Non Sequitur Box

Yesterday I ran my third race of the year at Pacers' Four Courts Four Miler in Arlington, VA. Race Prep I've slowly been adding a few more speed workouts, mostly just shorter intervals (I did my first 2x1600m this week), and bumping my long run up to 12 miles each weekend. For the most part, I'm eating healthier and sleeping in until 6:00AM. The night before, I ran 2 miles, picked up my race packet, climbed one route at the gym (what can I say? I didn't feel very energetic), and went to Shooter McGee's in Alexandria for a not-so-healthy dinner. I had 3/4ths of a beer (Kona Longboard) and a lobster crab cake sandwich with fries on the side (one of the few non-red meat items on the menu...no red meat on Fridays during Lent). After falling asleep at the dinner table, my boy finally agreed to go home. I was in bed by 11:30PM. Pre-Race The weather was perfect for racing--low 50's, slightly cloudy! The race didn't begin until 9AM, so I was able to sleep ...

In February I read YOU (Only Faster) by Greg McMillan, M.S. This is, hands down, the best book I've read for training plans for runners. That's a bold statement. I used to flip through books for workout ideas, always tweaking workouts or schedules, feeling slightly bad about not following the plan to a T. When I bought YOU , I was expecting something similar, so I bought it on my Kindle app back in December and just now got around to reading it. I was so wrong about what I thought this book was going to be. Greg McMillan does a superior job explaining training for beginning and long time runners. He offers many tools for athletes looking to dial in their speed. Before reading this book, I would recommend his online running calculator at McMillan Running  to other runners looking for a guide of paces to hit during workouts. I would watch a few of his training videos, read his emails, dream about going out to Arizona to train with him some summer for vacation, but, for t...