Rest and Recovery

flying on Green

The past five weeks I've ran over 400 miles with nearly 70k in vert, which is far and away the biggest block I've ever had. This week didn't start my real taper but was kind of a "wind down" week before the true taper starts next week. I completely expected my legs to feel tired, heavy and sluggish by this week...basically begging me to start cutting back. But that's not what happened at all! My legs felt fresh, totally ready to charge. Tuesday I ran Green and just felt like I was flying the whole time! Hopefully this is a good sign that I didn't overdo it in my training and that it might actually payoff in a couple weeks. Of course I also seem to have forgotten why I don't run Green in the summer...damn chiggers! Literally every inch of my legs from my shorts line to my ankles are covered!

Then probably because I'd had a few too many easy weeks James got strep and work got crazy. I was thankful not to have the pressure of a high mileage week because that was about all the treadmill time I could handle. Friday came around and James was back in school, the weather was screaming fall more than summer and Dan got off work early so we could meet at Elk Meadows. It was a great easy, relaxed run! So nice to not have the pressure to run fast or get huge vert! So we just enjoyed the rain and cooler temps and had fun! It really made me so glad to be running Leadville this year so I can enjoy fall running! 

Bergen Peak

It's definitely starting to get real now! I even ran in my race shoes on Friday! Now I need to dial in drop bags, kids schedules and splits. And maybe study the elevation profile a bit more. But really I think I'm ready. You always wish you had done more, trained harder, eaten better, gotten more sleep...but it's all in the bag now. All that's left is to rest, relax, take care of your body and do what every good tapering runner does...clean the house! 

he wants his own truck

this is how J does strep

Elk Meadows...did you notice the long sleeve? 

ready, set...GO!