Age is just a number.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the thoughts, I highly doubt I will be drafting off you!!!! I don't belive racing this much will make you flat for late in the season. It all depends on how you are viewing these early races. For me, they are just stepping stones to what I want to accomplish later. The important thing for me is the effort that I put in, when the time is right and I feel I have put in some good hard training, I will taper down and try to pop a good race. The races this time of year, for me, are just part of the training. I am not resting or altering my training to try to maximize my performance, I just build the race in as part of the training week. Take the pressure off yourself to "race" and just give a solid effort, when it is time to put it on the line, you will be ready. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, good luck!!!!!

Racing usually makes me sharper for those peak races. However, I DO have to pick and choose which races to pour my heart into, especially at these higher distances. 5K/10K are different animals than 10-miles, half marathons, and higher!

Back in college, my XC team would race all-out every week, with a very occasional week off (8K distance). During track season, we would usually race 1-2 times/week, although the midweek race would usually be lower key. Of course, I was 20 years old then and could recover faster, but the point is that despite racing every week, we would always peak for nationals and not before. That is where good coaching really comes in handy!