Ready For War

So here we are. The final week. By this time next saturday it will all be over but the drinking of the swill and sharing our stories. "I was feeling good until... , did you see that one dude on the side of the road?, how did you feel going up lemon drop?, doesn't it suck passing Lake Avenue when you know the finish line is just over the overpass, yet you have one and a half miles of the course left?, my fluids were not going down well today..., wow, I tore it up coming downtown from Fitgers!" These are the types of comments that will most likely be heard among the groups gathering at the finish line. I love this time of year, I just get way anxious. One week to go. Let's enjoy it!

Yesterday I made the best of another grey, windy morning by hitting the trails for just under an hour. I beat any rain that showed up and for the most part the trails I ran were quite dry. My legs are starting to improve each day and are now sensing the race is approaching.

Total: 45:30 5 miles

Today was my last serious, longer effort. Twelve miles with the last 6 at marathon pace. I ended up running a bit later than usual so I avoided the london road, north shore crowds and hit a favorite loop of mine out north of Woodland.

Warming up I could feel the legs are continuing to reap the benefits of the decreased volume and taper mode. Once I got the warm up miles completed I dove into the fast-pace miles and ran very steady back home. As I was running this morning I kept a close monitor of my body and the little aches and pains and how to cope with them come race day. I am hoping for as little as possible that morning but it's a freakin' marathon and there will be aches and pains! This final week will be crazy but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. It's been a long, very enjoyable road since January and I can't wait to see how my preparation will fare.

Here is how the workout looked this morning:

6.5 miles warm up

6 miles at 5:51 pace

.7 mile warm down to house

Total: 1:25:00 13.2 miles