Well, this week I ran 7.5 miles – 2.5 miles on Wednesday and 5 miles on Saturday morning. I was hoping for a second short run during the week, but you know how it goes. I had a lot going on this week, and I’m still recovering from the marathon, so a low mileage week was A-OK with me.

I felt pretty good on Wednesday’s run, but yesterday was a bit tough. Jeff and I ran together both times, which was really fun. It’s been a while since we ran together regularly, and I’ve missed it. On Saturday we decided to try for a fast finish, and ended up running our last mile in 9:36/mile. We were shooting for something faster than any of our other miles and the fastest was 10:14/mile, so I’m pretty happy with how we did. Overall, we averaged 10:24/mile, and when we finished I was pooped! How on earth did I run a half marathon at a 9 min. pace in April? Race magic, I guess. 🙂

It’s cold out now, I get to wear my fancy cold weather socks.

Going forward, my plans are pretty simple and I’m excited about them:

• For the next few weeks (until Thanksgiving), I’m going to aim to run 3 or 4 times a week with my longest run of the week being at least 5 miles.

•  Then, from Thanksgiving through New Year’s I’m going to do the Runner’s World Holiday Running Streak. I ran it last year, and I had a blast! As long as I’m feeling good come Thanksgiving, count me in again!

• During/bookending the streak I’ve got 4 holiday races I’m looking forward to: The Buffalo YMCA Turkey Trot 8k, The Reindeer Run 5k, The Run-a-Latke 5k, and The Frosty Four (New Year’s Day).

• And in early January, I’m contemplating a 3 week break from running. I’ve been reading about taking an off season, and I really haven’t had much of a break in…I don’t know…years? So, this might be a good idea. We’ll see. Not running doesn’t sound like quite as much fun as running.

So, that’s the plan, I’ll be having plenty of fun and loads of running adventures in the next few months! And it’ll give me the opportunity to wrap up my 2014 resolutions and figure out what my 2015 goals will be.

What’s on tap for you? 

Got any Holiday races on the calendar?

Have you ever taken a non-mandatory, but not entirely wanted break from running?