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Yes, yes, all my posts are about running. Deal with it.

I’ve been running with that Garmin GPS watch I got for Catherine. It’s very, very cool. It obviously tracks your mileage and time, but it also gives you instantaneous pace. You can set it up to auto-pause the time when you’re stopped. If you get lost, you can tell it to guide you back to where you started. You can even upload a training plan so that the watch beeps if you go outside your target pace. I’ve only scratched the surface of what this thing can do. It’s really neat.

Last week I ran 16.3 miles, which was almost exactly what I wanted to do. This week I’m planning on 17.5 (I’ve done 8.4 so far). I been feeling really good lately, with a 9:10-9:15 pace feeling very comfortable for 4-5.5 mile distances.

Sad news: I won’t be able to run the Run to Remember in May because we will be visiting my parents. However, that weekend there is a 4-mile race in Memphis called the Zoom Through the Zoo. It sounds very cool, and Catherine of course loves zoos, so I think we’re going to do it. Maybe my parents will come and finally get to see us run. I bet I can crack 32:00 for 4 miles, too.

I’ve also started playing pickup basketball once a week. Catherine’s friend from med school has been trying to get me to go, and I finally went last week. I had a great time, though I was incredibly sore for the next 3 days. I went again this week, played better, and was much less sore. Since I’ve enjoyed it so much, I’m going to try to make this a regular thing on Tuesday nights.

My race this weekend has gotten me thinking seriously about my training plan for the summer. As I’ve said before, my goal for this summer is to run a 22:00 5k, which means shaving just over 3 minutes from what I ran on Sunday. My goal race will probably be the Samaritans 5k on September 29. It’s a medium-sized race — large enough to be USATF certified and well organized, but small enough that you won’t be held back by the crowd. Plus I’ve run it twice before, so there will be no surprises. So that gives me six months to train.

My training plan for the next 2-3 months is to continue building my mileage base. I’m currently running 15 miles per week, and I’d like to get that up to 25 miles per week. This week I’m planning to do 16, then I’ll increase up to 20 over the next 3-4 weeks. I’ll do an easy week at 15 to rest my legs, then keep slowly pushing up to 25. Another drop back week at 20 and then hold at 25 until I’m ready to start the next phase of my training. These should all be easy runs at a comfortable pace.

Once I’ve got my base where I want it, I’ll probably switch over to a 5k training plan from Cool Running or one of my running books. The basic idea seems to be 3-4 easy runs and 1-2 hard workouts (intervals, hills, etc.) per week. I haven’t gotten far enough to really think about this.

I can totally do this. I think I have a lot of untapped speed, since I rarely run fast on my normal workouts. If I dedicate myself to serious training this summer, with regular track workouts, I should be able to do it. Then I can start thinking about my goal for next year: a 20-minute 5k.

A bunch of running-related stuff from the past few days:

1) As a match day present for Cath, I got her a Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS watch. This is the coolest thing. It tracks your distance, pace, and even route during a run. It will lead you home if you get lost. You can race against previous runs on the same route or against a “virtual partner.” I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but Cath ran with it on Friday and loved it. She has been talking about getting one for a while, and I had been thinking of getting it for her for graduation or her birthday, but both of those would be after the marathon, and it makes more sense to get it now so she can use it as she trains. Now I’m excited to play with it.

2) Bad news on the marathon training front for Cath. She has been doing very well, running a 21-miler two weeks ago with the Tufts training team. But the Friday after that, she did hills and her left foot started hurting. She took it easy for a few days, but her foot continued to hurt. She finally saw a trainer about it on Friday, and he said it was a stress fracture. No running for 4 weeks (basically until the marathon). She is going to see an orthopedist this week for a second opinion.

On the plus side, she should be able to run the marathon. I think if she can keep up her aerobic fitness with lots of cycling, swimming, and the elliptical, she should be able to do it. She’s already run 21 miles, which is more than most people training for their first marathon. She’s in great aerobic shape. Plus she has me to motivate her.

3) Yesterday, I ran the Ras na hEireann 5k that I mentioned a few weeks ago. My goal had been to run it in 25:00. My previous best 5k time was 24:38, so considering I’m not in super shape, it was a pretty lofty goal. Well, I didn’t quite make it. I ran a 25:13, but the real problem was that the course was too crowded especially at the beginning. My first mile was 8:53, way off my intended pace because of the big crowd. My second two miles were great at 7:47 and 7:45. So without the crowd in the first mile, I would have run well under 25:00. I’m pretty happy with this.

The race itself was a lot of fun. My friends Umaa and Parker ran it as well. Parker is very fast, but he was feeling sick and wanted to rein himself in, so he offered to run with me. That really helped as he talked to me the whole way through and helped me set my pace.

After the race, all the bars in Davis Square opened up for free food and beer for the runners. We headed straight for Redbones and had some tasty barbecue and Harpoon IPA. A lot of people treated it as an all day party, but Cath and I were kinda partied out from her match day celebrations, so we headed home to relax.

Anyhow, I’m looking forward to more races this summer. I’m shooting for a 22:00 5k by September or October. Given my performance in this race, I think it’s totally doable.

A friend emailed me this morning asking if I wanted to run the Ras na hEireann 5k in Somerville on St. Patrick’s Day. Apparently it’s a big race and a lot of fun. All the bars in Davis Square open up after the race is over, and people hang around to eat and drink. My other friend tells me that her husband PR’ed at it last year and spent the whole day celebrating. She picked him up at 8:30 that night.

Now, I’m in no shape for a serious 5k. I’m not going to be setting any PRs. But I’m running it anyway. It gives me something to train for in the short term, and I’m already excited about my run after I get home this evening. Plus my friends are doing it. I’m excited.