If the miles behind me could be put into words before you, you would feel my efforts, my struggles, my desires. Most of all you would see my joy. Watch me from afar run the trails and hills and miles upon miles and you will see ...

Friday, March 13, 2009

8 days to Chuckanut

It's ridiculous to think I'm in shape to run Chuckanut next weekend. I'm going to do it, however, and whatever happens, happens. I'd like to do as well as last year but by race-time in '08 I had numerous training runs on the mountain. This year has been twice. As much as I love that course it will beat me this year, but like they say, there's always next year.
My long runs the last few weeks have been all on the road only because it's easier to do the 7 min at 80% Hr and 3 min 65% Hr workouts that Ian wants me to do. In the trails you either go up or down for too long and keep the heart rate in the proper zone and I'm putting my faith in his plan for this year. The plan this year was to improve my 100km time. Seeing as the two biggest ones, in Belgium and England, are pancake flat, there's not a great need to be killing myself on 30 minute climbs at 90% Hr. The focus is on speed so that's what it's mostly been about. I think if I progress, injury-free, to more than one long run per week I'll make it on the trails to switch things up some. My last long run before Chuckanut was today but probably should have been earlier in the week because it trashed me some - 20miles in 2:20. I don't know how I'll pull off more than a four hour run in seven days. To top it off I gave blood today as well just to throw another handicap my way. I wanted to do it far enough out from Miwok on May 2nd that I'd be back to normal levels again.
Scared I am.

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