Quassy Recon Trip #4: All Systems Go!

Race day is in just less than two weeks and after yesterday's run, I am READY!!

After my calf injury in early April, I've been very careful about easing back into running.  Over the past three weeks, I've gotten myself back up to 4.5 miles.  But with Quassy coming up so quickly and knowing how my mind works on race day, I did not feel comfortable taking an all out risk on race day.  I needed to know if my calf could handle more mileage.

Therefore, yesterday, amidst the chilly rain, I trekked back to the Quassy course for recon trip #4.  It took some mental force, but I managed to get 16 miles in on the bike though they were quite slow given how cold the wind/rain felt when I sped up.  Then I hopped off and put my running shoes on.  My plan was to tackle the only part of the course I haven't been on this year, the upper loop of the run course.

As you can see to the right, the upper loop is the larger portion of the course.  I ran the lower loop - 4.5 miles - last week.  This week was 8.5 miles.  If I can handle that, then I feel race day is much less of a gamble. 

In the end, it was a success!! 

I made it 3 miles before I even felt tension in either calf.  Then I stopped for what is seeming to be my Quassy run tradition - a bathroom break in the woods.  Thankfully the hills weren't as bad as I remember them being and I kept a log of the course cues; where the hills are, how many there are, which ones are the worst and which to push through. 

When I got back to the car, I had been running just over an hour.

8.65 miles

1:03:59

7:24 pace

If I can hold that pace on race day, I have a pretty good chance of hitting my goal!!  I'll flush that out next week.

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Questions
1.  What's your next race coming up?!

2.  Are you a fair weather or all weather athlete?  Will you go out in the cold and rain?
Despite wanting to bail on yesterday's brick many times, I have to admit I'm an all weather athlete.  I run all winter long, rain usually doesn't stop me, though I will admit that I don't hop on the bike outdoors until it hits 60.

3.  Do you calculate out goals for your races, or do you just throw up a guesstimate goal?
For most races, I've got a spreadsheet of PR's, training times, and such to calculate my race prediction.  I'm a science geek.


Dream.  Believe.  Achieve.