[ "Anticipation.. is making me wait" ]  Hills, hills and more hills, that is all I've been doing this past month in regards to running. A few beautiful mornings with the sun rising, Deer and Quail feeding in the tall green brush and good ol' hill running. Run, run, further up to the top, looks so bright I might be on a bight, have no fear I will be over-the-hill.

Prior to those hills I had run my first 16 and 18 miler weekends and I felt great! When I ran my 14, I was nervous and scared, scared of not knowing how I would do. Well I did fine, was a bit sore at most distances but came out ok. The 16 was much stronger and more confident with some soreness in miles 14 through 16. My feet were really sore at the balls and bottoms of my toes, felt like they were on fire! A few days before that 16 I was sharing my nervousness with my beautiful wife and a co-volunteer on my SAR team. Both are long distance runners, my wife having completed a couple marathons (Honolulu & Nike) and my SAR buddy completing a few ultramaratons. They both got what I was saying and both said I had nothing to be nervous about....yada yada yada... next thing I know my nervousness was gone. Something I totally made up myself. I thank them for their insight and support, they are both strong people in my life. Well my nervousness is gone but I'll always have my butterflies. I love having butterflies before a run, a hockey game, before a SAR call-out or even before a grueling mtn bike ride. Simply put.. I love it!

I felt those butterflies on my 18 miler but no nervousness. I had worked on removing my nervousness all week and it paid off with a flipping solid run. YES! That 18 is done! BAM! Gone! Bu-Bye! Next.....?

My coach had suggested moving my long distance runs to a further out weekend date in order to build in some extra recovery time into my schedule. Seems to have worked b/c I feel very refreshed and can't wait for some flat and long running. Although I adore trail running, there is something to be said for running out in the open, long and flat paths. So tomorrow morning for the very first time I attempt and will complete my 20 miler. I started carbing up yesterday and had a solid sleep last night. Looking forward to more sleep tonight as I try and get to bed between 8 and 9pm... that will be tough. I am very excited and anticipate a very strong run tomorrow. Stayed tuned for an update! Godspeed!