Sleep.. It Does a Body Good

I'm on day 7 of my 9 day holiday vacation from work. And, something I've been getting more of is ... sleep. Coincidentally, my running has really been a lot easier lately. I ran 5, 6, day off, 6 miles in the last 4 days. It's sad to say, but I haven't had a 4 day stretch like that in forever. In fact, those 17 miles in 4 days are two short of my week total high for the last 6 weeks or so. So, yeah, it's nice to be home and sleeping.

Also, this little spurt at the end of the year has put me dangerously close to 1000. After tonight's 6 miler, I am 18 miles away with 5 days to go. There is a rest day in there somewhere (maybe Monday?), but it is looking awfully reasonable all of a sudden.

As for tonight's six miler, it was cold and wet. I had planned to do 4 with my dog when I got home from my sister's. But, when I got out there, I just felt like doing more. I can't remember the last time that happened. In fact... lately, the exact opposite has been happening. I got out for 4 and only get 3 in. So, I think the tables are turning... just in time for 2009.

1000 miles?

Back in July I set a goal for 1000 miles (see post here) for 2008. At the time I was at 400 miles and I had to average 100 miles a month to get there. Although, I was ramping up my miles and I secretly thought this was an easy goal. Then, Juliana was born in September and everything went a little haywire.

So... here we are, one week from 2009 and I have 24 miles left. About a week ago, it looked unlikely that I would make it. But, after a good week and a realization that it was still within reach, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get there (even if it's hitting the number on the nose).

So, funny enough, an "easy" goal I set 5-6 months ago is actually just enough to get me to finish the year strong. I ran 5 miles on Tuesday and 6 yesterday. I'm probably going to rest today (Christmas) and run 6 out of the next 7 days to complete the 24 to get to 1000. Unbelievably, I'm most likely going to hit my 1000 mile goal exactly.

Also... mini pushup update. I've been religiously doing my pushups and I think it is going pretty well. I've definitely improved and I've settled in to 5 sets, twice a day. I topped out at 116 pushups the other day. So, I'm moving up the charts a bit.

1000 mile year?

I was looking at my RunningAhead account today and I just surpassed the 400 mile mark in just over 6 months. At the beginning of the year, I had thought that 1200 miles was a reasonable goal (100 miles a month for the math challenged).

But, it's pretty clear that is somewhat out of reach at this point. But, another milestone seems achievable. I'm about to start marathon training and my mileage will most likely go way up. So... I think 1000 miles might be possible. I'll have to average 100 mile months from here on out. That will most likely start this month. It's the post marathon month and a half that I'm not sure of. I guess we'll see...

Crazy Graph?!!

This is my monthly mileage since the beginning of the year. Not too shabby. Just over 20 miles in January, just over 40 in February and just over 70 in March. This month is only 7 days in and I've already got 20 some miles in. Already shaping up to be my longest again. I like the way that looks.