Friday, October 18, 2013

Two weeks to go

Only two more weeks before I fly to New York to run the marathon and visit some old friends.  I really wish I could stay longer because I love New York, but work/life commitments don't allow it. :(

My training is pretty much done (as of the night run that I just completed) and all that is left is my taper.  Just try and not injure myself between now and the race.  And to not allow taper madness take hold.

I'm looking forward to taking a bit of time off (a week or two) from running.  It has been a while since I've just vegged.  And I owe Bean a lot of daddy time.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Whoops!

I just realized that it's been over a YEAR since I updated my blog.  This will not do.

As a recap of where I left things, my through-hike of Superior fell through.  The first day went perfect, except for a little bit of rain.  It stormed that night but I stayed nice and dry in my bivy sack.  The second day, the inside liner of one of my shoes fell apart. :(  The heel cup ended up rubbing a hole into my achilles tendon.  Ouch!  Fortunately, I was crossing the highway (right after the "beach walk" section of trail) when I noticed the Superior Shuttle van bombing down the road.  I flagged him down and got a lift back to my car at a discounted rate.

Some other things happened since:

I ran and dropped out of the Manitoba Trail Marathon 50 mile race in June.  This was 100% mental.  I will never make that mistake again.  I have now run an ultra: where I finished but should have dropped, another where I should have dropped and did, dropped but should have finished.  All that's left is running where I shouldn't drop and finish!

The NYC marathon is coming up in less than a month.  I'm running it.  My training hasn't been too shabby, and should be able to finish my first marathon with no walking.

I paced a friend at the Superior 100.  It was ridiculously hot, and she was suffering from some massive chafes when she came in to the Finland aid station (halfway point).  We got her across the finish line, so I guess I did an alright job as a pacer. :)

When at the pre-race briefing for the Superior 100, I heard about a race series called the "Gnarly Bandit".  I was immediately smitten with the crazy idea that I could finish 4 100-milers followed by a 100k, despite never having run that distance before in my life.  I've already signed up for the Black Hills 100.  2014 is going to be a crazy year.