Friday, October 31, 2014

T minus 8 and counting!

As I publish this blog post I am about 8 days (and several hours) away from my end of season “A” race – the Bay Bridge 10K! At this point I almost wish it was THIS Sunday! (Almost!) The main reason is because I have been sick twice in the past month so I’m *almost* ready for this to be done and I can spend a month or so just running and racing for fun and hopefully getting healthy before my first spring “A” race!

Seriously! I had a sinus/cough thing happening at the beginning of October. Not that I let that keep me from Sherpa/Pacer duties at the Can Lake50 on October 11! I had a blast running/walking the last 15 miles with Carol as she completed her first 50 miler! You can read the Team Rabbit rap about  it, here! Anyway, I recovered from that (though my ribs are still sore from coughing – whatever) to get some other kind of ‘bug’. After a really fantastic weekend of training this past weekend, I started this week with a low grade fever accompanied by a headache and general achiness. Wednesday I saw the doctor and it is not the flu or anything contagious. So this week I have taken it quite easy! My dog and cats have appreciated having me around a bit more!

Last weekend’s training really was fun! I started on Saturday with a swim/run brick. I did a mostly laid back swim workout – except for the crazy kick set! Perfect before a run, I think! haha I swam and did the first four run miles with Carol and Kathy. We ran a two mile out and back on the trail from Audrey Moore towards Lake Accotink, After they did their run, I headed back out for more! My plan was to get anywhere from four to five miles in, depending on how it was going.

Starting off in the same direction, after about four-tenths of a mile I veered off onto the single track trails! I've ridden some of this before, and run a very small part of it, but was excited! The part I ran along for about a mile and a half was familiar…then after that point I was running on uncharted territory! I’d never even mountain biked it before! For at least one mile I was on paths I’d never been on before, and it was quite liberating! I knew ‘where’ I was but not ‘exactly’ where! As I reviewed the Garmin data afterwards I was able to determine that I ran backwards on a portion of the course that this Sunday’s Backyard Burn is on!

Sunday morning I met Lisa and Jeff back at Wakefield Park. This time we were on our mountain bikes! We rode the loop around Lake Accotink, then as we headed back to the park we veered off onto the same single track from the day before. Later on I realized that while I’d not been on my mountain bike for over a month I still felt like I had not lost too many of the skills / bike handling I’d gained. This was Lisa’s first time off the beaten path onto the single track and she loved it, so I look forward to more rides with her back there in the future!

So this Sunday will be my first BYB – I’ll be doing the 5.5 race at Wakefield Park. I’m excited! While I've not run the entire course, I at least feel somewhat familiar with it. Check back for a race report to see how it really goes!

Next Up:
11/2 - Backyard Burn Race #3
11/9 - Bay Bridge 10K – my “A” race!

Happy and Healthy Training!



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