Training goes quite well. I am not that good with my lactate threshold, but in fact it is hard to judge it from training alone. My next race is not until February; my secret dream of racing a local 8K last weekend totally evaporated due to family budget constraints. Anyway, I guess it is not unreasonable to only race when I have a chance to do my best - the weekend race was still too close to the marathon to perform 100%.

I'm thinking about my next marathon already, and maybe (depending on many things, like real life) I will run the 2011 Kentucky Derby Marathon. Nothing earlier for sure.

We have a cold wave here in Columbia. I still managed to do all my run this week outside. Every single day I ran in sub freezing temperatures and in the dark, occasionally in the wind. I can't decide if I hate the cold or the treadmill more... I guess I'll try the treadmill today.

I'm slow... can't hit my goal times in tempo runs. I can do the intervals just fine, so maybe the problem with the tempos that I'm trying to do them over very hilly terrain. I guess I won't really know it until February 13th. That is my upcoming 5 km race. I really would like to go under 21 minutes.

It was too cold here last evening, but I still rode my bike to the university track to do my speedwork. Only to find the track closed. I actually still know how to get in, but a police car was circling the parking lot, so I decided to go home instead of getting arrested. :) I thought I would drive back in the evening. Then I decided to take some smaller back streets to get home, because it was still rush hour, and I got lost, so much, that a half an hour later I found myself on the street where I work! By the time I got home, I had ridden for more than an hour in sub freezing temperatures. I was so frustrated that I skipped my intervals...

I'll make up something today (instead of resting), but I might opt for the treadmill. I hate cold. I think I hate cold more than the treadmill.

I started training for a February 5K. It doesn't go that well. My speed is not where I want it to be. I have a chest cold, but I still run with it. My experience is that it goes away faster if I run. Indeed, today I already feel better than yesterday.

I run much more in a fast(er) pace than for the marathon training, and in fact more than for previous 5K training cycles. We will see how it works out. I follow Hal Higdon's advanced 5K training plan, which I don't particularly like, but I haven't found anything better.