Back on the trails....

Sorry, I took the last 2 months off to recoup from Georgia Death Race.  I was mentally spent after that race and wanted nothing to do with training.  Run for fun was my motto.  I only ran with my gps when I needed to due to time constraints.  In the middle of May, I had a final dental surgery to fix my gum recession.  That put me with 2 weeks of "no run".  By Memorial Day weekend, I was ready to start training!

I started this week with a short shake-out run with Mark on Monday.  The next day, I headed to Ball State University to do a Metabolic Efficiency Test.  The point of this test was to see where I cross over from fat burning to carbohydrate burning.  Using this information, we can fine tune my nutrition plan for not only training, but also for racing. While I don't have the final results, it was clear that I am actually already a pretty efficient 'fat burner'.  That explains why I have don't tolerate food while running.  Now to get the details ironed out to help me during races.

I ran a few other times, to include a great run on Sat with Nettie.  Overall, I ran 41 miles this week and feel great. Not too bad.

The other thing that is new: I have a coach now.  Yes, I know I could finish Bear on my own training plan, but I also admit that I need some focus to help me.  I signed up with Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) for a trial coaching session.  Corrine Malcom is now my coach.  She's headed to the World Trail Ultra Championships in Italy this week to compete for Team USA.  I really enjoyed my discussion with her yesterday on goals and expectations. I even admitted to her my fears that a training plan would hurt my love for running.  She understood completely.  My first week's schedule was published a just a bit ago.  It's exciting, but also recognizes my limitations.  I am very hopeful at this point.

The Bear is in 16 weeks...we have bought our airline tickets and are planning a vacation of it.