RAMPING UP!

I have covered 81 miles over 7 calendar days but it doesn't count! Phew!

If I counted my mileage per week from Sunday through Saturday and included tomorrow's 16 miler, I'd be looking at an 81 mile week as my total for this week.
I definitely should not be reaching 81 miles in a week this early in the ramp up phase, so thank god I count Monday through Sunday so it won't be that high. (yes, this is me discounting reality by shuffling days of the week!)

Instead... this is reality =

Week 1 = 2 Weeks ago : 27
Week 2 = Last week : 35
Week 3 = This week : 67-70

I tried really HARD to keep it at around 50 miles this week, but as you'll see in my recap below, it was next to impossible.

Sunday - Last Sunday, 7 of us met up for a long trail run. We're all running the Bandera 25km, 50km, or 100km next weekend, so we needed one "last" long run (or first or second is really what it was) on the trail.
Jason L. started at 4am and ran for 90 minutes before Ken and I joined him for 90 minutes at 5:30am. We ran some good trail with headlamps and flashlights, and returned to the cars for a 7am departure with Mer, Jo Dee, David and Larry in to. We took off for a 3 hour run. When we all were done, Jason ate a sandwich went out for yet another hour. So all in all, he ran 7 hours, Ken and I ran 4.5 and the rest ran 3 hours. My total ended up being about 22 miles or so, but most importnat to me was running a hilly route for 4.5 hours and seeing what was left in the tank. I definitely felt strong at the end and could have gone another 90 minutes had I needed to. The pace will be different at Bandera next week (probably a tad slower), so I left the run VERY confident for next week's adventure. it's certianly not an "A" or even "B" race for me, so i'll slow it down as need be. All I want to do is finish the race without trashing my legs so I can hop into Boston training without too much loss due to recovery time.

Monday - I ran 8 miles with part of the train. It was nice to get caught up on xmas stories and other. It was the customary Monday 10 miler and I cut it SHORT!

Tuesday - Ken and I met up to run 10 miles at 7am. It's a different dynamic when you only run with 1 or 2 people; we had a great run and got some good one-on-one
time to catch up on each other's lives.

Wednesday - New Years Eve called for the last run of the year, and I opted to go the greenbelt route! Bruce and Jo Dee joined up and we ran 7 miles in PERFECT conditions! Sat around for 5-10 minutes at the dam enjoying the morning sun, fish and turtles. A great way to end the year, and again, a necessary run!

Thursday was New Years day, and how could I pass up the Runtex New Years Day run?!?!? Exactly! I couldn't! They had long sleeve t-shirts at the end for all, and black eye peas, cookies, bread, and mimosas too, so it was a great run. Larry, Jason, Jason, Bruce and Dustin came along. Also saw several other running friends, so it was a great time! Again, I couldn't miss out and skip this run.

Friday - Tausha is nursing a heel issue so can'y go longer runs with us. I couldn' pass up the opportunity to catch up with her and her husband this morning, so the 5 miler today was great too. Again, a "must run" run!

Tomorrow is the long run, and Sunday i'm off onto trails for 8 miles with Mer and whomever else decides theey need some more trail miles.

So there you have it. I tried my absolute best to ramp up slow and aim for 50-55 miles, but closer to 70 is what came out of it. My quads are a little sore from the 4.5 hours trail run without rest day, but other than that, it's all systems go. I am however, letting every one run away from me, as it's pretty clear that Kamran, Jason, Larry, Kristen and company are fitter than I am at this time. But that's ok. My race is in April.

Next week will be another 60-75 mile week, due to my 50km(31 mile) race on Saturday, but I PROMISE I'll take Monday, Friday and Sunday off!