14 - 20 Dec

On Sunday I did a trail/XC race (Mescherbergloop 15K) in the snow, which was a first and by far the most difficult and fun race of the year. It's the same race I did last year in which I wore road racing shoes on the muddy course. I certainly did not make the same mistake. This time around I wore the La Sportiva Crosslite, which I highly suggest if you're looking for a lightweight trail or XC shoe that gives excellent traction.

The course itself was grueling with lots of steep uphills and downhills, uneven surfaces (plowed farmlands) and 180 wooden stairs to climb. Throw in the snow and you could only imagine how difficult the run was. I ended up running 5 minutes slower (1:01:50) than I did last year (56:41) and placed 9th overall in what was a very strong field of runners.  The race got the best of my quads and now I'm spending these next few days doing easy running to recover.

Here's the training summary for the week of 14-20 Dec.

Mon: 10M easy

Tues: Noon - 5M easy; PM - 9M including 15 x 300 w/ 100 rec.

Wed: 10M easy

Thur: 10M easy

Fri: 9M with the last mile at half-marathon effort

Sat: 7M easy

Sun: 15K trail/XC race in the snow; 13M total

Weekly Total: 73 miles