I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- We're doing some testing at work and I was supposed to cover 1 pm till 1:30 am, so I slept in a bit and then drove to Paris Mtn for a run. First time I've been there in a while- in fact, only my 5th run there this year. Way below average. Nice day, lots and lots of hikers with tons of dogs, plus 2 school groups, but not a single biker. Watch was having GPS issues, but it was a pretty standard loop of 10.5 miles in 1:37 and 1400 ft climb. Good day.

When I arrived at work, they had testing issues so the test was cancelled. I had to stay at work till 8:30 just to get in my hrs. The last few hours were pretty boring.

Running the Swamp Rabbit 5k tomorrow with the family (wife, oldest 2 daughters, then double jogger). Haven't decided yet if I'll run fast, then run it again to catch my family, or just go with them the whole way. 5000 runners, so not a small race.

Lunch- no one wanted to run at lunch due to the race this evening, so I ran the neighborhood loop by myself. 6.5. Nice weather today, low 70's.

PM- Ran the wonderful race of Swamp Rabbit 5k. It's only $6 and is huge- 5000 registered runners. You get a shirt, 5 aid stations on the course, typical food after, plus all the hot dogs and chips you want, a live band, bouncy castles and tons of giveaways for the kids. Not bad at all. We decided this would be a good race for my daughters to experience, so all 4 of us registered, with the youngest 2 in the jogging stroller. I figured I'd run with the fam, but Marci told me to run fast to get points for GE, then run the course again to catch up with them. I wasn't feeling great before and had a new ankle pain, but figured it would work itself out. It did. Started off in 7th to 8th place for the first mile, not too far behind the leaders. 2nd mile is very hilly and slow, but I passed a couple guys just before the 2 mile mark (11:11), then one more in the last mile on the bike trail. Finished in 5th overall, 17:08 (10 seconds slower than a few years ago), and 1st in my age group. Not bad for a race of 5000 runners.

Grabbed some water, then ran it again. Caught the walkers before mile 1 and proceeded to pass 2000 of them in a mile (literally), finally catching Marci just before mile 2. Had fun running in with them. They had started in the very back with the strollers and had also passed 2000 runners (it took them 6 min to cross the start line in a 5k) and had a chip time of 42:30. Not bad for a 5 year old, a 7 year old, and a mom pushing 2 kids. Way to go, guys! Then we ate lots of food while the kids bounced on the castles and I talked to lots of runners. Didn't get home till 10 pm.

AM- nice morning for a run. Felt like I was really slogging but was around 7:30 pace. Right ankle was sore off and on. Not sure what to make of it. Mainly ran around the soccer fields watching the tournament games. 13 miles.

Lunch- I probably should have started this a week earlier, but I started my heat training today. On the warmest day of the year (record high of 91 deg), I ran at lunch with a t-shirt, a black long sleeve, and another long sleeve. Wowzers was it hot!!! That was pretty miserable. Ran a full 10 miles. On the drive home after work, I turned on the heat as high as it would go, cranked the fan, and even put the air on recirculate. By the time I got home, I was drenched in sweat and could not take my keys out of the ignition cause they were so hot. I'm honestly guessing they were 140 deg or higher. Remind me to never do Badwater.

Lunch- it was a bit hotter today and I wore even more warm clothes, but was better hydrated and was not as uncomfortable than yesterday. Still hot, though. I don't normally suggest wearing a fleece top, a long tech top, and a t-shirt in 83 deg temps. Anyways, ran 7 miles and then did a bit of xt.

PM- Paris Mtn with Merle, first time we'd run together in a long time. He had already run an hour before and it was high 80's temp, so the pace was pretty easy. Usual route, 10.5 miles.

Lunch- 8 miles somewhat slow. Mid-80's. Only wanted 7 but Jim's back and talked me into an extra mile.

Evening- How come all the adventures with kids only happen when their mom is out with her friends? #justcalledpoisoncontrol #noseriously

Lunch- ran with everyone to the lake, then Jim and I did 2 faster miles (5:40-ish pace, which actually felt real easy- we were even talking back and forth some- I guess that's what a taper will do for you) with Bart tagging along for one lap. 6 total miles, maybe a bit more. But I'll round down.

Going to a church Father-Son campout tonight. It will be Zach's first, and I'm excited. We'll see how he does.

PM- 6.5

Lunch- 6 with the guys. Experimented with my sun arm sleeves that supposedly cool you when wet. Tried them on and off- not sure it makes much of a difference. It would if you could fill them with ice, that's for sure.

Sometimes before races I'm excited. Sometimes I'm determined to win or place high. Sometimes I have a pit in my stomach (not sure why... but those races usually don't end up well). Sometimes I'm ambivalent, indifferent. I'd say the last one is how I'm feeling this time. I think it's how I felt before Pinhoti, too, and is somewhat a reflection of increased racing experience. 

Lunch late run with Webster and Barry. Went behind GE and, sure enough, ran into the turkey. He even chased us for 20 seconds or so. They agreed that he is a very large, intimidating bird. I hope someone shoots him soon. 5 miles or so. Feeling ready for Massanutten this weekend, though I haven't started packing.

Lunch- ran with Aaron and Paul, mainly hearing about Aaron's recent vacation to Norway and Sweden. Sounds like a great place. 4.5 miles with 4 short strides at the end.

They are predicting 2-5 inches of rain between now and Fri at the race location, complete with flash flood warnings. But the race weather should be nice- low of upper 40's, high in the upper 60's. So good air temps but wet feet.

You can follow along with the Massanutten 100 live at this site: http://www.vhtrc.org/mmtlive/

I am bib 5, and the race starts at 4 am Saturday morning.

Work all day and pack, no run

AM 3 ez w 4 strides. Leave within an hour.

As you're waiting for updates tomorrow, read Dakota's thoughtful race report. http://www.irunfar.com/2014/05/dakota-joness-2014-transvulcania-report.html

Report later. Crazy, absurdly rocky race. Ran 95 miles with Jason Lantz, really enjoyed having someone to talk to for 20 hrs. Wet the whole time from record rainfalls and extreme flash flooding, washing out bridges and rerouting the race. Did I mention it was ridiculously rocky? Massanutten ROCKS!

Lunch- first workout since MMT. 15 minute ab class, then 30 minutes arc trainer.

No working out today, but I did donate blood. I'm O negative and CMV negative, so they are always asking me to donate. As a bonus, I didn't pass out this time (unlike 2 previous times...).

Lunch- played 45 minutes of ultimate frisbee. Between donating blood yesterday, the sprinting, and the heat/humidity, I was pooped. Seriously, 5 seconds of sprinting reduced me to a standstill for a minute. Pretty sorry. Fun game, though. 2 guys wore GPS and said they went 2.5 miles. Good enough for me.