Anticipation

Distance: 9mi. @ 7:38

Time: 1:08

This has been a great last 48 hours for me.  I got some great news that could change a number of variables in my life.  On Wednesday, Caitlin put the word out to see if anyone wanted to run at 6AM at McAlpine Thursday instead of at the Dowd.  Naturally, I jumped on this opportunity.  William Isenhour and I met Caitlin in the main parking lot and took off for Old Bell.  I knew the plan was to hold 7:30 for the run.  When I started hitting 7:20, 7:14 in the first few miles, I knew I just had to suck it up and ignore what the watch said.  Being out at the muddy trail surfaces of McAlpine was a nice change from the Colville loop.  We decided to take the greenway all the way down Campbell Creek and back to the course.  I was a little weary of hitting the asphalt considering Caitlin's recent IT band troubles, but she felt fine as we finished up a great run.  Trying to be smart about the effort I put in right before the 50K, I had a nice cycle of falling 10-20m behind then catching up with Cait and Will.  At the end of a 9.15 mile sunrise trot at McAlpine, my average was still 7:38 just as if I had been with all the guys down at the Dowd, but I felt fantastic.  This is exactly why I decided to join Charlotte Running Club in addition to the University City Road Runners in the first place.  Naturally I tried to restrain my excitement, but as much as I become enthralled with our local running celebrities, all I could think was that I finally got to "See Red Run" firsthand. Awesome!  So my last solid run before the big day tomorrow was a nice push for me, and I'm thankful that Will and Cait took it easy sticking with the 7:30 plan.

I joined Allen, Stephanie Sawyer, Emily Hansen, Theoden, Jade, Leonard, Billy, and Bjorn at the Burger Co. for their typical Friday morning lunch.  Filled with great conversation, a little discussion of our plans for the race tomorrow, delicious food, and wonderful friends, I really hope to meet up for this crew on Fridays more often.  I realize that I get excited again and again to think how far I've come since moving to Charlotte, but two years ago, I couldn't possibly imagine learning from and running with some of the greatest minds and fastest legs in the Queen City.  I could be a little nervous leading into my first ultra-marathon tomorrow, but really I've just got great anticipation.