Brooks Sponsorship, Mileage Ramp-Up

I was pleasantly surprised this afternoon when I received an email from a Marketing Coordinator at Brooks Sports inviting me to join ther "Inspire Daily" (ID) program. I was waiting to qualify for Boston before I applied, but once I realized I wouldn't be able to run a marathon until the Spring, I decided to go for it anyway and just use my half marathon time from March of this year. The application process consisted of me providing them with recent race times (I gave two recent half marathon times) and a quick essay on how I inspire others. I also linked to some of the articles that I had written about Brooks running shoes which compared the different models.

If I accept their offer, I receive huge discounts on Brooks running shoes and apparel. However, I must agree to train and race exclusively in Brooks shoes. Right now, I alternate the Brooks Adrenaline with a Nike Structure Triax to avoid injury and preserve shoe life. I also wear the Mizuno Elixir for speed work and races from 5K-10K. If I accepted the sponsorship, I wouldn't be able to wear these shoes. However, if I got a home treadmill (which I am thinking about doing in about 6-8 months) then there probably would be no issue with me wearing the Nikes on those runs. The goal of the program is for the ID runners to market Brooks products by wearing them publically. I'd have to try some of their new shoes on to see if I liked them. The Infiniti is too wide for me in the toe box, but I haven't tried the Ravenna yet. If they have any Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6 (2006 model) hiding in their basement, I would be ecstatic, as I am curently hoarding them and saving them for marathons and half marathons.

My foot has been behaving and I had a strong "comeback" in October. I am still nowhere near where I was pre-injury, but I am feeling a bit more confident-- especially after a speed session today with 3:00 intervals at a 6:52 pace. My weekly mileage for October was:

Oct. 5-- 23.5
Oct. 12-- 27.5
Oct. 19-- 34
Oct. 26-- 39

My longest run has been 13 miles. My next marathon is the Shamrock Marathon in late March, so I have plenty of time to get my long runs up there. For now I am focused on three immediate goals:

Nov. 15-- Veteran's Day 10K
Goal will be 48:45 (7:50 pace). I know I shouldn't expect any PRs coming off of an injury, but my 10K PR is extremely soft, set two years ago before I had ever run a 45+ mile week. After over a year of consistently running 50+ weeks, I should be able to knock at least 30 seconds off of the PR. . . injury or not!

Nov. 26-- Turkey Trot 5K
Goal will be 23:10. (7:28 pace) Once again, I know I shouldn't be expecting any PRs in the wake of an injury, but I ran a 23:32 in 2006, so one would think that I would be able to shave off at least 20 seconds in the course of three years! My PR is 23:22, and I think this is soft, as well. I think I have a better shot at the 10K PR, but I am still going to go for it in the 5K

Dec. 5-- Memphis Half Marathon
I am uncertain about my goal for this race. On one hand, I might just run alongside my boyfriend. He has gotten extremely fast over the past few months, so I might not even be able to keep up with him! I'm predicting that he will run somewhere around 1:49, and that might be the best I can do on that day as well. I guess the 10K and 5K will be used to determine my goal. There is no way I will PR here, but I would like to have a strong performance.

So things are looking up. I know I have a long road ahead of me as I spend the next 4 months training for the Shamrock marathon. Hopefully I can scoop up some shorter distance PRs along the way.