlene said...

I like that idea of "captain's practice" - enjoy it and don't let the cold stop you! (easier said than done, I know. it's getting to me too)

MCM Mama said...

Good job finding a way to run. I had to hire a babysitter to get all my runs in when training for the marathon. That's part of the reason I won't train for another for a while - I just can't afford it. :o)

Marcy said...

Oy, if I could only clean up my diet as well. Mine is horrendous. BLECK!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, work obligations SUCK. It's almost as bad as that mate and those offspring of mine, always demanding time and attention.

What training program will you be using?

I Run for Fun said...

Quit job and focus on running...I love that plan!!! Ugh...I've had enough of candy and junk food at work too, but I can't seem to stop. Have a fun Captain's practice.