The plan

Week 1: The Build up...
- I have decided to take the approach of using the Sunday to Saturday plan for recording my training. The majority of my long runs will fall on sunday's, so i feel it will be nice to see that bulk of my week's distance out of the way, right off the bat.
- Monday's will alternate week after week between a hill emphasis workout and an easy day of running.
- Tuesday's will be an easy distance day which will progress to a double run when my mileage exceeds 70 miles/week.
- Wednesday's will alternate between a track session (speed/strength or both...depending on race distance that is approaching) and a tempo/progression run. If I have a hill workout scheduled monday, I will have a tempo on wed. Easy day mon = track specific on wed...
- Thursday's will be another easy distance day which will progress to a double run when my mileage exceeds 70 miles/week.
- Friday will replicate Tuesday and Thursday if no race is scheduled for Saturday.
- Saturday will be a distance run day with some quality (if no race scheduled sat or sun).
(ex of quality: progression run, fartlek, high volume of hills within run)
*** The idea is having a 28 week plan that will end on March 21st in Virginia Beach.
***Mileage will increase to 110 miles/week but the idea is to average 75 miles over the 28 week span... This is completely foreign to me as I have only been averaging 40 miles/week for the last few years... I have good weeks at 65-70... then bad weeks at 30... With my new job and the flexibility, there are no excuses...
* Focus races for the remainder of the year include:
1. USATF Club XC Championships

* Focus races in 2010 include:
1. Shamrock Marathon (March 21st, 2010)
2. USA Mountain Running Championships (June)
***Along with focus races, I will jump in several local races in the MD/D.C area as well as in the Philly area.

The Transition

Well, I am officially settled in my new home. It has been one of those changes that has both positives and negatives (I am not referring to my own personal running here). Positives: I love my school that I teach at, I am really pumped to be running for the GRC club team once again and my wife and I love the social atmosphere around the Maryland/D.C area. Top of the list in the negatives are being away from family. This was the reason why Holly and I decided to move back to Pennsylvania. At the same time, looking long term, it was going to be almost impossible to make it financially with the job market in the Phila area in our respective professional work fields. Along with family, my first and only high school cross country and track and field team that I ever had the opportunity to coach (Council Rock SOUTH), will sorely be missed. I never will be able to replicate the team I had the honor of coaching at South at any other school. With a couple of schools in need for a high school coach in the county down here, I decided to not coach and concentrate on my teaching and own personal running for the next 3 years. The team at Rock South is in the best hands as possible with Coach Warwick at the helm. He, along with my long time friend Mike Gross built this program in fall of 2002 (year that CR South was built). I would be uneasy if anyone else outside to the CR South XC family came in to coach this program... The guys are very lucky and I know they are going to continue on what they built last year... For a very successful Season!!!
My wife Holly begins her new job the day after labor day (Sept 8th). She is excited to be back at her old workplace in Rockville, MD where she worked in our previous stint in the MD/D.C area. Along with beginning work, Holly is finding more time for her own training. As much as my training has been hindered in the last 4 years, Holly has had a really tough time with her work schedule/commute and finding time to run while we were in PA. Her along with several other area women runners are putting together a GRC women's team that hopefully will be represented at the USATF club XC championships in December down in Kentucky.
I hope to keep this blog updated daily with details of my training, future plans and any points on life worthy of a post. Please feel free to post via comment under a post to let me know how everyone is doing (especially back home)...

Joey