It is officially winter now, but up here in northern Utah we’ve been in the throes of winter for several weeks already. Sub-20 degree temperatures, icy roads, and snowy hummocky sidewalks have quickly become the norm. Back when I skied a lot, this would have made me jump with glee. But at this point skiing is an aside, and I am focused on being a husband, a father, and runner. And all this snow is very, very bad for running.

I managed to get through my shin injury in October, and had a great November and early December. Mileage crept back up to the mid-60’s, and I was throwing in a weekly tempo run or two at about 5:40-6:00/mile pace. All in all, I was feeling good and fit, and excited to slowly increase my mileage over the months. Then winter hit. And motivation dwindled. And my body began to ache in various spots.

Some of the aches and pains are due to A.S. Others are due to running on slippery, snowy surfaces. And others are a combination of both, ever reminding of the fact that I cannot train how I used to, that once I hit 70 miles/week I’m an injury waiting to happen.

So far I’m still healthy enough, but I can feel protesting in my left knee. And I constantly worry about my shin flaring up again, or my foot flaring up again. If only it were spring, then things would be better…but unfortunately today is only Day 5 of winter.

Deep breath. Whew. It really doesn’t matter. That’s what I remind myself. There are no races of any importance until May or so. There is absolutely no reason for me to push into higher mileage; there is no reason for me not to back down and relax; there is no reason not to take days off or cross train when I feel my body protest the rigors of training. It will all come together in due time.

And so what if my breakdown point with A.S. is now 60-70 miles/week, rather than 100+ miles/week?  I must make do with what I’m given to work with. It’s in my nature to push whatever limits I can find. And I will continue to do so during the near future with running. I will run the most mileage I possibly can in search for the next P.R. and in search of a 2012 Trials qualifier. But if that limit is lower than what I would like, I just need to accept it and make the most of that volume of training. The keys are patience and adaptability.

Next race: The Painter’s Half Marathon in St. George. This race is mostly an excuse to for my family to get out of Logan and get some warmer weather down in St. George. But at the same time, I would like to run well, perhaps in the 1:10:-high range or so. Hopefully this race will keep me motivated enough to keep hitting the roads, treadmill, elliptical, and weights…but still keep it all in check and stay healthy.

I have to admit, I’m starting to get a little bit antsy. It has been about 9 months since I’ve ran a real race, but I still have a good 5 weeks until my first scheduled race (Striders Series 5K). The upside is that this gestation period has enabled me to shake my injury bugs and to develop a big base. The downside is that I’m sick of winter and sick of building base. As Cody put it the other day in his training blog, “Just another day, blah.”

But here’s the thing: despite my impatience, the longer I hold off racing and the longer I build base, the stronger and faster I will be in the long run. When I do run that first 5K on Feb 10, it will probably be my best season racing debut in many many years. For that matter, it will be the first real 5K I’ve ran in shape since Draper Days in July, 2004. This is my first year since college I’ve actually taken the time to build a big base before doing any sort of race! Most years I’ll go ahead and run the Canyonlands Half Marathon after just a couple months of running 30-40 miles/week. In fact, last year I was back to racing again just a few weeks after I resumed running after a three-month layoff. Sure, I told myself that I would “hold back” and treat the races like “workouts”, but I just can’t do that in reality. I was lying to myself; I’m way too competitive to hold back. Having a good base this year will give me the freedom to deliberately let loose from the get-go.

So yes, I will continue unabated with the base-building and set my eyes on long-term success, not instant gratification. To keep things more mentally (and physically) interesting, I’ve started throwing in a “Tinman Tempo” once week, added 100m striders a few days a week, and intend to start doing some CV fartleks in a couple weeks. These three workout types are part of Tinman’s base program, and should greatly increase aerobic fitness during base training. My mileage this week will be 53 on 6 days, plus some elliptical training. I’ll hit 60 miles/week (on 6 days) in a couple weeks, and by the time I race, I will have been in the mid-60s for several weeks. Not a huge base volume by the standards of many, but I think the key for base is not just volume, but also time. The longer one keeps at it and runs consistent, steady mileage, the faster they will be at the end of the base period, even without doing speedwork. This is what I’ve experienced in the past, and is what I anticipate experiencing this winter and spring. Yes, I’m itching to race pretty bad, but I’m looking forward even more to injury-free, strong running over the next full year.