Race Week (Again)! Week of 9-29 to 10-5, countdown to Nipmuck

So starting with Surftown, we're running 5 distance races in 8 weeks?  Is that right?  Surftown on 9/14, and the RI 6 Hour on 11/9...

Surftown went well, and the Pisgah race went great!  Loved it, and had a blast there.  Next up?  The Nipmuck Trail Marathon this Sunday.  My first marathon ever, I ran it in 6:15 the first year, 5:45 in the pouring rain last year, and my goals for this year?  "A" goal of 4:45, "B" goal of sub-5:00, and a "C" goal of 5:15, this all being dependent upon conditions and how I feel.  Right now I feel pretty damn awesome: I'm running happy and injury-free, having fun playing around with segments on Strava, and generally enjoying every run.  I'm pausing to take pictures and take in my surroundings, running fast in some sections and mixing it up when I can.  Nothing boring.  I really love running, so I try to keep it changing constantly.  It's fun for me!  Even when it's painful, and I fight with it and want to call it a day, I find something cool to look at, stop to take a picture, or realize how ridiculous it must seem to most people (not you lot though!) that I "Only ran 10 miles today, because it was really hot out," and adjust my perspective.  I'm not gonna win any races, but I want to be one of the people having the best time out there!  So I'm looking forward to Nipmuck.  3rd year in a row.  And in addition to Jonny and Seth, Muddy's thrown down his entry fee and jumped in this year.  Going to be fun!

Monday, 9-29 - 0 Miles.  1 Hour karate, and coached the girls' soccer team this afternoon.  Got home late, and decided to call it a day :)

Tuesday, 9-30 - 3 Miles (Trail).  Lantern Hill short run before soccer game #2 for the week.  Headed to Lantern, and with the drizzly rain, everything on the trails was slippery so I opted to stay down on the lower trails.  Gave it a pretty good effort and managed to recapture one of my CRs, and averaged a 9:30 pace for the run.  Then hauled ass over to the field to coach the girls' soccer game.  Good day!

Wednesday, 10-1 - 0 Miles.  1 Hour karate, and weight training and stretching.  Easy week before Sunday's race, a couple zeroes are OK...

Thursday, 10-2 - 3 Miles (Trail) - Lantern Hill (again!) before soccer practice.  I know Lantern so well, and I really love the place.  It's historic, scenic, rough and technical, close by, and fills every single requirement I'd possibly have for training.  5 minutes from the house.  5 minutes to the athletic fields.  I'd be so bold as to say that, pound for pound, there isn't a small piece of land in SE CT that offers its particular challenges...so I did an easy-ish run there today with 4 segments included, but GPS screwiness only allowed me 2...I'm used to it.  No problem though!  I feel good going into this weekend, relaxed and ready for a slightly faster pace at Nipmuck.  I have a game plan now, and I'll give it a shot!

Friday, 10-3 - 4.5 Miles (Road/Trail) - Mystic fun.  Had some errands to run, and did a short run there after picking up a "Trenta" iced coffee from the only local Starbucks.  Yes, there's a bigger size than Venti...it's the Big Gulp of Starbucks drinks, and I love it.  Don't hate.  Parked in my usual spot.  Breezy and mostly cloudy, and perfect running weather.  I meandered over to the Mistuxet segment and ran it well, then cruised down to the DPNC trails, trying a 1.1 mile segment that runs from Mistuxet to the Mystic Aquarium.  Took a wrong turn slightly and missed the segment, but I ran the trail well.  More Nipmuck prep.  I solemnly swear to take it easy tomorrow, and not go running the day before the marathon.  Well...maybe a short shakeout run, dog jog, etc...

Coached in the afternoon, and the girls won 5-3!!!  First win of the season, and they played great today.  Very proud of them :)

Saturday, 10-4 - 1.6 Miles (Trail) - Easy Dog Jog with Henry.  Totally relaxed trail run with the dog before the sky opened up.

Sunday, 10-5 - 26.4 Miles (Trail) - 31st Annual NipMuck Trail Marathon.  Separate write-up to follow...