I have kept up pretty well with my training runs, and getting my mileage in. My track work (speed work) has been pretty good, as has my long run, but I'm struggling with my tempo runs, which are running about a minute slow. I just can't seem to get it there. Not that I can't do the pace, because the paces my plan is asking for (7:23 for 3 miles, 7:38 for 4 miles, 8:12 for 10 miles) aren't unreasonable, I'm just having trouble hitting them midweek. I'm tending to blame the heat, as it's been in the 90s for much of the summer, which isn't always the case in Oregon. The thing is, we don't know what we'll get in Chicago in October, and there's definitely the chance to see a hot day. So I'm trying to get my body to cooperate with my will, but I'm not quite hitting that yet.
The race is 2 months from tomorrow, which is VERY exciting! It's definitely time to get real, though. Although I've been getting all my mileage, I've slacked on my rope-jumping, skipping drills, tube walking for the ITB, and that sort of thing, so I formally commit now to not miss this extra 30 minutes of work a week that really helps.
I skipped the drills entirely last week, because my calves were tight as a drum. I had run a trail race last Sunday with some insane climbs and descents. X-Dog events always puts on a good race. The people are just really solid, good folks. The course is always full of navigational challenges, and there's always beer at the end. In this case, there was wine at the end, as the race was at a vineyard. Sean bought me the season pass for X-Dog last year, which gets you into all of the races and events for the year, and I was really happy that Sean signed up for this one, too. I wasn't exactly in a racing mood in the morning, but I figured I'd take it nice and easy and just enjoy the challenge of the terrain. The first mile was downhill, and people were passing me like crazy, but I just felt chill, so I bopped along at a comfy 8:30 pace. The second mile was spent weaving in and out of grapes, up and downhill, along the vineyard. I started passing people who were already regretting having sprinted downhill the first mile. The course opened into a large open field, and there were a few man-made obstacles. A mud pit with chicken wire under it that you were supposed to crawl through (I'm not against getting muddy, but I thought I could go faster by kind of squat-walking through, which I regretted when I banged my head into the beam holding up the chicken wire. Ouch!), a few boxy hurdles to climb over, and a ladder-wall thing to scale before it plunged us into a deep, dark forest. After my eyes adjusted to the dim light, this was my favorite part - cool shade, and softly winding paths. Then, after a "temptation station" (bourbon and doughnuts - not tempting in 90-degree heat!) the hill started. A downhill so steep I was going more slowly than the uphill - the footing was not secure, and the navigation uncertain. It was so dense with brush, I couldn't be sure which way it was going to go. Here I was passed by a woman named Queena, a hecka-fast X-dog regular. I always figure if I see her at all in the course of a race, I'm doing okay. The steep downhill was followed immediately by a long and arduous uphill. Probably a little more than a mile. I walked almost the whole thing, and passed Queena again near the top. From here it opened up to a wide, slightly downhill push, leading to an open field and a decent hill. I could have run this one ordinarily, but my calves were in protest from the previous decline/incline, so I walked it. At the top of the hill was a "redneck slip 'n slide" - a big tarp, manned by volunteers with hoses at the top. The water was refreshing, and the slide was fun. At the bottom, it was back uphill again, although muddier and less steep this time. Heading back uphill through the vineyard, I passed a woman I'd had my eye on throughout the race, which put me in second place as I crossed the finish. Not bad, since I hadn't really run for position until that last mile. My final pace was 10:21, which gives you an idea how hard the course was!
There is another X-Dog race coming up in September, which we might decide to do if our schedules allow it. Otherwise, I am all business until October 12.
Here's my grimace right after I banged my head:
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