It will be hard to top last weekends awesome workouts but I am going to try. I am running McDonald Forest 50K on Saturday but I have to do hill repeats the day before as some masochistic warm up. This is how I get to mix racing with training but racing is all relative anyway. :) Tomorrow Bill is going to take Alex to school so I can get out to Herman Creek early for this 3.5 hour run with 2X45 minute hill repeats on the PCT. The PCT is one of my normal hill repeat areas and I will climb approx. 2000 feet in each 45 minute threshold session. I did this same workout last year before the Mac and had a PR by close to 20 minutes. Limping into the event because I was nervous and starting so slow may have been the key. It was one of the best races I have had at the 50K distance, I felt super strong. I am hoping to repeat it again this year and run the Mac in under 5:30.

I had this last Monday OFF from running and I really needed it. I did however choose to workout with a trainer in the gym. Since I was only going to do upper body I thought my weekend running would have little to no impact on the workout. I was very wrong! I was weak, tired and lacked any umph in my lifting. For my 45 second rest I would lay down on the floor or a bench. We got a good laugh and I got a good reminder! I was incredibly sore on Tuesday and washing my hair was uncomfortable along with any over the head motion. But.....I had already planned another upper body workout on Tuesday. This is my standard routine but during Peak training I should know better. I worked different body parts but by Wednesday my arms, back, abs and shoulders were fried. Just in time for a good leg workout followed by VO2 Max uphill intervals. My legs had rebounded nicely from the weekend and I had a powerful weight workout as long as I didn't need to use my arms I was good to go. Running on the other hand...hmmmm....at max, uphill for 4-5 minutes 5 times could be difficult. I generally do my leg weights after my run but on Wednesday I had other obligations and had to switch it. After my great leg workout I had to go directly into the run. I drummed up about 20 good excuses for NOT doing the run because my legs were worked. Knowing my friends would give me rash of sh__ for NOT doing it helped me persevere because all my excuses were weak anyway. I hammered out the 7.5 mile run with 5 X 4-5 minutes max hill efforts climbing a total of 1800 feet......I was shocked at the amount of ascent I got on these babies. The first 2 were HARD......my legs were pumped full of blood. By the 3rd one I was reaching my destination 10 seconds faster and that continued through the 5th. Of course once I was done I was happy and proud of the effort but I don't know if I will do legs before one of those again!

Today was a nice 70M recovery run with Trisha in the park. We ran/talked and talked some more. It was great! Just what I needed before tomorrow and Saturday. On the way home I stopped at the store for four 9 pound bags of ice. :) I will be needing it for those ice baths.

May 7th (yesterday) was Bill and I's 14th wedding anniversary. It seems like yesterday I was trying to tie up my very long dark hair for the perfect wedding picture, happy and anxious to become Mrs. Sundermeier. Time has flown by and now I try to keep the grey covered and manage the frizz but still feel happy and anxious to spend the rest of my days with Bill.