Let the Blogging Begin!

I have started running again, and with that comes new things. Cramping legs in the middle of the night, perpetual hunger, getting antsy with one day off of running. And, for me this go-round, a blog.

I honestly don’t know why I feel the need to chronicle this extracurricular aspect of my life. Maybe to hold myself to some kind of external accountability. Maybe because I find running in Africa to be pretty interesting. Could be that it’s nice to have someone to talk to about running, and with the options limited in Malawi, the computer screen seems like the next best thing.

Maybe it’s because my moment-to-moment thoughts reach me in the format of a constant narrative that spools through my head every second I am awake. And when I am running is the time that I pay most attention.

But there are more tangible reasons too. My current plan is to run a marathon in Texas in early 2008, and I want to break the 3:30 barrier that has been eluding me. In January 2006, 2 months before we came to Malawi, I ran a 3:32. My training had been well structured (thanks, Steve Sisson) but too short; at 11 weeks, I felt like I had to push too hard too fast to get to the fitness level I needed to go sub-3:30.

So I am trying again. But with a very different set of circumstances. Since we came to Africa about a year and a half ago, I have made fits and starts at getting back into a regular running routine. It feels like mostly fits, but I guess there have been starts: Jimmy and I even went so far as to run the Two Oceans marathon (actually 35 miles) back in April.

However, training has been kind of a drag and, without a longer-term goal, not much more than going through the motions of the long run that had to be done each weekend. I also am without running partners, except for Jimmy. (Jimmy is a great partner for a lot of things but right now already has to wear multiple hats of husband, best friend, wailing wall, and all-purpose familiar figure -- so he is a little overstretched). I don’t have a coach, or even really a schedule, but I think that’s ok for now.

I do have a tentative plan: Ramp up mileage to the point where I feel comfortable at about 45 miles/week (try to stay within the 10% rule to reduce injury risk). Hill repeats at least once a week, and a hilly long run if possible. Possibly adding one tempo-ish run, depending on how it affects my ability to recover, which I think is crucial right now.

This will be my first week at about 40 miles. I can’t really track mileage, so I am going on time instead. Today I did hill repeats on the hill known as “Korea Garden Lodge,” about an 800-meter hill that doesn’t look super steep but kicks up nastily enough times to get your really winded by the top.

I was supposed to do 65 minutes today. Even though I finished in 63, my log reads 65. Hence the impetus of this blog’s name. You guessed it, I’m a sucker for rounding it up.