I think I have over tapered.

Javelina 100M is in two weeks so I guess my taper starts. If low mileage is the new way to train I think I have that covered.  I am going to line up to Javelina with my longest week being 62 miles and no back to backs to speak of.  However, I have done quite a bit of speed work. With the every other Wednesday night trail series and a couple of longer races I can take stock in that I have pushed myself.  For the trail series I went for the kill (to kill myself)!  I ran as absolutely hard as I could from start to finish.  A couple of times I almost puked! I ran some very fast trail miles. Not very impressive to most people but I was patting myself on the back every other week.  As some of us stood at the finish coughing up lung particles wondering if we were catching a cold we were reminded of our lack of speed work. Todd tried his hardest to make each race pretty brutal with his hilly terrain choices.  The dark nights just made it more interesting and I am still asking myself how the hell those people run that fast in the dark. I think they have Jedi like reflexes. I got to meet some cool people too. That was a seriously fun time and I can't wait for the next set of races.

I also signed up for the first every Forest Park Trail Marathon.  In another attempt to force myself to run fast but now on a long run.  I ended up being first girl across the finish line in this very small event. I didn't even know I had won until about 40 seconds after I finished. While heading to the finish line the crowd seemed very energetic and I thought, "wow, these guys are really into cheering folks on".  I knew the 1/2 marathon had just finished and was very uplifted by the crowds attention. Just past the finish line Bill comes up and says, "You have no idea you just won do you"?  SO COOL! My prize was a gift certificate to Fit Right NW.  New trail shoes in my future!

For my final long training run I did Autumn Leaves 50K last Saturday. The terrain is flat, five 10K loops so no time for dilly dallying around. It was just what I needed to get my butt out there. Time with friends and like minded folks spurred me to get out and push myself. It was a perfect day too! No rain, early morning fog and sun made it pretty easy to keep going.  I ran hard but what I really wanted to do was gain speed with every 10K. Just to test myself. I was able to accomplish this but on laps 2-3 it was very close. I did however manage to squeak in 2 minutes faster on lap 5 than lap 4. My feet were a bit sore. I haven't had sore feet in years but I also haven't run on pavement for that many miles is years. I had to dig out some road shoes that have about 15 miles of running on them and hope they held up. They did. I was not at all sore on Sunday which totally blew me away.  Must be my new diet....kidding!

Even thought my miles really don't warrant good training for a 100M race I have been out on my Single Speed MTB a few times. After riding up and down my road a bit I got the courage to take it out in public.  I absolutely LOVE it!  It's incredibly different than riding a geared bike. I can't really explain it. You have to just ride it and within 2 miles you'll get it. It's hard but so much fun. I really love riding uphill on it. I actually ride my routes faster on my SS than my geared bike. This is just a function of how you have power a SS versus a geared bike. One thing is certain, I am more tired and have lingering fatigue from the sessions. I am going to line up to TOE 50M MTB this year on a single speed!  I have now put it out there. With 7,800 of climbing it will tell me if I should even THINK about trying Leadville 100M on a single speed....before I die.

Speaking of Leadville!  Registration opens tomorrow!  I don't know what I want to do.  I want to do the Silver Queen event.  Ride the 50M MTB on Sat. then run the 50M run on Sun.  What I don't know is, do I want to do Leadwoman again.  If I lived closer it would be a no brainer I would be in for sure.  I takes a commitment of time from everyone so I can't decided.  I have the 2nd fastest Leadwoman time and I am certain I can shave another hour now that I know more. We'll see.  I know Bill is putting in for the 100M MTB lottery!  I hope he gets in because I know he will have an epic day.  You just can't help it!