A new year, a new phase

2021 offers up another lovely day for a run

Even though I have fully embraced my "running tourist" approach to running, I do still yearn for quality runs. 2019, for a variety of reasons, was my lowest mileage year since my last pregnancy - and my youngest child is a full 32 years old now. So, 2020 was to be my comeback year. I did successfully bring my mileage back up (2150 miles for the year) but my speed is nowhere to be found. The lack of races and, more importantly in my mind, the inability to do speed workouts with my running buddies played a huge role in the disappearance of any semblance of speed in my body. Thus one running hope for 2021 is to resurrect at least a wee bit of speed in these old legs.

To that end, I am running about once per week with running buddy, Connie, with weekly hill repeat sessions (which I need to take much more seriously rather than oohing and ahhing over the pretty gardens and Christmas lights) and with plans for perhaps 5k time trials once per month or so. We are very strict about social distancing as well as wearing masks when we are at all close to each other. However, as this photo (taken during today's run) shows, keeping 6 feet apart these days is pretty darned easy since Connie is in fantastic shape and I am well entrenched in tortoise territory.  The downside to this extreme form of social distancing is that we really need to carry megaphones if we hope to keep up our usual running chatter. (Women's college basketball is in full swing - we have lots to talk about!)  Ah well, just more incentive to jump start that elusive speed gear!