Round #2 of the Double Marathon Weekend...

To say that yesterday, day two of that back-to-back marathon weekend, went surprisingly well is an understatement. Many times during the run I questioned who's body I was borrowing for the day because I was shocked to be feeling so spry & strong. An epic run to finish an epic weekend!

Round #1 of the Double 26.2 Weekend

Simply put: today was a very blessed day.

With back-to-back 26.2s this is an epic weekend in ultra training for Lean Horse. After weeks of deliberation I decided on fairly scenic trail for the first marathon (when we would hopefully feel the strongest/spry) and leave the country gravel roads for the second (when we would be on tired/sore legs.)

What I didn't expect was such a good turn out of fellow runners to help pace sections of the trail with Maggie & I, or such comfortable weather, or a body that was agile to the very end. Did I get tired at portions, of course. Did I finish feeling stiff & sorta sore, sure. But can I run a full 26.2 tomorrow, Absolutely. Let's do this!

Here's praying that the Lord will allow me to wake up feeling as jolly good as I do right now. :) One can hope.

Time for Trail...

The last two months I have been battling on again off again sinus issues which has been as much fun as sand in a speedo. Thankfully it seems I am making my way past the sick all week but healthy enough for the weekend long run followed by a solid training week followed by a full week totally under the weather & stuck in bed cycle.

Despite the illness I have had some great training sessions one of which included 18miles of hills with the ultra crew starting at 4am going off of a few hours of sleep to practice running with a headlamp and fatigue. Believe it or not filming in the dark is as black on camera as it is in person so I didn't bother posting that, but let it be known it was done and actually quite enjoyable. :)

Now for this weekend's fun...

With Fargo spring flooding and gravel roads in the country getting a bit dull Maggie (a.k.a. the best running buddy a girl could ask for!) & I decided to hit the trail a bit earlier than planned this season. Much to our surprise & delight over 95% of the snow out at Maplewood had already melted making for a stellar 11 miler!

13 Miles of Ice

Training since Red Lodge has been pretty phenomenal, my body is responding & recovering well to the mileage/intensity. To say I am encouraged by this is an understatement, it's like the Lord's face is shining down on me.

Three years ago I never thought I would be the type of person to wake up & think "running a 1/2 marathon this morning sounds fun, I'll do that." Yet in the past 1.5 wks I have found myself thinking and doing just that; twice! This is video from one of them...

Riding & Red Lodge...

This week My Beloved & I set out on our yearly snowboarding getaway/vacation. God blessed us with everything from blue-bird skies, to fog, to a foot of powder that fell overnight. It seems the powder days always happen the day we are set to leave, but thankfully Jeremiah was patient enough to extend our stay a 1/2 day so I could get a few runs in it. Glee.

Some things are better expressed in image, so here's my RLM photo-review...

Fighting For Footing...

Three inches of snow fell Friday evening & with temps in the mid-20's to low 30's Saturday it quickly melted into silty sludge for this week's long run. 15 of the 23.5 miles we covered felt like running in slick sand. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Still loving every minute of it & thankfully despite being pretty exhausted afterward my body has recovered beautifully. God is good!

And yes, it's okay to laugh at my expression at the start of the video blog. I am. :)

Hills & More Hills...

Felt surprisingly up to the task of this week's long-run. Praise God the lingering head cold didn't damper the ambition too much. 22miles with a lot of hills & great company, good challenge!