USATF Cross Country Championships

I ran the 2007 USATF Cross Country Championship with a time of 41:11 for 8K. This was on Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder CO. It was too tough for the limited amount of race training I had and I slowed down somewhere between miles 3 and 4. But it was a glorious day and I had fun. I'll take the next week off from hard training. I'll start training again on Monday Feb 19.

USATF XC this Saturday

The USATF XC Championship is this Saturday at Flatirons Golf Course. I only have 3 weeks of 65% level training in so I do not expect to do well. Plus 5 mi on frozen grass could be very tough. So once again, my objective is to have fun and not get hurt. It's going to be 4 x 2Km laps. There is a slight chance of snow and temperatures are expected to be a few degrees above freezing. But this XC race is getting me ready to do some serious running. I just found a 4 mi race Mar 24 and I can train at about 83% for all of March. Then I go to 92% for 3 weeks before the Earth Day 5K. Then it's 4 weeks of 100% for the Bolder Boulder 10K.

More Snow in the Forecast

It's been 3 days since the Best 4 mi XC and my upper body has recovered but my legs are dead. I ran easy this morning rather than hill repeats. Thursday I plan on a 2.5 mi threshold run and Saturday a 13 mi long run. Hopefully I have some spring in my legs by Thursday.

Best XC .... Result

I ran the Best XC Race on the Planet yesterday. My time was 36:35 for 4 mi. The weather was snowing with 2-3" on the ground. It was impossible to run without spikes so I tried to make a tempo run out of it. I lost my heart rate in the middle of the second lap because the electrode slipped off my chest.The second lap was very tough because I was being passed by the leaders so I moved off into the chop at the side. I have a sore left ankle and a bruised ego but I still had fun. Increasing my threshold run next Thursday to 2.5 mi will be no problem after yesterday. I'm upping my training stress level by 10% to 80% because the USATF XC championships on Feb 10 are also going to be a tempo run. I want to get to 90% stress level for 5-6 weeks before the Earth Day 5K where I will qualify for my Bolder Boulder wave. 90% is 4mi Easy, 8 hills, 3 mi Threshold, and 15 mi Long.

5 days Until the Best XC

Every runner in Boulder was out last Saturday running like crazy. Not only was it a week before the Best XC but the forecast for Sunday was cold and more snow. Storm #5 left 2.8 inches in Boulder. I ran 13 mi on Sat. to the drinking fountain, (it worked!) by Boulder HS. I reasoned I could increase my long run by 10% because I had run 2:00 three times and I was going to take Sunday off. It's Mon and I'm thinking of running hill repeats tomorrow. I know I swore only one anaerobic run per week but I'll have 3 days of easy before the BestXC to recover. And Sarah Slattery said she is going to run a hard workout Tue so I have to do the same. I'm betting my hill will be dry tomorrow morning. I will not run a threshold on Thu. I feel like I have recovered from the long run and I don't think hill repeats tomorrow are going to hurt me. I think they are going to give me a little extra spark for Sat.