Bear in mind I really didn’t want to make this decision but sometimes it’s just smart to sit back and be realistic.  That’s what I did last week and was fortunate enough to find a terrific solution to a difficult decision!

The Booneville Backroads Ultra (100k) was to be my last IRL race for 2020.  It wasn’t supposed to be but since the New York City Marathon canceled, surprise! It’s my last race of this calendar year.

Hasn’t 2020 been a crazy year?  Never a dull moment!!!

So, let’s just cut to the chase and discuss what’s up…

Super simple explanation, my training has been difficult, aka: it hasn’t been going well at all.  This is not my coach’s fault at all.  The problem has been me and I’m really not sure exactly what’s up?  I do know that going to run that 100k would be a complete train wreck.

What do I mean by difficult?  My RHR has jumped from my usual 40 to 56.  That’s a huge jump!  My COROS is tracking my sleep at double the time spent in light sleep as opposed to deep sleep.  I’m a walking/running zombie.  This runner is constantly exhausted, grouchy and overall not feeling spiffy. My running is suffering as well.  What is normally an easy 22 miler, my body shuts down at mile 15 and flat out refuses to run a step further.

It’s all very odd and I’m completely baffled.

Soooo…

My coach and I had a little heart to heart last week.  Quite frankly I was frantic and a *tad* whiny.  Bless his heart for not smacking me through the phone and saying, Knock it off, Howard!!!  He’s a good guy, my coach.

He asked a question that turned my day around!  Do they offer any shorter distances or is it just 100k/100M?

It was like a light went off in my head!!!

Just a few days earlier, the race had announced on their FB page that a couple of 50k slots had opened up!  Now, I was excited!!!  I fired off a note to the RD while still on the phone to my coach (who was listening to me get frustrated with the website, because I am *that* #TechChallenged person) and about 20 minutes later, I had a reply from the RD (Race Director) that they had very kindly transferred my entry to the 50k!  YAY!!!

Soooo, I still get to run the Booneville Backroads Ultra but I’m running the 50k instead of the 100k and I’m a VERY happy runner!!!

This week will be my last B2B long runs before race day.  Next week is taper time!  Labor Day weekend MFH and I will be off to earn my last piece of bling to send off to Aiden for 2020!!!

It’s going to be a challenging course for sure.  A “few” rolling hills to keep Aiden and I from getting bored during this run.

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and now I’m excited to go smash these miles because…..

#IRun4Aiden