Not a bad bit of (running), huh? You know, sometimes I even amaze myself.

Week 10's challenging runs are complete and have been an unmitigated success. They were:

Wed 6am: 2:14:04, 12.95mi (7.15 outside+5.8 trdmill@11+% incl, 6230' vert)
Thurs 5pm: 3:15:00, 20.75miles on the trails at Fair Hill
Fri 4am: 3:00:00, 17.0mi (10.75 outside+6.25 trdmill@11+% incl, 6785' vert)

I'm definitely exhausted. The runs went much better than expected though. 6:15 and almost 38 miles of running in a span of just 15 hours is both flabbergasting and exhilarating. In the past 4 1/2 YEARS, I've only run for longer than 3 hours a total of 4 times and to do so twice in 15 hours is very reassuring when considering what will be required during the race. I feel that, besides from the altitude differences, these 3 days might closely represent the effort required for the first 3 days of the race. Of course, during the race I'll need to do this for three more days! There is also the fact that I may wake up tomorrow morning with an injury and my elation will be quashed. But for now, I can enjoy the weekend and relax (i.e., focus on lifting, biking, swimming, and one easy run. Yeah, relaxing, right.)