I am a running master

According to the USATF, for road running, one becomes a master runner at the age of 40...as of December 24th, I have joined the crowd!

Coach Tom Clifford helped me celebrate the event by doing 40 x 200 meters @ :45 with 100 meters rest on Christmas Eve. It was a warm/humid and rainy morning, but we clicked through them talking about my life events at certain ages/laps. For example, I mentioned starting on the 16th interval that I became a handful at 16 and moved to Virginia at age/interval 29.

The first 10 or so were 45-46 seconds and then we gradually moved down to 44-45; the last 9 were :43 or faster and hitting 40 with a :41. Given that we have not worked on speed and have focused on strength (hills) and endurance, I was very excited about this workout.

40 @ 40 on the UNCW Track

Training has continued to progress since my surgery in August.While in Wilmington for the holiday I also had two solid long runs, getting up to 1:50, and another strong interval workout. Fingers crossed that this progress continues and I can toe the line at the 2015 Quintiles Marathon.

Swimming has certainly contributed to my improved endurance. I am on my 4th set of workouts from Coach Brett. One of my favorites this go 'round is 4800 yards including 3 x 800 on 15:00, 1 x 600 all out, 20 x 25 kicks on :40. My total yardage per week is still 21,000-24,000 on six days. I'm slowly getting better in the pool, but I find myself getting frustrated looking at my race times compared to others in my age group. I need to swallow my ego and enjoy the small improvements. Plus, remember that it is supposed to be FUN!