In Twelve Hours

In twelve hours...

I will be at the starting line of my first ever 30K trail race!  I am so ready to get the show on the road, I have taken my taper to the extreme this week and done ZERO running.  None.  I ran 8 miles last Friday and then life happened this week and a run just never happened.  I did one random session of P90X2 Yoga and some foam rolling on Tuesday and then I worked an extra shift on Wednesday and went to see Pitch Perfect with some friends that night instead of running.  So I am nice and tapered- my muscles should be ready to go in the morning!

And I have been carb loading all week too.  Skinny rules -what skinny rules?  White rice, white pasta, potatoes, bagels...a cookie here and there.  And M&M's.  Oh and a cupcake- but it was my birthday so that doesn't count right?  My diet has been carbolicious but I am ready to get back to my healthier eating next week.  After I consume the thousands of calories I am about to burn.  In twelve hours.

Blue Nike tech tee, Running Skirts skirtcamp camo athletic skirt, Zensah calf sleeves

I have my outfit laid out- I altered it just a bit since Fall has decided to arrive in a hurry.  The weather is supposed to be rather rainy- how ironic that the last time it rained was the day of my last race.  It poured on the first day of Ragnar in July and I don't think it has rained since.  I don't mind running in the rain- I  actually prefer the rain over heat and wind.  Kind of like that time I trained for a marathon in 40 and 50 degree weather and then on race day it was 70 and I wanted to die.  This is the opposite so I am hoping it works in my favor!  I trained in the warm weather and now I will run while it's cool and wet so it should feel easier right?

I helped out at packet pickup today at the brand new Fleet Feet store that opened up in the Proctor district in Tacoma.  It is so nice inside and I am really excited to have a running store so close to me- it is literally across the street from the school my kids attend.  Dangerous.  I was given a tour of the new Tacoma City Marathon Association office upstairs and the building is really nice.  They are also selling Skirt Sports and Oiselle clothing.  You should go check it out if you are in the area.

I have been playing with my fueling during training and I find that I feel much better if I take a gel or half of a pack of chews every 35-40 minutes or so.  I tried 45 minutes and it was too long and my energy starts to drop.  I also ate a kid size cliff bar during my 16 and 18 milers and my stomach was just fine.  I ate a honey stinger waffle one time and that did NOT go over well but I should probably have eaten bites of it instead of the whole thing.  So I am debating bringing a cut up cliff bar so I can eat a bite here and there if I want it. 

I am assuming the race will take me 4 hours but I really have no time goal in mind.  If I could finish in 3 hours 50 minutes I would be impressed and if it takes more than 4 hours 15 minutes I will be a bit disappointed.  The total distance works out to 20.6 trail miles with each loop being 10.3 miles.  The only time I have ever ran farther than this was at my marathon a year and a half ago!  I will keep you all posted sometime in the next few days.