Maybe I'll Blog, Maybe I Won't

Went 8.5 today w/ the XC guys...well, for like the first mile or so anyway...took it easy for the first couple to help them out and then got a good pace rollin. felt good today so I ran somewhat hard but not killer pace. Felt way good though. Especially for a monday. Looking forward to this week...especially the USG 10k on Friday...by the way, any hints on racing a 10k...strategy, pace, etc??...this will be my first one and actually the longest distance I have ever raced. But I am sooo stoked. I actually feel very good so far this week.

Guide 80

slow run around Hurricane Fields. Just tried to keep it easy to moderate even though the stupid wind was blowing. Felt pretty good although my legs were a little tired from yesterday. Will take it very easy tomorrow and then a little bit harder on Thursday to upswing into Friday's race.

Thanks for the advice by the way. I'm looking forward to a great race on Friday.

Guide 86.5

went up to the First Fall on 3 falls plus warmup and cooldown. easy trying to rest. My legs feel really beat up this week but I'm hoping to have a good 10k on friday anyway.

91.5 

Went very very easy for 4 miles.  Legs still feel crappy but I used about a gallon of IcyHot and massaged them so hopefully they'll be alright for tomorrow.

95.5 

Well, for my first 10k ever I think I did alright... Started out too fast...first mile was 4:54ish so I cooled down after that a little. Didn't figure Holt and Hayden would start out THAT quick so I hung right around them that first mile. Felt pretty reasonable though so I just found my pace and stuck with it as best I could. 5k was still 15:50 which was surprising to me and very good news considering my current abilities (or lack thereof,compared to pre-mission). Last half of the race really sucked...the downhill combined with my old cross country waffles that I have decided are too small really started to hurt my feet and lower legs. The last 2 miles were excruciating. I physically could have run much faster but it just hurt so bad on my feet and stuff that I was practically jogging on some parts so I didn't run nearly as hard as I could have that last bit. But once I got on level ground with 800 or so to go I turned it on and had a good finish with too much left. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the whole bit. I was shooting for anything under 35 min. so that part was good...and my legs really didn't bother me as much as I expected so that is good too. I would really like to try a 10k on a more level course now...I think I could do better with that...and some new racers that are actually meant for road racing...if anyone knows of a good pair that won't bankrupt me let me know. Anyway. I'm gonna go ice now. Oh, and my toenails are now black...I kinda like the new look :P

ran 2 more miles this afternoon because my calves feel like rocks. felt better after and went and tried to play raquetball which was fun but painful :)

99.5

So I have hardly been able to even walk all day...confined to hobbling around the house and hoping people would feel sorry for me. haha. My calves are super super sore. I think I've used more IcyHot in 2 days than the entire US Olympic team does in a month. I think it is just because of all of that downhill racing yesterday nearly jouncing my calves off of my fibula. If they fall off I will be very easy to identify, as I will be the only guy running around with no calf muscles.

Anyway, after lancing some of the hugest blisters I have ever seen, and in some weird places too (who knew you could get blisters under your toenails?!), I attempted a 4.5 mile run...which ended up being more like a 4.5 mile quick shuffle. I felt like I was one of those 80 year old men you see that are still running marathons and stuff. Hats off to them...but I hope by the time I have to run like that and feel like that all the time that I will be dead. But today was very painful. Hopefully it will start to feel better tomorrow when I rest, though I doubt I will be recovered by Monday.

But the good news is that the rest of me feels great for just having raced my longest ever race. Quads, hammies, etc all feel totally ready to go. I think I will be much better at it next time. I learned a lot on this race which was kind of its purpose so I'm looking forward to some great 10ks and hopefully a half if I can find one semi close, followed by the SGM.

Congrats to all who ran the 10k yesterday...it was a great race and lots of good competition.

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