Looking down the road - to Maine!

I recently realized that it's less than a month until the Maine Coast Half-Marathon, which means I have a list of things I need to accomplish in preparation. Some are pretty basic....

• Make sure my work schedule is clear or covered during my 10-day trip.
• Straighten up the house so it's not too messy when the cat-sitter visits, and nice when I get home!
• Stop mail and newspaper.
• Load up on cat food, kitty litter, etc. (Probably should be first and last on the list!)
• Figure out what to pack, what clothes to bring, etc.
• PACK!

I also have a pretty good plan for my running schedule in the weeks leading up to the race. This week the Y has been closed, so I have been doing nothing but running (no cross-trainer, no yoga, no Pilates). I thought I might run every day this week, but after going out Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings (6, 6.5, 5.5 miles) I decided to take this morning off. Tomorrow I'll go out for seven or eight miles, take Saturday off, then do my last long run on Sunday. I'm still thinking about where to do it.

Here's the rest of the schedule.

September 1 - 7

• Run Monday, Wednesday, Friday
• Cross-train Tuesday and Thursday
• Resume yoga & Pilates classes
• Aflac Iron Girl 5K* on Sunday, September 7

September 8 - 14

• Run Monday & Wednesday
• Cross-train Tuesday and Thursday
• Yoga & Pilates
• Rest on Friday
• Fairhaven Waterfront 15K on Saturday, September 13 (followed by Tonna's Pickle-making Party)

September 15-21

• Run Monday & possibly Wednesday (depending on flight time)
• Cross-train Tuesday
• Pilates Monday and yoga Tuesday
• Fly to New Hampshire on Wednesday
• Drive to Maine on Thursday
• Easy run in Ogunquit on Friday
• Rest and Race Expo on Saturday
• Maine Coast Half Marathon on Sunday, September 21

And then... lobster!

Who knew that Michael Phelps had a summer job at the Lobster Pound?


I *heart* lobster!
















Can't beat a lobster roll! (All pictures from 2006)


*I debated and debated whether to do the 5K or 10K in this race. My general practice is to always do the 10K when there's a choice. But two or three weeks ago a feeling came over me that I should do the 5K this time. It seemed to make sense since I had two long races coming up in the following weeks. Plus, it might give me a last opportunity this year to better my 5K time. (It's at Greenlake, where I've done well in other 5K's, and since the 10K is just a second lap, I don't really see a strong appeal for that.) The only other 5K I see on the horizon for this fall/winter is the Jingle Bell Run, and that is always a fiasco and completely impossible to get a good time in!