2 good days in a row..WOW

Wow, I think things are really coming together now. After Saturdays long run I took it easy and only did a P90X workout, and gave my legs a break on Sunday. So come Monday morning I was ready to go. My routine is starting to formulate into running from work on Monday's and Wednesdays, at 5 AM and running from Westford on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 AM. So Monday I got up at the crack of O'dark thirty (aka 4 AM), and headed into work. I work in Medford and there's not many places I can run without crossing MAJOR roads. So I end up running a out and back course that takes me into Malden and Everett. Still pretty dangerous but it's all I have right now and it gets me 8 miles. The funny thing is I pass Duncan Donuts 8 times on this route, four on the way out and four on the way back. People seem to be stunned to see me running by while they try to take their first sip of coffee to wake up.

On Monday it was cool...I take that back it was 21 degrees when I started and never warmed up. In fact it tends to get cooler as I run from 5 to 6 AM. I put in a hard effort and was rewarded with a time that was close to what I was running last year at this time. I'll take it.

This morning I hooked up with the Westford ROAG boys who are also training for Boston. I showed up about 25 minutes early so I could get a 20 minute warm up run going before we started. The boys tend to start fast, then pick it up to see who's got guts. Today did not disappoint. We started off fairly easy with about a 7:20 pace then after a mile or two it picked up. Tom who is not running Boston always seems to throw down the gauntlet and see who will take the bait. The three of us I think have wised up to this and just let him go and then reel him back in by the end. Sure enough with a mile to go David K and I started to really move. I'm guessing 6:30's or better. We sucked Tom in and shat him out the back sided. We all finished strong and didn't end up sprinting to the finish. Which in my mind is a smart move given we're only 4 weeks away.

David K is is super shape and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes sub 3:05 in Boston.
Peter F is also running really smooth. I'm guessing 3:15 for him.
Mike O is struggling right now but I think he'll pull it together for Boston and run a 3:20

As for me right now, I'm feeling very strong and I have 3 goals:

1. Finish, this is always my primary goal to keep the streak alive.
2. I will be happy if I run 3:10, but I think I can do better with the right conditions.
3. Stretch goal of going sub 3. This may not be in the cards but I'm willing to go for it.

At this time of the year I always seem to get to the point where I want to do the race ASAP. I'm tired of training and tired of running in the cold and darkness. I have to just stay focused right now and make sure I don't do anything stupid. That's very tough for me!!

I hope everyones training is going well. There's a whole bunch of racing that I know the ultra people are about to under take including the Fells trail race this coming weekend. Good luck, can't wait to read the reports.