Phew! Lots going on, but its all good!

It's been a while since I have written.  Brief recap - I moved into an apartment with my two teenagers, started a new job (more on that later), and ran a 50 mile week last week, and working on a 60 mile week this week.

As we all know life waits for no one - so you can either take the reigns, or just react to what it throws at you.  I am firmly in the drivers seat now, even though sometimes I hit the little bumpy strips on the side of the road meant to wake up dozing drivers. Before I get to my training for Cactus Rose - now only 3 WEEKS AWAY!!!- there is something I have been very aware of on my runs lately...I absolutely love my runs in the country!  Broussard is such a cool little town.  Since the move, I am in the "city" part, but with just 2 miles of running, I get to see things like this:

Harvesting the sugar cane.

And this:

These guys will come to the fence if you have some

tasty looking grass to offer.

While there is some excitement to playing frogger when crossing the two major intersections to get out to this area, it is so worth it.  If I add another mile or so onto this 10 mile route, I can see donkeys too.  It is soothing to the soul to get away from traffic for a while.  Although, there is the added risk of rolling an ankle on the cut cane that falls to the side of the road.

So, back to the topic at hand - race season.  Next weekend I am doing the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville.  I heard such great reviews about this race last year, that I vowed not to miss it.  Originally I was going to try to PR at this race by aiming for a sub 2 hour half (below a 9 minute pace), but considering it will be the last run of a 50 mile training week, that may not be realistic.  Who knows, though?  One thing I have learned is that on any given day, with the right conditions, anything can happen.

When I get back from that I have to really work on the logistics of Cactus Rose.  Not only is this a nasty tough trail race, but it is self supported, so I have to put lots of thought about what I will need to put into my drop boxes (that I will have to lug out to the aid stations the night before) - things like - nutrition: animal crackers (my favorite at this race last year), gu, vespa, chips (for salt), change of clothing possibly, lube, medication, blister kit, etc.  And I will need 4 of these drop boxes.  I will keep you posted on that packing adventure.

Also, this will be my first 50 miler to attend solo.  Meaning, I will have to be able to drive myself home - about a 7 hour drive.  I'm not ready to think about how unpleasant that will be.

So, I have a 20 miler tomorrow, and another one either Sunday, depending on how I am feeling, or Monday at the latest, then I "taper" with a 50 mile week, then a 36 mile week, then race week.  When I line up for the start at CR, I will have run 801 miles in training since May.  I guess we will see if that is enough to help me shave a few minutes off of my time last year on this course - 13 hours and 42 minutes.  

On any given day....

Happy Running Everybody!!!

Edie

Amen.