You just never know...

I was dreading today’s run. I know it’s not a healthy attitude to have when training for a 100 mile race, but I did not feel ready. My plan was to try to get in 8 hours and at least 40 miles. Here’s how it shaped up…

Friday was hot and I did a hard 20 miles in the afternoon. I’ve been taking ½ vacation days to get in some extra mileage. While the run was about the same as the previous week, the heat sucked the life out of me. I was toast. Saturday was hot and humid and I felt sluggish all day. I went to my niece’s birthday party, and felt lousy. Ugh! “How am I going to run 8 hours?", I thought. I spent some time at Dawn’s in the evening, and then tried to get ready for the run. I wanted to wake up at 4:30 to get started before the heat got bad. The humidity and loud neighbors kept me awake most of the night, so I was dragging when the morning arrived.

The sky was overcast and it was spitting some light rain. The plan was to get in a couple hours and meet Goat and 7:30. I didn’t get started until just before 6, so I decided to do my 9 mile out and back ridge run which parallel’s the Metacomet trail. I was sucking wind from the start and thought, “This is going to be a long day”. I did the run in a little under 90 minutes and met the Goat on time. I still did not feel energetic, and my feet were very sore. The Goat and I headed off toward Heublein Tower and hiked most of the trail to the top. The conversation was good and it was nice to have some company. I could feel the humidity easing up a bit, and I was starting to feel decent. I did 12 miles with the Goat, and then it was back to solo running.

I grabbed the iPod and used it for another 9 mile ridge run. I stopped for refueling at the car, and my feet were really sore from the pounding on the rocks. The music was not doing it for me, so I ditched the tunes and headed for the Tower again. As the miles clicked by, I started feeling better about things. The temp was good (low 70’s) despite the humidity, and I felt strong. I decided to run most of the trail to the tower, and was pleased with the results. No views to be had today, so back down to the car. By now, I was at 37 miles and feeling good. Wow!

I had a great surprise on the last lap by running into Dawn, and she did the last 4-5 miles with me.

This run was a great confidence builder for the race because I did not bonk at all. Other than my feet being super tender, I felt good the whole way. I’m very encouraged about my progress with 3 weeks of hard training left.

Dawn and the girls made a great Father's Day dinner for me and I felt like a king! We even had chocolate cake for dessert. What a great day!

Thanks to the Goat, Bubba, and Dawn for great running company this week.

Weekly Recap -
Monday – rest
Tuesday – 18 or so miles, 2:30…felt good despite the heat/humidity
Wednesday – Recovery run with my brother, Bubba…8 miles, 1:45…some single track, and Bubba had a groin pull.
Thursday – Speedwork, 4x1mile repeats, 11.5 miles total. Felt good, but got sun-burnt.
Friday – 20 miles, 2:35. Felt spent afterwards. Very warm.
Saturday – rest
Sunday – 45 miles, 8 hrs – felt good.
Total – 102 miles …felt like a solid week.