10 Days and Counting

Well, we are down to the final 10 days until the big half marathon. It has been a tough week of training but these will be the last few hard workouts I put in until after my little time off after the race. Erin and I started out the weekend with 6:30 AM trip to Wheeling on Saturday to run the Auggie’s 5k. The race went well and I was able to finish 1st in a time of 17:09. I felt very strong throughout which gave me a huge boost in confidence for my half marathon goals (even though I really wanted to get under 17:00 minutes again). It was a fun time overall. Erin finished 2nd overall for the women (running another PR) and we got to get in some good advertising for the shop. I also got to see my old coach (finishing 5th overall in a time of 18:27 at an age of 51!) and catch up on running store stuff. If you are ever over near wheeling be sure to stop in his shop, The Runners Connection, in Bellaire, OH and check it out. After everything finished up there we headed back to Motown and finished up the day working at the shop.

The next day was my long run day. I headed out the door by myself (Ellie wanted to run with just Mommy) without a real course in mind. I thought I would just explore the Morgantown neighbor hoods. My legs were really stiff from the race the day before but I started to loosen up a bit after about mile 5. The run ended up being a little hillier than I would have liked but I was able to get in a good 16 miles the day after a hard effort race; so I was happy. After Erin and I grad some lunch we headed out to the pumpkin patch for some Ellie fun. She had a blast even though the place was an entire muddy mess from the previous week’s worth of rain. A good time was had by all!

I had my final workout yesterday, 6 Arboretum hill repeats followed by 15 minutes of 60/30’s. It is a good strength workout followed by speed to get the legs turning over again after the slow uphills. I am feeling it today to say the least. I am really looking forward to my taper week next week. My body is getting worn down and having trouble dragging myself out bed for runs in the morning.

I will try to give an update next week before the race and then hopefully a full recap after. Have a great week!

Kevin