MRT 5K to 50K

 This race has become a staple in my training plan for the beginning of the year. The opportunity to race any one of several distances is just to good to pass up. Additionally, the course is a pretty much flat 5k loop on the local greenway in Statesville, NC. 

To boot, I didn't really mind the 9 AM start time since the sun gets a chance to bring the temperature above freezing. 

I am eyeing a trail marathon in about 5 weeks so I really wanted to get in a 20 mile tempo run. This race has individual races in 5k increments from 5k to 50k. I opted for the 30k. Yes, I thought about the 35k but the 30k sounded better. I could have a little warm up to get my legs moving, and I could hop right in to the race.

That's pretty much what happened. 

We started in waves with the lower distances going first. 

The early laps were fun. I had others to run with and around but as the miles mounted fewer and fewer runners were there to keep things interesting. Soon, I found myself running solo just churning out laps. 

I noticed that my legs started tighten up on the last lap. I felt like I was running harder but it wasn't showing on the clock. 

But it did accomplish my goals. That's a plus in my book. Now, I am grinding out the final 6 weeks before my race. 

Looking forward to it,

The Cool Down Runner