In Like a Lion

February has been a good month of training. With one run still to go tonight, I will have topped 300 miles on the month and even exceeded my total miles for January on three fewer total days. Additionally, I’ve managed to start putting at least a little bit of turnover back in my legs, which is really priority number one for the first half of this year.

That said, I won’t be sorry to see February go. At this point, I’m pretty well sick and tired of winter. I know we shouldn’t really complain about the weather we get here in Southwest VA because it’s pretty tame compared to what a lot of areas get, and I also know it does no good to complain because it is what it is and complaining doesn’t change a thing. However, this has been one of the worst Februarys I remember in a while. We haven’t received a lot of accumulating snow, fortunately, but it seems like we’ve gotten hit with a mild dose of frozen precipitation on a weekly, and sometimes more often, basis, and the temperature has been below normal most of the month. Furthermore, the wind has been ridiculous. It’s seemed almost constant for quite a while now, and even when the temps aren’t that bad, the wind has made it feel colder than it is. Normally by mid-to-late February we’re at least getting a few teaser days where the temps get in the 60’s and sometimes even warmer, but that hasn’t been the case this year and doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. In fact, March appears to be starting with high temps in the 30’s and possibly even a significant snow setting up for the first half of next week. Hopefully the old saying will be true and if March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb. All I can say is I’m ready for spring. Seriously, winter, give up and go away!

Anyway, I should kick off my racing season this coming month, and whereas I was actually dreading racing on more than one occasion last year, right now I’m looking forward to it. The workouts I’ve been doing seem to indicate that I’m about as fit as I’ve been in probably the last two years. Last night I repeated a workout that I did five weeks ago, running 6X400 meters followed by 6X200 meters, all with 200 meters recovery. In spite of some wind and being a bit tired, I hit the 400s 2-3 seconds faster and the 200s 1-2 seconds faster than I had a little over a month earlier, which is a sign that things are headed in the right direction. When/if I can take that much more time of those repeats, I’ll be starting to get down in the territory I’d like to be, which is someplace I haven’t been in a long time. I’ll need some VO2 work as well before I’m ready to race fast, but that’s the next step of the process, and regardless, I believe the possibilities are there for me to race faster than I have in several years. The proof is in the pudding, though, so until I toe the line and get the job done, it’s all speculation.

That’s all for now. Here’s to warmer weather, the change to daylight savings time, the coming of spring, and some good, hard training and racing in the month to come and beyond!