Almost Normal

Well, this last week was almost normal. In many ways, it was a typical week in my training routine. I got in 56 miles, had a 14-miler on Sunday, a nice track workout with the Run Wild Missoula group on Tuesday, a nice 8-miler with Kelly Fulton on Wednesday, a strong 7-miler in Butte on Friday morning and a couple of days with core work and/or drills. Just like the good old days!!! And, my body seemed to hold up pretty well.

All in all, I was quite happy with the week.

But, there is one thing missing. My pace is note quite where I would like it to be. I'm still a bit slow in my paces across the board. Long runs, easy days, tempos, intervals, etc. At this point, I would say that I am about 30 seconds per mile off the pace I would like to be hitting.

But, I'm getting closer. And, every week seems to feel a bit better. I actually even have a run here and there where I feel - well, almost normal. And, after the long road back, it's nice to have a few of those runs now and then. I'm not going to lie. There was a time where I questioned whether or not I would even be albe to approach normal pace and mileage. While I'm not fully there yet, I'm getting close enough to be able to realistically think that I may even be able to race respectably again.

With the upcoming spring and summer season almost upon us, it won't be long before I know how far I've come and how far I've got to go. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

The Muddy Buzzard