Off to Virgina this weekend for the Terrapin Mountain 50K. First race of the year! Though I am not really planning to race... at least not until mile 25 or so :) The running has been going well the past few weeks and I've been enjoying 2 long runs at the weekends so without any real taper I think a 'training run' approach makes most sense. Though I expect once I'm out there (hopefully) having fun and feeling good, I'll try to push it.
I've been reading the book "Run Less Run Faster" since I think I'm best suited to running no more than 3-4 times a weeks with as much cross-training as possible. According to the 3:10/3:15 marathon plans I should be running my long runs at this point at ~50 sec above marathon pace so I was delighted to feel good while averaging an 8:09 pace for our 20 miler last Sunday. Pam, Val and I started out around 8am and headed down the parkway to Nokomis. Back to my place to meet Tanya and Patty and headed out for another 8 miles. We eased off a little for a few miles but then finished with a 6:30 3/4 mile. Not bad after 16 on Saturday morning with some hill sprints. Best of all I felt great Monday morning.
Cross-training has taken a very enjoyable turn recently with adding indoor climbing to the list! Who needs free time anyway. I called Comcast yesterday to downgrade my cable since I have been paying for all sorts of channels and functions that I have never used. To be honest I didn't even know I had On Demand service...
Of course what I'm saving there is being spent on gas for regular trips to Vertical Endeavors in St. Paul... but that I can easily justify! Val has been going there for some time though not very recently so she was happy to get back into it. It's fun watching her scoot up the walls twisting and turning her body getting amazing reach for a 5'4" gal! We've been trying the same route in the bouldering area upstairs for the past few weeks and yesterday I got another move further so I was thrilled. Of course I have no idea how I'll make the next move but that's the beauty of the challenge.
Hope anyone training for Zumbro 100M/K is getting excited for the race. I'm looking forward to being down there helping out and running a few hours here and there. Hopefully the weather will be a little nice than last year's mid-April treat.
