It Cuts Like A Knife

The title song was the last thing I heard on the radio before starting the run today, and with the wind cutting through us, it seemed appropriate. Wind chill was in the mid to low 30's, which was actually just fine once we got going. Today's exercise was to turn 10-12 miles, nice and relaxed, no fast finish. This is sort of the junior equivalent of what the Tour de France guys do, keeping a workload on the body on "rest days" as we taper away.

It was a treat to be able to see the trail and roads this morning, with our later 6:30 start time. There was a great deal of chatter as we went along, and honestly, it was a pretty uneventful run. We had some fun, and ran comfortably, gathering up various runners as we went along. A couple of water stops brought our pace down, but that's not a big deal anymore. It was nice to know that we won't face that long out and back on Lake Austin Blvd on marathon day. The route was the Scenic loop, so we could get some modest hills in one last time. Shannon joined us later, running backwards on the route, due to a clock malfunction. Bob and Charlene also had clock troubles, and caught us the old fashioned way, running faster behind us. They hooked up with us at the last water stop with about 3 miles to go. The conversation today revolved mainly around race strategies, pacing, goal times, and other last-minute stuff that crowds our minds with a week to go. We picked it up very slightly over the last 3 miles, approaching MGP, but it was nothing like the crazy fast finishes we've done over the past 3 months.

Overall, 11.4 miles, average pace 9:13 without water stop time, 9:39 including all stop time. Basically we did just what we were asked to do, and I think everyone felt pretty comfortable doing it. We're starting to experience all those weird physical and mental things that crop up when you're backing down the mileage. People are reporting phantom pains, heavy legs, imagined breathing difficulties, and general sleep issues. Normal, and nothing the actual marathon won't cure.

We did a handful of striders at Auditorium shores, and then did the full stretching routine. I think everyone is just ready for this to be done, to see what all these months of training have brought each of us. Just 8 more days now!