A GOOD TRAINING RUN...TO GET READY!

This past Sunday, I ran the BPAC 6 hour run to get ready for France 24 hour. I wanted to run on pavement, plan my pacing and fueling and wrap my head around France. Since I have been running in the trails so much, especially on my long runs, I thought this would be a great idea to refocus. And it turned out to serve its purpose.

One thing about running races as your training runs, is it is important to stick to your plan. Plan of saving yourself for your "A" race and not pushing the limits on the current race. I was proud of myself in that respect. I felt that the whole time I ran BPAC, I was running slow. Although I did run it a little faster than planned, I still managed to feel strong the whole time and definitely had a ton left in me to keep going despite the cold, rainy weather. I must say, for timed races, it takes discipline to run slow and not race the clock but stick to your pace. A whole different way of thinking on timed races versus set distance races.

In all races there are things we do right and things we can improve. What I did right in this race, my fueling was right on. Everything I took worked well for me, Endurance drink, Acc Gels, a total of one banana, couple of sips of coke...that was it. Perfect. Never felt bonked.

What could have been improved was that I was using this as a training run for 24 hours. I walked every lap to slow myself down, however it was still hard for me to run the paces that I had planned. Being that this was a 3.something mile loop versus a .9 loop, it may be easier to slow down due to having more walking breaks.

The weather on Sunday was MISERABLE. Cold, windy and rainy....my gear was fine. My favorite jacket, the Montrail Windstopper - it totally ROCKS. I wore that and felt awesome, not too heavy, completely repelled the water, and was breathable.

It was nice to see everyone loop after loop on this course. My local UM group, great to see them with their good attitudes despite the weather. Nice course, wonderful race director. Was able to meet Charlotte Vasarhelyi who will be running on the Canadian 24 hour team.

My friend Matt Chaffin came in first male and I came in first female. Thankfully today, I feel 100% and now...ready for the serious taper! Here comes the clean house.....(in much need)