Finding time

I ran the big Monument Avenue 10K today. This is the second year that I've run this massive race. My goal was to run it in less than 50 minutes, but I had a hunch that my fitness level just wasn't up to that pace. Rowing has been my primary workout for the last several months. Rowing has been great for my cardio fitness, but it does nothing to help me get stronger at running up hills. Even the slightest incline slows me way down. I ended up running the race 50 seconds slower than I ran it last year (51:54 this year, 51:04 last year). That puts me in the same wave that I was supposed to be in this year (I got to the race a little late due to some trouble finding a place to park). Assuming that I don't run faster in a different 10K at some point later this year, of course.

I'm running another 10K in a couple of weeks. This race, up in Ashland, has more challenging terrain, but the number of runners is much, much less. I ran both races in about the same time last year. We'll see how things turn out this year. I had big plans to really increase my running last year after these two races, but a case of plantar fascitis put the kibosh on that. My feet aren't bothering me anymore, but other things have prevented me from running as frequently as I was towards the end of last year. I haven't worked out during lunch for months. Other than Friday afternoons and the weekends, I don't really have any other time to run, unless I try to get my wife to give up a morning so I can run before my kids get up. I don't really relish that idea, but I want to become a stronger runner and improve my times. The only way I'm going to get that to happen is to get out and run as frequently as I possible can.

This isn't so much a question of having time to run, but making time to run. Time just isn't going to present itself. I have to find it. I want to find it because I'm tired of being stuck in the same place when it comes to my fitness. The rowing is making a difference, but I'm not lifting and I'm not running. I want to do more of those things. I want to maximize my ability to run fast now, while I still have time to improve. I'll never be as strong as I was in college. I'm never going to be able to lift as frequently as I did 15 years ago, but I can become a better runner. It's a challenge that I want to pursue. I just need to find the time...