The more you do the better you feel

I was expecting to be very sore this morning after running for 11 miles and biking for another 16 miles. What I found, though, was that this morning I had one of the better runs I've had in quite some time. I was able to run 8.5 miles in 1:10 which is the equivalent to a 5:10 Kilometer. When I was training for the 2007 Mississauga Marathon, Ken and I would routinely do sub 5 Kilometers but today was the closest I've gotten to that pace.

It doesn't feel like I have a race this weekend but since I've been doing so many Ultra Marathons, I feel like my body has been able to bounce back quite nicely. I haven't really had a rest week since my first race in late April (50 Mile Seaton Trail Race). Saturday will mark my 6th race in the past 11 weeks. The veterans who I've talked to about this have told me that by the end of the race season, in late October, I won't have much left in the tank. I'm hoping that because there is a month between my race on Saturday and the next one in August that I'll be able to do more speed work.

The race on Saturday promises to be very gruelling with lots of hill climbs, hence the race is called a vertical challenge. My goal, as it is with all the other races I've done, is to finish. I'm sure that knowing I won't have a race after this for awhile I'll push myself a little bit more on Saturday.