Feb 2- Feb 8 Review

Mon- I was not very motivated and took the day off.

Tue- Ran 3.1 w/Bailey then 14.6 Park Laughton loop
1408 feet ascent with a max grade of 11% (typical Putney course)
Average pace: 6:38

Wed- Same as Tue
Average pace: 6:36

Thu- Same as Tue
Average pace: 6:32

Fri- The three day stint at 17.7 caught up to me and I just went 5 (very easy) I am embarrassed to post my pace (lets just say it was over 7:00)

Sat-(AM)I met up with Greg Hammett at Bickford's in Brattleboro. Got some grub. Then headed to Amherst to meet Tim Mahoney at the High School. This is where the DH Jones course starts in a couple of weeks. Tim showed us the course which we did comfortably in 71 minutes. The first mile is going to be very fast and then slow down at about mile two on race day. From there we seemed to be going up through the 4 mile mark. It should be a fun course but not very fast. We then did a 3 mile extension through town then headed to Brueger's Bagels to chat. I thought Greg was going to go for a "Blueberry Bagel" but I guess he changed his mind. I also found out that Tim and his girlfriend Abby Woods are getting married this upcoming weekend. Congratulations! It was a good morning. When I got home I jumped right into the PM workout. I managed to find a relatively flat section from Putney to Brattleboro that was 7 miles. I wanted to get in a few "race pace" miles to see how things were going. I ended up averaging 6:02 pace for the duration. (My goal pace for the 50K is 6:00). I felt very strong and the pace seemed comfortable. I am very excited and confident about where I am at right now. Overall the day was great with 20 miles banked.

Sun- I met up with Mark Miller and Erik Kress in the morning to get in on their 16 mile long run. It was the same loop we did last week only this time we were in shorts and tees due to the 40 deg plus weather. Erik and I got covered in mud but Mark some how stayed clean. I don't know how he did it. Once again we surged on Elm Street (post powerbar chew) and backed off after a couple of faster miles. The loop ends with some Keene Hill sections that are timely and fun. Mark and I put a few seconds on Erik by the time we finished and were walking back to the house when Erik flew by and grunted, "Let's Go!". He was feeling good and he wanted to go another, and we did. This gave us 17 miles and we averaged 6:48 pace. I still needed to get in a few more so I headed to my in-law's house (5.5 miles away) and met my wife. From there it was to Olive Garden for all you can eat pasta. Needless to say I got my money's worth. Back to square one on Monday. Only one more week of volume then back off for the big day.

Total- 100.6 miles