Buckeye Trail Group Run

This morning I got to Boston Store for a 7 o'clock group run.  We headed out north on the Buckeye Trail towards Brecksville.  The trails were a little sloppy, but not too bad.  There were 10-12 of us in the group.  We had a great time!  I'm always amazed how fast the miles fly by with a group.  When we got near the Brecksville horse stables, we headed back and jumped on the Towpath for the final few miles.  We finished with about 17 for the day.

Headlamp Season & 2016 Goal

I drove over to Pine Lane tonight and went for a run to Boston Store and back for 8 miles. I started at 7 o'clock so the sun had set quite a bit before.  The moon was pretty full and lit up the trails nicely, but I still needed a headlamp for extra light.  I've had a lot of motivation lately, despite the decreasing temperatures and sunlight. I attribute this solely to a race I recently signed up for and my number one goal for 2016: the Burning River 100.

I signed up for it on October 30th, four days after returning from our honeymoon.  I've been thinking about running a 100 miler for quite awhile now, even dismissing the idea all together several times.  I was never confident I could get in the training needed or that I ever wanted to do one in my lifetime.  However, I've come to the conclusion that it is something that is at the very top of my running goal to-do list.  I feel confident, more than ever, that I have the motivation to get in the training I need.  There's been many times I've signed up for a race and not trained nearly enough.  The furthest I've gone is 100K.  I was decently trained for that, but feel that is about the absolute furthest I can go by just "winging it".  Pure grit has gotten me to the finish line many times.  Never having DNF'd a race is a chip I always carry on my shoulder when quitting sounds tempting.  However, I don't think grit alone, or that chip on my shoulder, can get me to the finish at Cuyahoga Falls.  This has provided me all the motivation I need.

I'm looking forward to the months ahead, continuing to build my base and staying healthy through the winter.  Something I've gained through the years is strength and the knowledge of how not to injure myself.  I'm not afraid anymore to drop my mileage for a week if something is bothering me, even slightly.  I'm more aware now of pain vs. soreness.

Anyway, I plan to make more regular posts now about my training.  Looking forward to the trial of miles :)