A new challenge

I looked at the 2009 race calendar and saw that while a number of races are scheduled in January, none were listed for February and only one race was listed for March and April. The calendar will get updated as the year goes on but right now those are my choices. January is out - I have too much planned already and won't have time to properly prepare. The event in April looks interesting, a 4 mile run on the 19th, which happens to be my birthday. It's a USATF sanctioned event for a good cause and it also includes a kids fun run. I really didn't want my first race to be a 4 miler but I'm up for the challenge.

In that spirit I had a fairly intense workout this morning running 3.62 miles at a decent pace. I was working on distance more than speed and was pleased with the way I felt. I could have gone another mile but since I run almost every day I don't want to push myself into injury territory. In the January issue of Runner's World there's a Q&A called "Ask Miles" where someone asked how many runners there are in the US. I posted on this subject but from a different source a couple of weeks ago. Miles' answer was different, but amusing:

"...About 16 million of us are "frequent runners" (we run 100-plus days per year). Those who run 365 days per year are called "injured runners..."

I like Runner's World. What other magazine would have this headline on it's cover?

I'm hoping to hit the street or track tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Should be pretty quiet out there on Xmas morning.