Week 8 is officially under way with a non-scheduled rest day. I did run today (Tue) but yesterday I rested due to the Napa Ragnar. It was nice to get some miles in and work on getting my legs back to training. It felt like I had not run in so long when it was only two days off. Today I also signed up for the Monster Dash 10 miler. With it being 3 weeks before Philly, I should be able to get a good race in right before my taper. I just need to make sure I'm not going all frickin out like I tend to do. It's so hard to hold back which will be evident with one of my Napa runs. I just need to remember...PHILLY!
I wanted to train through Napa and did train right up to it. I need to be smart and allow an extra off day after running so many miles this weekend. These are a good thing for speed work as well so at least I'm getting that done with the miles. Going into Napa, my goal was to take it somewhat easy and not kill my legs and body when Philly is the ultimate goal. While I could have taken it easier than I did, I am happy with how things went. We started at the Golden Gate in San Fran, then went north and east through some amazing areas. Wine country was beautiful! My last leg was actually right through the heart of some strikingly gorgeous vineyards. So cool! Overall, this was one of the funnest teams I have been on and I have now done 12 relays in 2 years so that says something. The team ran hard and we had a blast. Old friendships were renewed and new ones formed. These events are so much fun! San Fran was so beautiful and Napa amazing as well. Now for the runs...
My first run was 8.5 miles with some good downhill after a very hard uphill. The downhill was VERY dangerous because it was also switchbacks with no shoulder. Traffic was not happy to see us barreling down the road but we all made due. This was the beginning of some foot issues for me due to the fact that I forgot I wanted to take it easy on these runs. I was supposed to average 7 minute miles on this long run. It was high miles and had some pretty big hills. First mile with the uphill at 6:40 and second mile with the downhill at 5:36 was not exactly part of the game plan. After a few choice words to myself I slowed to 6:30 and settled into a pace. It was way faster than I wanted but there were roadkill in front of me and I was feeling pretty good. I was also the 11th runner so I had been waiting for a long time to run. I decided I would allow this one and let the night one be my relaxing, easy run. The foot issues I mentioned were blisters on both feet. I guess the downhills at that speed, and some old socks, were not good for one another. After my run, I popped two and one could not pop which just made it painful. Couldn't do anything about it from that point.
Ragnar Napa Valley - Leg 1 - Details
My second leg was at 2 a.m. and was another pretty long one. 8.3 miles and a steady uphill. After blowing my plans up in my first run, and gaining a couple blisters with one still filling, this was no time to be stupid. Philly is more important than a Ragnar. These can be fun regardless so I really focused on sticking to a 7 minute pace. I still ran well and managed to real in almost 30 roadkills. These night runs are always a blast and I wish I could explain why. There is just something about running when it is so dark out with hundreds of other people. The night is alive with blinking butt lights, cheering supporters from their own vans, and the prospect that the next group may be your team waiting for you to emerge from the blackness just so they can cheer you on. It's just different but so awesome!
Ragnar Napa Valley - Leg 2 - Details
So then there was my last leg, or what we colorfully refer to as the third and hardest leg. Do you remember that plan about taking it easy? Yeah, I didn't either. It took me a mile, but I ran down this guy and passed him. He decided to try and not let me pass which only made me decide he was not going to have a choice. I started to get caught up in the race of it all because he started to draft me. I decided that I was going to go even faster so he couldn't keep up to keep drafting. Then I was going to pull back and just cruise in. This was only 5 miles. The plan went perfect and he started drifting because my pace was too much for him to hold. Bring on police and stopped traffic. WHAT? So I had to wait and this guy was able to just stroll right up to me. After a mile of jockeying, and actually talking to each other (I never do this!), I let him take the lead and stopped for some water. I needed to remember...PHILLY! I let him get some distance so I would quit trying to race him. I was pretty proud of myself and that I let him go with the bigger picture in mind. While my overall time was faster than his, because he started quite a bit before me, it was NOT easy to let him finish ahead of me. We chatted a little at the finish/exchange and found out they were a pretty fast team that started 3 hours after we did. That means they were over 3 hours faster than our team...and he was one of their studs. What I wouldn't give to see that asshole in Philly! Either way, I kept the bigger picture in mind and am happy with that.
Tomorrow is Chiro time and maybe a quick massage. Full massage next week to welcome another full week of training and the beginning of buckling down for the last 2 months of training. I have a couple races in there too but I should be able to maintain what I need to do as Philly gets closer and closer. These Ragnars are so fun but I think 5 in one year may be my max if I'm doing all this other stuff. Now it's time to build the miles again and do some actual speed work. The weather is getting perfect and I'm ready to really hit the training again.
Until next week, see you out there!
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