El Burro Blanco

The joy of tapering.  I might get emotional.  I told Katey this morning that I don't have an afternoon run today and she almost passed out due to shock.  I wore the Saucony Fastwitch 3s this morning.  I am contemplating if I should wear them at Twin Cities or stick with my Banditos.  I really liked them on my run this morning.  The roll on them felt great.  I finished up the run with 8x100m strides.

7 miles in the morning.

5 miles in the afternoon.

I ran an easy 7 miles this morning. It was a little chilly. The temps were right around 59 degrees! I am such a wuss now. Everything felt great except for my hamstring. It is a little tight. I am glad to be seeing April tomorrow so she can get me all squared away for the marathon.

A nice and easy 5 miles with the XC team. Most of them were a little beat up from the big workout yesterday. They are really doing great. I am very impressed with them.

15 miles in the morning with the boys.

Met up with Dave and Clyde and the DC for one last decent workout.  We are all tired of running on this trail.  We did a 5 mile warmup and then 4x4:00 fartleks at CV pace with 2-min. recovery in between each one with just over 5 miles for the cooldown.  It felt good pushing the legs again this morning.  Decent workout and happy to be done for the day.  Ran into Scott Hughes on the trail.  It was nice to see him out and about. 

Hopefully I survive tonight with my massage from April!

2 miles in the morning.

5.30 miles in the afternoon.

Yes, 2 miles in the morning.  My massage with April went well but she beat me up really bad.  My legs were sore still so I only did 2 miles.  I got home and made Katey breakfast.  The only problem was she had to eat it at 6:30am in the morning.  The legs were grateful for the short stuff.

I ran real easy with the team this afternoon.  My legs felt much better and I am thrilled about that.  I might try and make up some miles tomorrow but if not, oh well! 

7 miles in the morning.

5.60 miles in the afternoon.

7 easy miles this morning around the wonderful town of Santa Clara.  The legs felt much better this morning.  I just need to keep drinking plenty of fluids and stretch in order to work this massage out.

I did a couple strides during my run this afternoon just to see if the legs are going to be okay for the 5k in the morning.  I felt okay and I think I should live to tell about it.

I ran 2.25 miles of a warmup with Clyde and Dave.  They weren't running in the race but came over for support.  The race went good.  I wasn't trying to overdo anything but rather get a good race to keep me focused for next week.  Hayden, Aaron, and me went out and led the entire race.  Aaron, who ran in college back east, went back and forth with me.  We hit a fast 2nd mile, 4:47.  I was leading and had to completely stop because the cop who was driving the pace car literally stopped right in front of me.  I stopped and slapped the back of his trunk because I was a little frustrated.  It through off my rhythm a bit but oh well.  Aaron and Hayden took off the last half mile and I decided to keep it nice and relaxed to finish because I didn't want to hurt anything.  I was feeling the effects of April's massage still.  

I am happy about the race.  I almost PR'd by :30 seconds and I didn't feel like I taxed my body too much.  I averaged 4:58/mile overall which made me happy.  I finished and then ran another 9.5 miles with Clyde and Dave for my "cooldown."  Great race by Aaron and Hayden.  I realized once again that I don't really like the 5K.  This gave me some real confidence for next weekend.  I will be mixing it up with the big guys at TCM.