Real David H.

Disclaimer: I’m an ambassador of the 2020 Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon, but all thoughts in this post and post/future posts about the race are my own. Get 20% off your race entry of any distance with code BRMDAVID20

With a lack of winter weather, a new job, and house-hunting, time has FLOWN by to start 2020. And now there are less than 6 weeks to go until the Blue Ridge Marathon.

Saaaay what?

Despite so many other things going on around me (oh yeah … sick kids), running continues to be going very well.

A few notes and other thoughts on my mind:

• This week I ran 32.5 miles, the most in a 7-day span in a few years. I ran a lot more during the week than usual and then focused on hills on tired legs for today’s long run. I felt really good, but my legs are toast right now.

• I really would like to finish the marathon in under 5 hours. That feels doable based on my lessons learned last year, but I know I have a lot of work left to do.

• The Shamrock Half is less than two weeks away! I’m focusing on a 1:55 goal for that, which is kind of weird considering I once got really close to sub 1:40 at that race.

• I’m still wondering why people didn’t fill me in on the magic power of pickle juice. I still haven’t had any major cramping issues since I started drinking it before and after long runs, and occasionally during the week.

• Lastly, I really hesitate to write about the coronavirus COVID-19, but I am concerned about large events getting canceled. There’s a lot of discussion worth having, but in the coming week, the cases and death toll are going to drastically increase. It’s not because people are all of a sudden sick, but it’s because they’re already sick. But there’s a lot people need to keep in perspective on the numbers, what this illness actually does (or doesn’t do) and focus on protecting the elderly. Canceling a race, at this time, does not seem necessary at all.