Race Weekend

Want to know how excited I am for the Ironman World Championship tomorrow?

• In the past week I've watched enough YouTube videos to equal the amount of time for me to finish one. 

So in spirit of racing, I'm running in the Xterra Harvest Half Marathon.  It's being held partially on the greens of Bastyr U. in St. Edward state park and apparently there a few hills as the total elevation is listed at 2150ft.  Not too shabby for a park sitting on the shore of Lake Washington.

I'm curious how my body holds up.  I have some small growing pains in my knees and hips.  Some of you would call them repetitive-use injuries from ramping up volume too quickly and I would agree.  So I've taken it very easy the last couple of weeks.  Not really the taper I planned for but my body is telling me to lay off.  I hope that when I call on it tomorrow it'll feel ready to rise to the occasion.

Side note:  Running Totals this year.
Jan      46mi
Feb      17mi
Mar     40mi
Apr      56mi
May    52mi
Jun      41mi
Jul.      50mi
Aug     77mi
Sept  116 mi
Oct.      8 mi

See that three-digit number in September?  It shouldn't be that big.  Ask any coach or seasoned athlete and they'll tell you the same.  I'm proud of it but I'm paying for it too.  85 would've been right on target but 116 is asking for some pain.  Sometimes pushing the limit is what life is all about.  It's how we learn what we're capable of and become aware of our strengths and weaknesses.  Opportunities for failure are all around but knowing where they lie gives us the power to steer clear and move further down the road.   On that note, time to get that last IM video in before the weekend starts.