Wow…one month already done in the 2014 book!  Where did it go?

January was a solid month of training and a great start to what I hope is a great year of running…with a little bicycling scattered in as well.  At this point, and after doing some evaluation of time and (quite frankly) desire, I just don’t think I can fit swimming into the training/racing picture (read: no triathlons yet.)  I’m having a hard enough time working bicycling in – I just like running too much! Maybe I’ll have time/desire for “aqua” next year.  As much as I’d like to, in reality and with total honesty, it’s just not the right time.  Someday…

I had one biz trip this month out to the Washington D.C. area and was able to stay on track with my training (trust me, I was prepared to run in the rain, snow, or whatever.)  It worked out great as I was there in between snowy weather and ended up logging 33 miles in four runs, including two WDC sightseeing run tours (one, two.)

I also put the final touches on my 2014 race schedule, setting some pretty good goals that are achievable yet challenging.  I’ll probably do a post on the schedule at some point once things firm up a bit.

HIGH/LOW:

• HIGH: Signed up for Strava’s Prove It – Run (100K) challenge and ended up with 315K
  
• LOW: It was a good month…nothing really to consider a “low”
  

As far as new equipment & such:

• New Balance High Visibility Beacon Jacket. While not technically new (I received this back in October when I was selected as a winner in the New Balance/Competitor.com Runnovation contest), it stayed in the box until I was packing for my trip to DC.  There was a chance of rain there and the temps in the AM were forecasted to be cool, so I packed it as an option; deciding that if I did wear it, I would wear a short-sleeve tech shirt underneath to prevent getting too hot.  This jacket is excellent!  The high-vis aspect is awesome and really functions as advertised – this bad boy glowed for my entire 13.2 run and probably most the rest of the day on a 15-minute “charge.”  As for comfort, I really liked it too, it chaffed a bit on my neck the first day, but a little Glide in the right spot solved that.  (I got the jacket in a large and probably should have gotten a medium, which could have contributed to the chaffing.)  I usually get pretty warm when I run and rarely wear a jacket unless it’s raining – and even then, it usually is my The North Face Better Than Naked, lightweight jacket.  So I did stick to my planned, short-sleeve tech shirt and the jacket as was comfortable in the 44, 34, and 39 degree runs I did wearing it.  Great product, though I’m torn between it and my North Face jacket…
• Altra Lone Peak 1.5 shoes. This is my second pair of Altra shoes, having added their 3-Sum shoes into my road rotation last month.  My Hoka One One Stinson EVOs were at the 240-mile mark, so I decided to give these a try.  After consulting a few blogs and Altra’s customer service on sizing, I placed my order and have now put 31 miles on my Lone Peaks over two runs.  I have to say, I really am liking them.  I up-sized a full size and am happy with that decision.  I’m still getting used to the zero-drop feel (though I now have about 97 miles on my 3-Sums), but am adjusting well.  I probably will do a shoe review post once I have more miles on these.  Since I am only really able to do trail runs on weekends, that might be a month or two.  Bottom line: I’m liking them!

With that, here are my training stats for January 2014…

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