Last Major Long Run Before Hennepin

It's 20 days till the Hennepin Hundred and I got my last major run in this morning.  My goal was to run between five and six hours at a reasonable pace.  This was my last chance to test my run/walk strategy of 10/2 for an ultra distance.  It went very well, covering 32.4 miles in five hours and twenty-nine minutes for a 10:06 per mile average.  I stayed pretty steady throughout the run with miles ranging from 9:18 to 10:36 depending on when the walk occurred.  The last four miles were 9:18, 9:59, 10:02 and 10:13 (last one with Pepper, our dog).  I felt pretty decent for the whole run.  I had two stops to buy drinks and snacks for about another 10 minutes.  With this latest run, I have decided to go with the 10/2 strategy for as long as I can at the race and see where I end up before I have to adjust.  I am hoping to reach the halfway point without any major changes in the strategy.

Howl at the Moon 2015

Well it's been a few days since Howl at the Moon.  It was a very good day for me.  I ran very steady all day with the first half averaging about 9:50 miles and the 2nd have about 10:15 miles.  In fact, I was still running sub-10:00 minute miles after six hours.  I ended up covering 47.56 miles in the 8 hours.  My best run in 6 years.  This was my first year in the Superior division and I was hoping to win it, but in a big surprise, I actually ended up 3rd overall which eliminated me from the division awards.  Which I was extremely pleased with. It is the highest I have ever placed overall.  1st place was like 55 miles and 2nd was about 50.  So I was very happy.  Also, covering that much mileage, not doing a large taper and feeling pretty good the last few days has really helped my confidence in my training and fitness for the 100 mile in just one month from today.  In the four days after the Howl I have put in 30 miles with only a little soreness.  The plan is to put two more good weeks of training in with at least one 30 to 35 miler and then it will be time to actually have a good taper and let the body really get rested for the big one.  Oh, and Jennifer, my oldest daughter, managed to reach her first ultra with 31.11 miles.  I was so proud of her.