Week Training Log: 3/24 - 3/30 & Umstead Goals

With the last two weeks having gone by without a true long run, my legs are starting to feel completely charged up and ready to race. Aside from the rest, another reason they feel so good is the result of Elizabeth sending me off to the Capital City Spa for an hour-long massage on Friday. I'd never had a professional massage before, but now that have, I assure you many more will follow. The timing of this massage was perfect as my legs enjoyed being pampered after logging so many hard miles in training. For anyone looking to reward yourself and loosen up/relax before a big race, I highly recommend this method.

Week Training Log:
Monday - Off
Tuesday - 8.5 miles - Hains Point Loop
Wednesday - 4.3 miles - Treadmill Death March
Thursday - 8.5 miles - Hains Point Loop
Friday - Off - Massage
Saturday - 6 miles - Hains Point Mini-loop
Sunday - 6 miles - Hains Point Mini-loop
TOTAL - 33.3 miles

Occasionally a taper can make me feel a little uneasy since I feel like I'm slacking by cutting down the miles, but this time I have 100% faith in my resting period. For the past 3 months I've pushed my training to a level higher than ever before - not only have I run more miles, but I've also pushed the pace faster than before on all of my long runs. With all the hard work behind me, I feel I've completely prepared myself to kick some ass in Umstead.

That said, in my usual pre-race tradition, I'm posting my Three Goals for this race. For those of you unfamiliar with this method, the rules for selecting each of the goals break down like this:

Goal #3 = An attainable goal I feel comfortable in realistically attaining. If I miss out on the other two, at least I can be proud of accomplishing this one.

Goal #2 = A tough but not unreasonable goal that I've focused on during training. If I reach this goal, I go home completely happy and satisfied.

Goal #1 = This is the "Perfect Storm" goal. Not only does everything have to go perfectly for me, but I also need to surprise myself by making "the leap" during the race to achieve something beyond what I can reasonably expect.

For the race on Saturday, I'm declaring these to be my goals:

#3 - Set my PR time for 100 miles. This means I have to break 21:40. Unless I get mauled by a bear, this one is in the bag.

#2 - Break 18 hours. A TOUGH but possible goal. I've aimed all of my training for this one. I don't care if I cross the tape in 17:59:59, I'll be happy.

#1 - Break 17 hours and/or place in the Top 3. If the weather is horrible, time goals get thrown out the window, so I'm giving the alternative Top 3 finish as the #1 goal. If either one happens, I'll be smiling like the Cheshire Cat when I collapse at the finish.

It seems a little crazy for me to think I can finish that high considering there are at least 3 elite runners in this race (and who knows how many other great ones I simply don't recognize in the maxed out field of 250), but I do know I'm going push the needle on this one and see how fast I can get the ol' legs to kick. Let the pain begin!!