overtaking haynes

Woke up at 4:20am to get to this race on time...Was initially excited that none of the really killer fast guys were there and I had beaten all the people at least once this year who ended up beating me so I was disappointed that I was 15 min back, 5 mins at the turnaround. I just didn't have it today. The worst was getting passed at the end by a 54 yr old. He has now beaten me in the two longer races but I can barely take him in shorter races. He ran a 2:51 marathon at Boston last year and he is clearly better than me in endurance right now. He also weighs 113lbs. Oh well...at least I beat Haynes :)

I think the race every weekend is starting to take it's toll on me. 22 mile race then a 14 mile than a 17.5 mile and then this week a marathon trail race which doesn't look easy by the elevation profile. I was hoping that everyone is going to do the 50k the week after since this is the first year of the marathon. If only the 5 or so people that beat me every week aren't there i have a chance to win...although my running prowess is not there right now....

Haynes and i decided to switch to a marathon with a net 370ft elevation loss in order to get better marathon times...i'm beginning to worry that breaking 3hrs isn't going to be as easy as i originally thought after 4 months of track workouts earlier in the year.
 

went out with my brother...i did a couple add ons while he walked and i showed him the place where i had a zen moment last week. It's this really awesome downhill section that is probably a solid 1/4 mile with all different terrain. Probably a 150-200ft drop total. Starting to like my asics trail runners finally. As the sun was going down the orange glow through the trees was beautiful. 

2.6 mile warmup followed by a 5k tempo run on trails. The course is similar to what i've been doing for the 5 mile tempo runs but didn't feel like doing the full 5 was a good idea today. The long races are long enough and i wanted to start incorporating more speed. Not like i had much speed. My 5k was a 20:44. Definitely some good hills but I have been able to hold that same pace or even faster for a full 5 miles. Probably not fully recovered. Hopefully i feel pretty good this weekend. I sent in my application for the mount mitchell challenge (40 mile race in winter up and down mt mitchell in NC). It's really hard to get into because priority is given to people who have run the race before which makes entering for a first time difficult. Doesn't seem like a fair strategy but i guess it's the race director's call. 

ran at huntington...it is starting to get dark too early...may start going to work at 7:30 so  i can leave a half hr earlier. Today I'm 99% sure I saw a bear...i didn't stay very long to look twice but it was large, black, thick legs, bear walk, no collar, and no owner around...i was day dreaming and went down a path that said no trespassing...i've been near there before but never exactly at this place and i'll think twice about going there again. I then booked it up the hill and about 10 min later an owl swooped within 1ft of my head and landed on a tree just above eye level. I stared at it and it looked like one of the flying monkeys in the wizard of oz and it stared back intensely...and after about 10 sec it stepped forward one pace closer on the end of the branch and i saw electricity in it's talons as if it was going to charge at me and yes it won the stare down and i grabbed a stick which was rotten and fell apart in my hands and ran. I didn't let the animals get the best of me and i did another 2.5 mile loop as the darkness continued to engulf me. 

no bear sightings today...i was scared to go to the same place i saw the bear. I did run by where the owl was and got swooped at again...this time there were two of them! I wonder if they have a nest there. felt horrible at the beginning of the run i think it's mostly due to stiffness. By the end felt ok...definitely going to go back to taking the day off before a race. glad the storm is supposed to be bad on sat and not sun when the trail marathon is.