Race week...

Yes, this week is a race week.  But before I get to that, I should probably recap the last few runs as it looks as if I may have slacked off a little.

This past Saturday was a first for me.  The first time on the other side.  I volunteered at a local 5k.  It was tougher than I thought.  I was fine until the runners started going past, then I felt a twinge of envy.  After a bit I got over it and enjoyed myself.  After the race I headed out for a run of 4 miles at race pace.  The run felt great.  Then came the downfall of my weekend.

We threw a little Final Four basketball party at our house.  I got the smoker out for the first time this spring and smoked some ribs.  The house filled up with friends and we started eating...and drinking.  After a few beers we decided to break out the rum.  Long story short, I got to bed too late and a little to tipsy to think about an early morning long run the next day.  What a mistake.  The next morning we woke up to perfect running weather.  Cool, sunny, and very little wind.  However, since I missed my morning window I couldn't get out for my 10 miles until about 4:30 pm.  The weather changed by then. 

By the time I headed out the sun had disappeared and the wind was now blowing at 25 - 30 mph with gusts as high as 40.  That's not cool.  The first 4 miles were with the wind, I took it easy knowing what was ahead of me.  The next 5 miles were into the wind.  When I made the turn I was able to convince myself it wasn't so bad.  Two miles in I started laughing at what a mess I had gotten myself into.  The last mile I was just trying to survive.  I made the last turn and with a mile left the wind was on my back again.  What a relief.  That was the hardest 5 miles I've ever run.  It totally wiped me out for the rest of the night.

This weeks runs have gone well.  I did 5 miles Tuesday at a decent pace.  Last night I did 8x400 intervals around 5k pace.  Those actually felt great.  Tonight will be a nice easy 3 miles.  Then the next time I run will be a race.  Finally!  We are heading to a nearby town to do a 10k on Saturday morning.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how this half marathon training has treated me.  I'm expecting a nice PR.  Granted that won't be too hard as I've only run one other 10k and that was pretty early on in my running.  My A goal for Saturday is to come in under 50 minutes.  We'll see what happens.

That catches you up on my running.  How's your running going?