Onto Btown!!

[update: April 18, 2008]

I am about to go for a quick run and then head to the airport onto Boston. It is finally here…the weather looks like it will be good, potentially wet and I guess we have yet to see about the wind conditions as those can change by the hour.

Thank you for the good luck messages from all of you…they really mean so much and get me fired up!

A friend of mine gave me a little quote to hold onto…”It’s not whether it hurts or not, it’s whether you mind” I like that.

Onto Btown…!

9 days to go...

[update: April 11, 2008]

photo by Mario Cantu

My last few weeks in Flagstaff went pretty smoothly. My biggest worry putting in so many more running miles than usual was that I would wind up sidelined with a broken foot bone. Luckily this did not happen and I have managed to come off the weeks of training relatively unscathed. Driving down to Phoenix for my flight home it was beautiful to see the wildflowers all in bloom as I dropped down in elevation. Returning back to Austin I could not get over how green everything was after being surrounded by snow and various shades of brown for five weeks. I really enjoyed my time in Flagstaff and would love to return soon but being home…there is just nothing like it.

Arriving last Saturday evening I had the opportunity to wake up and race a 10k…a hard tempo run falling in at just the right time. I felt strong from all the miles up at altitude and had a new feeling in my ankles and feet which seem to have grown stronger from the trail running, which at times left me feeling very hobbily and awkward. The 10k was a good test and on a hilly course I managed to run a 35:47 and was not too beat up by the effort..so I’ll take it. The last few weeks have been all about resting and cutting mileage while keeping up the intensity. I have had days when I have felt horribly sluggy and others when I feel like you know who…so go the days of a race taper. I am counting on Wonder Woman to show up on April 20th! It will be a tough day with so many fast, fit women all wanting the same thing. All that estrogen…talk about a cat fight…raaar! Only nine more days to find out how it will all play out.

The next week will be a avoid getting sick and try hard not to overdue things week for me. I have also been working on my mental toughness as this is a huge part of training in itself. I have a mantra I will be reciting when things get tough during the race. This helps me when the suffering gets deep. Meanwhile I am catching up on reading, doing my taxes and baking gluten free things. Taper is so hard for me because it is all about conserving energy and I am much more a fan of expending energy…needless to say I am counting the days!

There is a plethora of exciting racing to watch this weekend…IM Arizona, IM South Africa and the London marathon. Best wishes to all racing in these events.

GO G!!

[update: April 11, 2008]

The London marathon will be an exciting one to watch as many will be anticipating yet another quick run by Ryan Hall. Go Ryan!

My running coach and friend Gilbert Tuhabonye is also racing there this weekend. Gilbert is in great shape for this race and has the hopes of running a qualifying time for Bejiing. I will be watching him starting at 3:45am central time this Sunday morning. Go Gilbert!!

See this article on Gilbert...