I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- 13 miles while watching highlights of the games yesterday. All I can say is, The Broncos are going to the Super Bowl, baby! Boo Yeah!  Awesome. First time since I was on my mission many moons ago. Run- started at 7:30 pace, finished sub 7 pace, 95 minutes.

Lunch- 10 of us again, an impressively large group. 9.5 miles. Hot Dan pushed the pace the last 2 miles to try to stay ahead of my gasseous stench.

AM 8

Lunch 8 more with the guys. I wasn't talkative, which was freaking Jim out.

Lunch- workout with some of the guys on a cold day (25 deg and breezy). Ran to the lake, then did 5x1 lap (~.86 miles each) with ~90 sec rest. I didn't want to run too hard due to fatigue, tightness in hammies, and my race coming up on Saturday. Times were 5:04, 5:08, 4:56, 5:01, 4:34 (Todd convinced me to push him to sub 4:50 on the last one and I finally started feeling good). 10 miles total.

AM- 8

Lunch- and 7 more.

Lunch 4.5 on a cold day. It will be low teens windchill tomorrow for my 15.5 mile trail race. Still might wear shorts.

AM- Another great Go Run Trails race this morning, the Expedition Paris Mtn trail race. They upped the game this year, adding a 15.5 mile option on top of the 10.5 and 5 mile races from last year. It was a very cold morning, 20 deg and windy, with windchill around 10 deg. 10 deg windchill? Let's wear shorts! Actually, between two tops with zippers, I was able to regulate my temp well enough to stay not too cold. 

Had a good crew at the race- Aaron, Lynn, and Seth in the long race, plus Barry and Aly in the 5 mile (Aly's first trail race). I saw David Workman at the start, and he's always good competition. The race ran every trail in the park except the short Firetower and Turtle trails, with three big climbs. The initial climb up Sulfer Springs welt well, with 2 guys ahead in shorter races, and David right behind. The wind was strong from the south and it was much colder whenever we were exposed to it. I stretched it out on the flat SS to the second aid station, then we hit the paved downhill portion- 1 mile with 400 ft descent flew by in about 5:15 and felt easy. Hiker only Brissy Ridge was slow, as always, but I slowly pulled away from David and gained on the one 10 miler ahead. Then it was time for a big circle of North Lake then the climb up Kanuga. Figuring it was all downhill from here (well, mostly), I started pushing it a bit as I started catching the slower 10 milers. Finished first place in 2:00:49, four min ahead of David in second. Lynn got 5th overall, edging out Aaron. I froze for a few minutes, then had to leave for a baptism at our church (I changed but didn't shower first- stinky).

This was another nice race- well marked, gummi bears at the aid station(!), and a well thought out, challengin course. My watch measured ~15 to 15.25 miles with 2200 ft climbing. Fun morning, good win. And I was glad my legs felt good despite this being my highest mileage training week since Labor Day.

Photos courtesy of GoRunTrails facebook page