This was my first week of my new 8K training program. The two weeks off were a nice break but I’m happy to be out running again. My week 1 mileage was 17 miles (2+5+3+7). I managed to do this morning’s 7m long run at approximately the assigned pace of 11:19 min/mile. It was slow and easy. Apparently that’s how you build endurance so I’m buying in even though I could do this distance at a faster pace.

I definitely need to buy new running shoes. My current ones have over 300 miles on them and they’ve lost their pep. I’m not going to replace them with the exact same shoes though because I think I can get a better fit. Hopefully I’ll be able to walk out of the running store without too many non-shoe purchases! I’ve developed a weakness for running gear. Maybe I’ll be able to satisfy myself with just trying a few new gel flavours…

Yesterday I ran 2 miles. This was my first run since taking 15 days off after the half-marathon. I played a number of ultimate frisbee and softball games over those two weeks but I didn’t do any actual running. This time off was to give myself time to recover both physically (my legs were sore for 3-4 days after the race) and emotionally. But now it has been two weeks and I’m ready to get back out there.

I’ve decided that a good intermin goal for me (before my next half-marathon) would be to do an 8K race. I’m targetting the Torchlight Run on July 29. I used the Runner’s World Smart Coach to generate a custom training program. I’ve put the actual program in this post’s extended text.

This program is a little different in that it (1) specifies target paces, (2) includes sprint training and (3) includes tempo runs. It will be interesting to see how I handle (2) and (3) but they’re in there to help me get faster. I’d like to do the 8K in less than 45 minutes (9 min/mile). I think that’s a totally realistic goal.

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