I have been slacking

In all senses! Blog slack? Check. Training schedule slack? Extra check! Prague? Czech! (Lame? Also check.)

Anyway. So I have this training schedule tacked up on my bulletin board (which is next to my whiteboard which inexplicably says CAR in really huge letters and has for almost a year. I think I was supposed to do something to my car a year ago. Perhaps I did? Perhaps I did not. I do have a car, at least, and it runs and I believe it's insured and paid for and all that. I even changed the oil somewhat recently. I am not sure that I CAR'd it, though.) and until Falmouth, I was dutifully following it close to the letter, checking off each day's workout as it passed. But then I ran Falmouth and spent a week on vacation on the Cape doing no running at all, and then I came home and sprinkled a bit of running on top of my cornflakes, just a taste, but nowhere near the (Mon) Strength Train, (Tue) 5 miles, (Wed) 3 miles, (Thurs) 5 miles, (Fri) Rest (I did this!), (Sat) 60 minutes cross train, (Sun) 9 miles.

The funny thing is, I would do the weekend long run and it would be miserable and I'd be taking a break in the UMass Lowell boathouse, washing my face and trying to get some feeling (but not too much feeling) back in my legs. But I wouldn't do the shorter runs. I'd maybe do one of them, if the wind shifted just right and my iPod sheathed itself in my armband and my shoelaces tied themselves. (This only happened once.) I also took a short break due to mowing over a yellow jacket nest and having them SWARM UP MY SHORTS. Running around waving your arms over your head and yelling "Ow!" is cardio, sure, but it's not enough to get you to 13.1.

But then, this week, I came to. The half marathon is THIS MONTH. It's in 24 days. That's one season of 24, if each day was one hour long. It really isn't much time. I have to get myself together. So I've decided this:

1) Any training is better than no training. If I can't get in the full however many miles before Andy has to leave for work or the sun goes down and I get attacked by skunk-bears, that's okay. Do a shorter run instead and don't worry about making the miles up later. Some run is better than no run.

2) Well, there really isn't a number two. Or if there is, I've already forgotten it. Oh well.

So this week I've gotten in two shorter than I should have gone runs and I liked them. I also incorporated some new form techniques that I read about and was pleased to see that they shaved a bit off my pace with not a huge amount of effort.

Maybe I'll be better able to get things in when school starts, giving me a new and exciting window in which to run. Or bike. (Or sleep.)