Thursday, September 23, 2010

What am I up to? No, seriously.. what have I been up to?

I feel like I need to read the past couple posts to see what I've done and what I said I was going to do.

Here's what I'm going to do next week - Grindstone 100. With the race coming up quickly, I'm doing a good job of staying pretty calm. I've been on the course a couple times and have probably covered only 25 miles. My longest run before the race will have been 35 miles. Am I worried? Not terribly. What concerns me the most is all the climbing; I'm not a climber. Oh well. Not much I can do about it now except keep eating healthy, try to get plenty of sleep, and stretch. I also need to finalize my nutrition, hydration, and electrolyte intake and prepare my drop bags. A lot to do? Sure, but it will get done. This is probably the most calm I've been before a race.

Under trained? Possibly, but I'm happy with how my training has gone so far. I'm strong, I'm flexible, and I can lift heavy things. Why would I not be happy? Even before I toe the line - are there things I'd like to do differently next time? Absolutely, but I'm not going to dwell on it; just improve on it.

I'm also still busy working at CrossFit Capitol Hill and looking for a facility for the winter and future. I love that I can combine my two loves - CrossFit and running - and help others do the same. I'm fortunate to be on the mend, too. I look back at my failed attempt to run BRR 50 in April on maybe a month of training to doing a 50k and 35 mile run in August. I even did a workout last week that was the same one that I remember injuring myself with last October. I finished it in a faster time than last year, but more importantly with no pain. I know I'm not 100% yet, but I'm in a better place than I was 5 months ago. So I look forward to the next 5 months.

That is a nice segue as I have my sights set on some events in the coming months. I won't focus on them until after Grindstone when I'll start planning out the rest of my year and start looking at my 2011 race schedule. I look forward to a year of good health.