These weekly posts are getting to be less about the training and more about how life attempts to interfere. Ah, well. Life happens. You adjust and move on!

So this week I completed one task on my training plan, and that was a 12 mile run. I had originally scheduled this long run for the previous Saturday, but I opted instead to watch my son play tennis. So I had looked at the weather for the week and Tuesday looked like a good enough alternate. And then Allison, my guide runner, texted wanting to see if she could join me for a run. We had talked about doing another long run together, but with her schedule thus far we weren’t able to make a weekend work. Luckily she was free on Tuesday, so we made it happen!

I love showing off these trails. Allison hadn’t run them before (at least I don’t think so), so it was fun to show them off to her. I’m very proud of “my” trails 😉 We had great weather. I could have done with a few degrees cooler, but I’m not complaining because it beats running in the rain. Most of the miles were uneventful, but I could tell during the last couple that my left leg was dragging. I made sure to let her know so she would stay close enough for me to grab her arm if needed. I did trip once or twice but I did not fall (just call me Weeble).

Since the Tuesday long run got me off schedule (and I spent a second Saturday watching my son play tennis) I don’t know when I’ll do my final long run. The race is only 12 days away, so maybe it’s too late to be doing long runs, and I should just lean into the taper? When you are trying to fit training into your schedule *and* work around Michigan’s unpredictable weather, it gets tricky. So I think this week I’ll do some shorter runs to keep up the mileage and extra step-ups and stair climbs to keep those hill climbing muscles ready.

I have to say I’m a little concerned about my readiness for this race. I keep hearing about the gnarly hills/dunes, and I’ve been increasingly slacking on both my short runs and my strength training. Hopefully my early commitment to the training left me with some strength I can draw from during the race. I don’t have a time goal, so I really am just hoping to enjoy myself and the incredible views. I heard that Good Morning America voted Sleeping Bear Dunes the Most Beautiful Place in America. That’s high praise. I mean, what about the Grand Canyon? The entire state of Alaska? Hawaii? But no, our little ole Sleeping Bear Dunes ranked #1. And I’m gonna have the privilege of running through it. I can’t wait!