Another race in the <a href=”http://www.dcroadrunners.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=402&Itemid=2″ target=”_blank”>’08-’09 Snowball Series</a>. 12k comes out to roughly 7.5 miles. I went in with a goal of sub-52 (6:58 pace) and ended up with a 51:43 (6:56 pace). Nothing much to note. I didn’t taper for it except for running a few less miles the day before, and I was quite a bit sore from the gym. The course was very hilly (a small loop west on the W&OD and then an out-and-back on Custis Trail), and likely the reason for meeting my goal feeling a bit harder than I was expecting.<br/><br/>I feel my race times have become a bit stagnant. I might look in to altering my training… need to ask my friend Toni what her secret has been; she beat me by 25 seconds in the 10k, but then 3 minutes in the 12k! Something is clearly working for her. Then again, this is my first winter ever running a good amount (102 miles vs. 25 in January ’08, 7 in ’07, and 0 in ’06) and actually racing… It could just be the weather; I shouldn’t be comparing good weather performance against freezing temperature performances, eh?<br/><br/>As far as the championship goes, I’m sitting in a pretty good spot. The two guys who are faster than me need to run all the remaining races, but they also need to volunteer for one of them or the upcoming marathon. I might just win by default… Not ideal, but I suppose I’ll take it.<br/><br/>Next race is Feb. 22nd, a 10-miler in Columbia. Following that is a March 1st 12k at Burke Lake and then the championship ends with a 10k in Alexandria on March 8th. Then a final push to the Cherry Blossom! I think 1:07:30 (6:45 pace) is still a realistic goal.<br/><br/>In other athletic news, I’m <a href=”http://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/fbbt/index.html” target=”_blank”>biking New York</a> in May.<br/><br/>I’m now off to REI to replace the snotty, chock-full-of-holes gloves that got ganked off the side of the trail during the race this weekend. Have a good one!<br/>
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