55:25/8:57 PR
This morning was the Charlottesville Fall Classic 10k, a race run by the Charlottesville Running Company. I went into the race with a primary goal of beating my previous 10k best – 1:00:01 at Zooma Annapolis – and a secondary goal of sub-57:00. I planned to run 9:30 min/miles and then go all out the last 1.2 miles.
Despite the fact that weather.com was calling for rain, we got only a light drizzle before the start time. Though there were puddles along the course, we stayed dry through the finish, …

I did it! I registered for the National Marathon. On March 20th I will be running with 12,000 other marathoners and half marathoners, hopefully crossing the finish line in one piece. I’ve got a lot to learn about marathoning in the meantime, which is why it’s a good thing that I have six months to learn all I can.
I’ll be using this training plan from Runners World, and I think I’m going to aim for an average of 10:00 miles (4:22 marathon). But I’ll be happy just to finish :) …

I’m writing this post from the Northeast Regional Amtrak train, en route from Charlottesville to Washington DC. Every year, UVA designates a Monday and a Tuesday in early October as “Reading Days” – days when no classes are held – and most students take advantage of this short break and go home for the long weekend.
I didn’t realize how much I was looking forward to heading home until I bought my ticket, an act that turned a long weekend into a mini-vacation. Sure, I still plan to “review and regroup” …