From 0 to 60...

I spent the last 6 days at Keene State Cross Country camp. I was a counselor and coach for 51 high school campers. The week was packed with running, swimming, conditioning, and lectures. My own running was jump started back into existence with my little training camp. The week looked like this:

Saturday: raced the Bill Luti 5mile road race, total of 7 miles for the day with warmup and cooldown. I finished in 5th place among women in 31:28. I was happy, since 6:30 pace was my goal and I hit 6:20s.
Sunday: 3miles
Monday: 3miles AM, 3miles PM
Tuesday: 4miles at 6AM, 3.5 more miles at 7:15AM, then 3.5 miles PM
Wednesday: 6miles at 6AM, 3miles at 7:15AM, 4 miles PM with fartlek on cross country course
Thursday: 6miles at 6AM, 2miles at 7:15Am, 5.5miles PM with 1xDeath Hill
Friday: 7mile at 6:30AM, 1.5miles with sprint work at 9AM
I typically don't calculate a weekly training block to run from Saturday to Friday, but since I hadn't been running in, like, 6 weeks and I did my first run in the race on Saturday, I decided to add up the miles for the week starting with the race. So I ran 100k in 7 days. That impressed me since the highest mileage week I ever did in college was maybe 45.

I hadn't really been back to Keene since I moved out in 1999, and I hadn't run there since I graduated. There is something about being back on campus, being back on my old training loops, that stirred my love of running. These were the trails where I became a serious athlete. This was where it all began. Running with my college coach, racking up the miles... nostalgic doesn't even begin to describe it. I never planned on adding the morning runs, in fact, I had my bike with me with the intention of getting an hour or so in every morning before the kids' first run.

But even though I began my cycling career there, I equate Keene with running. And living on campus in the dorms made me feel like I was back in college again. So I ran. I had to get up every morning at 4:45, stumble two blocks down the street to Cumby's for coffee, then back to the dorm. Pete and I would head out for 4-6 miles on the trails at 6, before the campers got up. We'd be back by 6:45, ready to wake them and head our on run number 2. After morning session, lunch, and afternoon session, we did our afternoon workout. Then back to the dorm for a quick change and some easy swimming to relax the legs. Then on to dinner, then evening games like volleyball or capture the flag...then back to the dorm for movies (Showdown, Run Like Hell), then bed. I basically immersed myself in running for the past 6 days

I think I may have inadvertently cancelled the rest of my cycling season. The bike doesn't really interest me at the moment.

100K weeks, however, seems damn appealing.

I should be ready for Reach the Beach. And a fall marathon is starting to seem more like a reality than a dream.