In my last post I ranted endlessly about how much I thought I was going to dislike the loops in the Summer Round Up 12k...turns out they weren't that bad. It was actually a pretty fast course in general.

However, this was a fairly crappy race for me for other reasons. My lower back was killing me! Like "sweet baby jee...mother of Mary" killing me! I stupidly did some heavy weighted lunges a few days prior to the race thinking "no big deal"...wrong! Turns out I don’t really use my glutes or hamstrings ever, at all, so they are pretty weak and when forced into action get pretty sore and irritated! Hammies and glutes get mad, then proceed to tighten up, then my lower back gets in on the action and tightens up as well.

See, if I would have been foam rolling my face off like I was preaching about, I might not have been in this situation!! Such is life I guess. Anyways, I am proud of myself for not wimping out altogether. I still finished with a descent time, but I was pissed that I had to walk as much as I did. I should have at least grabbed some of the beers that were on the course if I was going to be walking, dang it! 

Now that Summer Round Up is behind us that only means one thing...ASCENT AND MARATHON are fast approaching! I am not even going to pretend I'm not freaking out...because I am. Ahht, before you say it, yes, I KNOW I can do it, it’s just a question of how bad is it going to hurt?!

This is pretty much the stage in the game when everyone is questioning their training plan and beginning to freak out a little bit, so I know I'm not alone! I am trying to stay calm, rather than get bent out of shape for every day I don’t make it out to the trail. This year I have decided to skip BTMR. I am instead going camping in Buena Vista for the weekend with some dear friends and my hubby.

Whilst there I plan to ditch them and run Princeton and Yale Saturday and Sunday. Really hoping the trail isn’t crowded...although if I find myself complaining I should think about my compadres on Barr Trail, that'll shut me up. Figured the back to back 14ers would be a good little training exercise for me in proper fueling and running on tired legs (in preparation for Doubling). 

As the race gets closer and your training peaks, it’s as good of time as any to start nailing down your race day (and pre-race) hydration and nutrition plans. Practice eating at altitude. Practice eating early and often. Practicing running with your hydration pack or bottles or whatever it is you are going to use. Think about what you are going to eat for dinner and breakfast, and of course post-race celebration! I'm going to pause on that for a second...I personally find it tremendously helpful to plan out my post-race celebration. I mean REALLY plan it out, vividly! Visualize it! Play it out in your head down to every last detail!

I find that when I am struggling during the race its helpful to lose myself in that 'dream' and know that it will be a reality soon enough. Having the "finish" so solid in my mind eradicates the possibility of me not finishing...you know, because there are undoubtedly times when you're out there cursing everything and thinking you are going to drop dead at any second. You're not. I promise. So when you hit rock bottom out there, start to play back your vision of 'the finish', it'll keep you distracted and sporting a relatively positive attitude.