Running Friends

I cannot believe that March is here already!! 

Today I invited a couple friends over for running chatter and encouragement.  This brought up an interesting subject during our conversation... that having people around who understand the running talk and addiction as much as you do is an important part of any training regimen.  The highest distance I've ever reached is 10k, and even then people look at me like I have 3 heads when I talk about my running.  I can't even imagine what happens to my friends who are training for marathons.  It's comforting to be able to talk about stitches, water belts, chaffing, and running clothes with people who know exactly what you are talking about and can give their advice on getting through these things. I can also say that hearing them talk about all the mileage they have put in makes me really want to get outside...and yes...there is a difference between wanting to and actually doing it.  I have my 1/2 marathon training schedule on my fridge and as soon as April 1st hits, I will be starting to follow the 12 week program.  This is Hal Higdon's 1/2 marathon for Novice runners.

Speaking of running and sticking to a program, I often struggle with when the best time to run is.  Is it first thing in the morning, do I fit it in at lunch, or wait until after work. Last summer when I was training for my 10k, I began running at 5am for a couple reasons.  (1) It was a warm couple of weeks and this allowed me to beat the high humidity; and (2) I found it very peaceful at 5am running next to the water which allowed me to clear my head for the rest of the day.  The days are getting longer and this gets me thinking of starting this same trend again.  This little saying fits it perfectly I think.  What time of day do you run and why?



I've been looking through the list of races available this year and have come up with the following list that I would like to try and complete:

• Lung Run 5k
• Soul Sisters 5k - Firefighters give out the finishing medals...what could be better?  Oh...maybe the bling at the finish line ----------------------->
• Windsor 5k (I run this each year as it is the first 5k that I ran through without stopping)
• Not Since Moses - this is a famous run done on the ocean floor.  Heidi of www.idlehide.com ran it last year and all her pics make it look like so much fun! 
• Navy 10k - will be my 2nd 10k and my 5th consecutive year running this race
• Maritime Race Weekend - this is my scheduled 1/2
• Valley Harvest

That's quite a list and I hope I can get through it without any IT band issues!  How do you stay healthy with a demanding running schedule?