The next morning, ran in the trail 10k team challenge, got off course with some other runners, likely ran about 7 miles.....still scored some points for the team - we had a fun time, it was worth it.

Felt good enough to run the interval speedwork on Monday - Tuesday I was really beat and a bit sore.

Surviving that 3 day stretch gives me some confidence...

Tomorrow a.m.- club competition - 10k XC style on hilly trails, banking on the rest of the team to pick up my slack - will be fun

a learning experience as well...

17:14 for the 5000m & 35:38 for the 10,000m

Hot humid weather!

really neat to run up gainst some really good runners my age or older...

Very excited about it. A chance to run against some of the best runners in my age group.

A chance - what more could I possibly ask for?

Have been training hard for months, legs have been complaining, mind fighting doubt, now I can ease off and get ready...

Not really about winning anything, more about celebrating a great sport, and being grateful to the training partners and running groups who helped me along the way. I want to run my best in appreciation.

So thanks.

Ran 5 warm-up loops in 26:30, then ran loops at or under 4:00, was able to complete 15 loops at that pace. (59:52)

I'm able to monitor my pace, keep myself on track, and it helps me stay motivated during the run.

Hopefully, if fitness increases, I'll be able to run an increasing number of loops at that pace.

This could be a big help in training for my fall marathon.

Time to re-tool and become a 10,000m track runner in 14 weeks. Have 4 weeks in a row of speedwork so far, hope to see progress soon

To medal (age group-wise) I'll need to run a 10k time that I haven't had in ten years. Two years ago I came within 1:20 in a road 10k, but I was training for a 50 miler, so who knows...

Will run interval work twice a week now, other runs will be much slower and intended for recovery.

May run a local 5k this weekend to see where I'm at.

After 2 miles, I found a rhythm that helped me maintain/ my pace for next three miles. Synchronized a breath for every two steps off of my right foot.

It helped me catch, run with, and pass 4 runners, two of them in the last mile.

After many years of racing, you can still learn....