July 5, 2011
Rachel
Today's Mileage: 3.2 miles
.....Ha ha, that's totally me
Unlike Michelle, I am a big planner when it comes to mapping my runs. I really dislike the thought of just going out the door and going where my running shoes take me. And unlike several years ago (the last time running was a big part of my life), the technology available to us runners is pretty awesome to help with the planning side of things.
My favorite website for planning my routes is mapmyrun.com. I have almost 20 runs that I've mapped out using this website. I haven't done all of them, but some of them I've already planned for when my mileage increases closer to the race. It gives me a lot of comfort and confidence going into a long run to know exactly where I get to turn around and what each part of my run looks like. The day of a long run, I actually have the route up on my computer for most of the day and I'll look at it (with the aerial photo overlay) several times throughout the day so I can mentally rehearse my run.
I like that I can find a route that fits into my mileage for the day no matter where I might be. Last month, a mapped a few runs in Pagosa Springs for when we were on vacation there, and I'll definitely to the same for some runs I can do in Lyons when we're at festivals this summer.
This website is also a social networking site for runners, so if you're so inclined, find me there (rachandlily)!
