To quote my good friend Chris Schauble's previous blogs, "I am now focusing on the goal beyond the goal". This goal has nothing to do with my racing, it has to do with my team's. Each year our team participates in 5-7 races for free through the great program Students Run LA (www.srla.org). However, most of my team are quickly turning into endurance junkies like their coach and we try to get into as many races as possible each year. Over the years we have raced tons of l"extra" local 5K's and 10K's that we pay for. We have also been extremely fortunate to have Nike support us and send us to the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco (the best race, by far, we have raced to date) the last 4 years (we are so hoping for a 5th year!!!!!). We have even ventured into the world of triathloning doing our local Hansen Dam triathlon each August. We are always looking to expand our horizons. Well, we found it this year. Our new race to focus on after the LA Marathon will be the Ragnar Relay (www.ragnarrelay.com). If you are unfamiliar with it, the race is 12-person relay race that starts in Santa Barbara and ends in Dana Point. Each team member runs three legs, ranging between 3 and 8 miles. This relay race is physically demanding, but legs vary in difficulty, and runners can choose their legs. This unique relay format makes Los Angeles an accessible race for beginners yet challenging enough for the most competitive. We are going to be taking 2 teams of 12 and maybe even a 3rd team. The 24 runners are so excited they are already looking to see which legs they will be running. Damn I love these kids!

First though we have to focus on LA. Tomorrow will be one of our long runs; 18 to be exact. This should feel easier than last week's 15 miler because we are running all 18 miles on a semi-flat course. The 15 miles last week was so hilly, it was brutal (from what I heard and saw since I couldn't run it due to my nagging injury). Tomorrow will be a great test for everyone, even the veterans who are looking to PR at this year's fats, LA Marathon course. It will also build some confidence leading into our 22 miler that will be in 2 weeks.

Just a side note, have I mentioned how great Cliff Bar is? Our kids were fortunate to have a few boxes of the Cliff Bar Builder's 20g of Protein Bars donated to us by a parent. I have a hard time getting them to fuel properly before, during, and after long runs. They LOVED these bars and it really showed in their performances. So thank you Cliff Bar for making such a nutritious, yet tasty energy bar that kids enjoy.

Have a great training weekend