And the wind ain’t been blowin’ from the south

I like winter. I don’t mind the cold weather. I had two nice runs in the snow today (the wet snow provided some grip on the trails). What I don’t like is ice and having to run on busy roads when the trails aren’t run-able.  Trying to hit certain paces in the winter can be challenging and it wears me down over time.  The winter can be a great time to get in a solid base but I want to run a marathon in April so I’m looking for more than just a “solid base.”

To get ready for a Spring marathon Eric and I are heading to Kenya for 50 days and then hitting up the Den Haag 1/2 marathon in the Netherlands on the way home.  I’m going back to Iten and staying at the HATC once again.  A sweet set-up and a brilliant area to train.

I’ve done a couple of longer tempo sessions already but haven’t been pushing the pace yet.  I like to take the first few sessions to get used to the volume before I add quality.  I need a couple of decent workouts under my belt before I travel to Kenya because I’m racing on January 27th. Last week ,when it was still 2012, I felt like I had a lot of time before the race and then today it hit me that I’m racing Discovery Eldoret Cross Country in 3 weeks!

The XC race should be a lot of fun and very challenging because it’s a very deep field.  The Discovery Cross-Country Eldoret race (and the Discovery Half Marathon Eldoret) is a launch pad for up and coming runners.  A few established runners participate in the race but the majority of the runners are there to make a name for themselves.  The races are put on by Dr Rosa and agents take notice of the top runners who are usually rewarded with trips to Europe or North America to race for bigger cash prizes.  From what I remember the winners of the Discovery races win about $250, a relative small amount of money for the effort put forth in order to win such a competitive race.

I don’t expect to be in race shape in three weeks time but I think the harder effort will help me make a jump in my training. And I think it will just be a crazy and awesome experience, so why not.

Here’s a video I took of the junior boys Discovery XC  Eldoret race back in 2011.  I plan on starting on the start line even though it seems a popular tactic is to hide with the spectators and jump into the race when the leaders come by.

And the Discovery 1/2 Eldoret from 2012

I spent about four hours with Paul yesterday editing the Road to London documentary he made which followed my training leading up to the Olympics.  I can’t even begin to describe how much time it takes to comb through all the footage he has and put things together. Paul has poured many, many hours into his project.  The doc is coming along nicely and it looks like Paul will be able to get something online within a month.