I ran a strong little 2.5 miles this morning in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. Happy to be alive! Tomorrow and Sat will be cross train/stretch/hydrate and then "save up" for another 13. on Sunday.

Thanks for the GREAT advice everyone regarding the hills on my new half marathon course.

BigSlade Thanks and I hope the "dead legs" are a thing of the past!

Old Coyote Great hill advice! I especially like " when you pass someone on an uphill, they tend to stay passed". Funny, re: baby raccoon! Must of been darn cute, though. Outstanding miles, times and dedication on your part, Mr.!

jmsab23 Thanks, yes the Maine Half has very few hills...oh well (for me) Sweet run you had yesterday!

mkayc Also great hill advice! So, looks hilly eh? I'm going to remember mile 7 and 9. One of those might be about the time I use a gel, so it could be a little walk/drink/gel break.

linuscatch Thanks! I feel the same way about walking on uphills, I feel like I've given up when I have to walk. But my "running" on a steep uphill is sometimes more like a run/shuffle! I'm going to keep in mind your advice: "using shorter strides, and maintaining level of effort, then "let it fly" downhill." Good job on the ol' "dreadmill", even if it was pulling a plow the whole way.

Snerb If I was'nt such a "Nervous Nell" out on the trails here, I'd do more trail running. It's just very full of "wildlife" here in the Berkshires and my dog is not exactly a courageous watchdog! Nice trail run and best of luck Saturday.

NHLA You=Machine!

OshCat, get that foot looked at either by doctor or PT just to ease your mind. If it's just a strain and you have to lay off for 10 days, you'll do fine. You are so ready for this half that you'll kill it and the rest will actually help your performance, believe it or not. Do as I say, not as I do. I hear but I do not listen.

GUESS WHO JUST GOT A BIB FOR THE AF HM THIS SATURDAY!!!?????  I did I did I did   Someone from work got injured. Doing my happy dance before the sh*t gets serious. You'll never guess who found it for me - Scott!  And he made arrangements to pick it up from the expo and get it to me. You guys are stranger than strange but you sure make life exciting!

Oshcat- if it's still hurting tomorrow, I would get it checked so your not wondering about it as you get closer to the race. Best wishes!

Melody- I looked at the elevation chart for my HM and started sweating!  Can't figure out how to copy it to this post, but let's just say there is a lot of up/down.  We end up where we start, so what goes up will also come down; I'll have to take advantage of that!

I've been REALLY taking it easy this week.  Weather looks perfect in this area for Saturday morning; overnight lows near 41, with high of only 70, so it won't be getting hot by late morning when I come straggling in.

Best of luck to everyone this weekend!

Mel: looking at your course I would call it moderate but interesting. The problem is the first 4 miles are easy and you have to run fast early. 4.5-9 are tough. Shorten stride,walk 30 sec. on last hill, and focus on the last three miles.

OshCat I HOPE that pain is nothing! I have stayed quiet for a day or so because the last time I had pain in my foot...it was a pulled tendon.

mkayc Yay! Happy for you, but please go easy on that hammy.

jmsab23 Thanks, Jon. I can see how that would work. When I do power up a hill, I feel like the toe/ball of my foot sticks like a powerful magnet to a metallic hill.

justrundan BEST OF LUCK tomorrow!

linuscatch Great advice, thanks.

NHLA From you, those are powerful words! Thanks.

13.2 3:10. Would have come in under 3 hr if not for hammy. Legs were willing; butt on the hammy leg started crying at m.4 and screaming after m.9 so I had to stop running. GREAT RACE!!!Really well organized, good site, nice runners and great swag.

NHLA - grats on the relay, and glad you're recovering well.

Linuscatch - is this your first half? I don't remember if you've said.

marykay - good job!

Dan - can't wait to hear your race report!

Melodylea - I saw a bird today I didn't recognize, a raptor, a falcon or maybe an owl. It was sitting on a fence post and let me approach pretty close, so it may have been ill. About 16" tall, white plumage speckled with black (a juvenile, maybe?) I'll try to locate it in a bird guide.

17 miles 2:46 9:46 overall pace, fastest pace I've ever done any distance over 13.1. Fairmount trail again, because it's similar to the marathon course. I may run part of the course next week, though. We'll see.

This is the first week in about 8 that I've been able to follow the schedule exactly. Easy three Monday, 10K at tempo Wed., 12.3 at marathon pace Thurs., 17 at LSD pace (marathon plus 46 sec). 41 miles overall, a new max for me. I feel ready. Another 20 miler next week, 18 miler for the long run week after that,  and then the taper. I'm ready for that, I'm so tired LOL! Actually been sleeping great, waking without an alarm, feeling refreshed, so I'm not overtrained, just 48 years old. Youth is wasted on the young. Present comp'ny excepted, o' course .

Run free, stay fearless!

Coyote WOW that is a great long run way to go

Dan awaiting every last detail !!!!!!!!

NHLA garbage dump road. now I know why you run so fast. Lol

NRDgirl good luck on that last long run.

As for me today I did my last long run all 26 miles of it. did 24 miles with a group training for various marathons. support all the way water bathrooms etc etc . had a small toe nail issue fixed at mile 24 then finished remaining two miles on the track rather than hold up the group.

it's taper time "Chicago here I come"