Cross Country

The weather Tuesday night was nearly perfect for running. And doing other things as well, as both tracks/fields were in use during our speed work session. There was a track meet at Claggett and some lacrosse at the high school. So it was off to Reagan park for a little hill work. (Or so I thought.)

Connie had another idea, creating a .55 mile cross country loop. I'll do my best to describe the course:

-Start in the north end zone of the football field.
-Run the length of the football field and proceed UP the sledding hill.
-Pick up the paved path and run around the baseball diamond (game in progress).
-Pass the port-o-potty and non-working water fountain and hang a right toward the basketball court.
-Down a big dip and back UP to the basketball court.
-Go around the court where there is a pick-up game being played, but don't run over the girls having soccer practice.
-Down (finally) a dirt access road to come out behind another baseball diamond (empty).
-Across the baseball field back to the football field and hang a right down the sideline to the end zone and left behind the goal post to where we began.
-Recovery jog down the field and back.
-Repeat...

I was pretty tired after one lap, but we pounded out three more. Each lap was supposed to be faster than the first. I managed that, but it was tough. I felt like I was on the verge of becoming sick on the last one. One (who shall remain nameless) DID become ill on the last loop!

After that we did a slow jog of the course before heading back to the sledding hill. This time 5 sets of hill sprints. The hill isn't too steep, too long, and it's grassy, so this wasn't as bad as it could have been. I pushed hard each time, causing my right elbow to start bothering me. It did that the last time I sprinted hills with Patrick and Dan back in the winter.

It's better today. Every thing's better today. I'm planning on hitting the trails tonight for an easy off road run. Nothing too hard or technical. Up until now the day has been sunny and nice. We're supposed to have chances for rain and thunder today, and the clouds are beginning to push in. If it's storming I'll cancel. If it's just raining, I'll run. I'm going to get wet anyway! I'm just planning to stay on the bridle and larger trails anyway.

10 days till Rite Aid and I'm ready. I feel more ready for this marathon than any other I've done. I've got so much hay in the barn for this one I wonder how I could possibly fit any more in! As of today the game plan is to go out at a 3:15 pace for the first half and see how we feel. That would give us a buffer to still come in under 3:20 for Ladd to qualify for Boston. I get a little nervous when I think about trying to hit 3:15, but Connie thinks I should be racing them at 3 hours or less. Having someone of her caliber think that gives me a little extra confidence. I get MORE nervous when I think that Steelhead is less than 3 months away. Where did all my time go?