Chicago Build Up

This will be a brief update. Everything is fine. Eighteen days until Chicago and all systems are 'Go'. My training summary for the last seven days is shown to the right...75 miles for the week. The weekend was tough, with a 14.5 mile trail run on Saturday and a 22 miler on Sunday. It was an odd day on the trails, with both Godales missing. (Mark is in Greece for the Spartathon and Steve couldn't get a ride. ) Paul R. led the way and we kept a good but not crazy pace.
Sunday, I was back on the road in Solon with the SERC group. I kept about an 8 min pace for the 22 miles. Not fast, but it's not supposed to be. I worm my fuel belt, with water bottles filled with Heed. I did take one Vivarin at 16 miles, and I took some electrolyte pills, getting my body accustom to what I'll be taking in Chaiago. I wore my Nike Free's, because I've decided that these will be my shoes for Chicago.
As you might know, this is a more unstructured, very flexible and light-weight shoe. Some people warn that it provides little cushioning and will lead to injuries, but I've found that overly padded shoes with traditional heels interfere with my mid-foot strike, and cause me to heel strike. I think the Free's help me keep maintain my form and stride, which is probably more important in prevent injuries than having extra padding.

Monday was a light recovery day. Intervals on Tuesday went very well. My miles times were 5:46, 5:59, 5:53. Thanks to Tim Hackett for pushing me to run that 5:46 mile.

I said this would be brief.