It’s officially race season! There have certainly been some exciting early season races, including the GDR, but there’s no doubt that things have kicked into high gear. My social media feeds are jam-packed with race pictures and reports every weekend, and I love seeing the energy that comes out of each and every event. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 5K or a 100-miler. The smiles are genuine, the sweat is real, and the hard work shows on people’s’ faces. The commitment folks have put in over the winter months are beginning to manifest in PRs, new distances, and the added sense of accomplishment that comes with crossing the finish line. Any finish line. So, to those of you that just finished a race, and those of you getting ready to race, I raise a pint to you!
Chasing42 Log: 20160420- 20160425
Run: I’ve been feeling a bit sluggish at times during the day, and that has carried over into my runs off and on, so I’ve been doing my best to pay attention to my body, hit the rolling hard, stretch out, and make a good faith effort at enough sleep (such a good idea in theory!). The weather has been quite nice, so I’ve been able to get in some comfortable runs over the past few days. I’ve been playing around with my heart rate, my cadence, and my power output in an effort to better assess each effort and create some baseline metrics that I can use to better pace myself during races. Who knew that keeping my heart rate below 125 or my cadence @ 180 would be such a challenge, eh? These are only a few of the numbers I’m gunning for when I’m #chasing42!
Thought: While my running has remained consistent and my #runstreak has kept moving forward, I haven’t necessarily zeroed in on my race schedule for the year yet. I’ve obviously tackled a few events and have a few more on the schedule, but I added two exciting opportunities in the last week. I’ll be running the Delaware Trail Marathon on 4/30, which will give me a chance to spend some more time on local trails, and cross Delaware off my 50 States quest. Then, on June 4th, I’ll be heading up to Ithaca, NY for the Cayuga Trails 50, which doubles as the USATF 50-Mile Championships. We’ll get a chance to camp for a couple of nights and I’ll get to explore some amazing trails. I’m wicked excited about both additions to my calendar!
