A Very LONG Week-end

I was looking forward to this week-end knowing that once I finished, the miles were all downhill (not literally). I was looking at a week-end total of 33 miles...23 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. That would be a total of 55 miles for the week... WHEW!!!

Saturday started at about 0530. I had some toast with jelly and coffee before testing the weather. The temp was about 35 degrees but the winds (gusting up to 30) were going to make it feel cooler. I opted for tights, long sleeve shirt, and wind jacket with a stocking cap. Looking back, that was perfect. I met Scott and Chris at the Y at 0700. The plan called for 20. Dan and Jason with hardybreed.com told me that it would be a good idea if we got a 22-23 miler in prior to the race. Scott had previously convinced me that a 22-23 would be good and they pretty much confirmed it. I was just worried about injuries. We kept a nice easy pace stopping approximately every 2.5 miles for drinks.

I was Mr. Chatterbox on this run. I don't know what was going on. I was probably just trying to keep my mind off the fact that I would be running for a long time. I had SO much energy. I can only hope that I have that much on Marathon day. Our route took us all over Springfield. We went est all the way to Koke Mill, as far south as Woodside Road via the trail, through Jerome, over some rolling hills down Chatham Road, through Washington Park, and back to the Y. It really is a good route.

I believe our overall pace was about 9:19. That included our bathroom stop and drink/GU stops. I actually felt good the last few miles. I picked up the pace of mile 23 to about 8:40. After 3 hours and 40 minutes on my feet, I was ready to take a load off. I hit FedEx Kinko's to pick up an order for Kristi and headed home to relax.

Sunday was a different story. I woke and was extremely uncomfortable. I wasn't quite sore, I just think it was the tightness. I did some LIGHT stretching. After a breakfast of poached eggs and toast, Cameron (my youngest) and I stacked some firewood, put up our Christmas wreath on the garage, put up some decorations, and took the dog for a walk... all before noon.

After running a couple errands, I hit the treadmill for a 10 mile run. I had no desire to run outside in the winds that were supposedly gusting around 40 mph. The majority of the run would have been against the wind. I started out sluggish. But after 23 miles the day before, I guess that is to be expected. It was supposed to be a pace run but I thought "No way!". I finished the run in about 96:00 while watching some football. Cameron kept me company for a few miles. I felt pretty good after the run but I don't think I could have gone one step further.

After another successful week of training, I topped out at 55 miles for the week. Barring any injuries the next 5 weeks, I think I am well on my way. Hat's off to Scott, Chris, and Mike. They are awesome training partners. One time or another through this training, they have kept me moving. I appreciate all the positive reinforcements. They are the one's that are the "Animals".