Promises To Keep

The name of the poem is “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, one of my favorite poets. You may not recognize the name of the poem, but many know the final verse:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

This is the ultra runner’s mantra. This week I realized my promises . . . the promises of the big races that I have made for this season. And I realized that I have to take each race as it comes in order to be successful at each. Putting down the list on paper helped me to realize the enormity of what I want to accomplish and has given me a renewed sense of desire to get my training going. Unfortunately, work and other life necessities came-up this week and I was not able to accomplish the mileage that I wanted to, but I did put a lot of thought into some other things that will hopefully help in my successes (i.e., dietary habits being the biggie – time to lay-off the chicken wings and pizza!). So here is the 2009 line-up:

HAT Run 50K – March 21
Bull Run Run 50Mile – April 18
BPAC 6-Hour Distance Classic – April 26
Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run – July 18
Iroquois Trail 100 Mile – September 19
Interspersed with some short local races that I hope will put a little extra speed into my feet!

Notice that Bull Run Run is scheduled . . . which means I GOT IN and they acknowledged my very pitiful plea for a men’s large shirt and I GOT THAT, TOO! Does it get any better? Oh, yes, Joe will get his BRR fun, too, volunteering at the event. Spring in Maryland (HAT Run) and Virginia (BRR) . . . I can’t wait!

Monday, 2/2: 5 miles and then off to work.
Tuesday, 2/3: 5.5 miles and then off to work. Got my new Brooks Adrenaline sneakers and my feet really like them!
Wednesday, 2/4: 0 miles. No work today and too many errands to run so I just didn’t have the energy to run. A pitiful excuse, I know, but I did do a hard bike session and lifted weights instead. All was not lost.
Thursday, 2/5: 5.5 miles. 19 degrees outside and still snowy, so Joe and I snowshoed under excellent conditions! Off to work.
Friday, 2/6: 6.2 miles. Sunny & 26 degrees & WINDY! Late afternoon run.
Saturday, 2/7: 7.5 miles. Snowshoed 5.5 miles and then ran home. Temps in the 30s with a warm wind. First run of the new year without gloves on! Off to work.
Sunday, 2/8: 0 miles. Cleaned house (very necessary!) and did errands before work.

TOTAL: 29.7 miles. The number is very disappointing, but I know that the main reason for this is the lack of my long-run, which generally cannot be accomplished on the weekends that I work. Need to figure out a day during the week (when I have to work the weekend) to get the longer run in. It’s an ongoing work in progress.

On the upside . . . Six Nations Rugby started yesterday and my Irish team came through with a big win over France! Woo hoo!! My man Ronan O’Gara was in fine kicking form. This week will be a challenge . . . miles to run, rugby to watch, and the Tour of California starts on Saturday. Should be interesting to see what kind of form Lance is in – a good predictor of his fitness for this year’s Tour de France.

So that’s the week in review. I am hoping that next week will build-up stronger – I have promises to keep (and Lorrie, you keep reminding me of that!) and miles to go before I sleep (or is it weep? NO . . . there’s no crying in ultra running!)

Over and out!