The easy day

Hey guys,

I think this new formula will work well. It seems to be flexible enough, but rigorous enough, to allow me to meet my goals. I'm hoping to gradually increase weekly mileage from the mid-20s, which my 12 miles for every three days will do, to low- to mid-30s. I think from that platform, I'll be able to step up into marathon training, if I so choose, or hone in on speed for 5k and 10k distances.

To do this, I hope to gradually expand at the five-mile runs, or incorporate speed work into them.

But I'm thinking I'll keep the easy runs as they are, anywhere from 2 to 3 miles (I did 2.5 miles today), with walking breaks allowed.

My run this morning is what I call the Buddy Run. It involved jogging down to Memorial Park, and doing one slow loop around the island, where Bud is allowed to run off leash. These are fun and easy for me and him.

He's doing well so far. He never moves beyond a trot anymore, but he can trot fairly consistently. Yesterday on the five miler, I would get out ahead of him, which never happened before he got sick. At that point, I'll stop and walk for a bit. He seems to catch his breath, then he'll start pulling on the leash.

It's as if he's saying, "OK, I'm good. Let's go."

Running with him keeps me from running too hard, which I think is good as I try to build this foundation of fitness. All too often, I get to impetuous, and tend to run too hard, too much, I think.

Later...