Returning to the Winter Wonderland...or just plain cold weather.

Well, the last couple of weeks since my last post have been relatively uneventful. I had a small scare last Saturday, there was a bit of pain in my lower leg that I thought at first might be bone related, but as I paid more attention I realized that it was muscular pain from stepping/landing wrong on Friday's run. A bit of intensive icing and Sunday off and I was ready to rock and roll again on Monday.

I head back to school next Tuesday, and classes resume Wednesday. I must say--I am ready to get back to both my team and to training on soft surfaces. It has been a fun training period over break, running with the group in Dalton, but I'm ready to get off the streets and back onto the trails of North Carolina. Here's to hoping that the temperature in Montreat isn't too much colder than it is here at home. (As if that were a possibility!)

I did have a good run last week with a former teammate of mine from high school. He and I went about eight miles, but the nice leisurely run accidentally turned into a pretty quick clip, and after running the first half at an even 7-minute pace, we made the return trip at a good bit under 6:30 pace. The good part about this is, I didn't notice the pace pickup (which is probably part of why it occurred--combined with the fact that neither of us is ever willing to complain about an increase in tempo, rather we have always sucked it up and kept going), and actually felt as if we were slowing down. To have a strong second half of a run like that is encouraging, and I am looking forward to the coming weeks as I hone my fitness a bit more.

Speaking of fitness, Coach Larios told me last week that the team will undergo a fitness test when we return from break, and that our level of fitness--based on that test--will largely determine the races which we run in the near future. I think that's fair enough. I also think that I have certainly gained fitness--if not confidence, as well--during this break, and I hope to return to school ready to make just a few adjustments necessary only to sharpen myself in the month and a half before Albany.