Week ending Dec 21

Mon -- off
Tues -- 8 miles up to Horsetooth via Spring Creek, back down Audra Culver ~ 1,500ft
Weds -- off
Thurs -- Flying to the UK
Fri -- 5 miles w/ 3 laps of the university route
Sat -- off
Sun -- 13 miles out to Whitstable and back, the back leg being at a leisurely pace with one of my oldest buddies, Jim.

Total - 26 miles with very little climbing.

I am calling this a taper week in the build-up to the annual 3 mile romp through the beautiful Kentish countryside, starting and ending in the village of Saltwood. My brother is harboring thoughts of beating me this year, so with sibling rivalries in gear, I am preparing for this run as something of a goal race.

I ran the course in 20:10 last year for a fairly disappointing 20 something place finish, after just finishing out of the top ten in 2006 with a time of 18:50. Being in much better shape this year, I am hoping for a PR, top ten and, most importantly of all, victory over my brother. I took my screw-shoed Inov-8s for a test run up in the woods today, and I think they will do well in providing decent traction through the sloppy conditions that are typical at Saltwood.

As something of a side bet, my brother, Jim and I will be competing in a handicapped system of best percentage time improvement versus last year. Considering my level of fitness last year, I certainly have a margin of imrovemnent to expect and am not totally out of the running, but as my brother has put in his first serious year of training in 2008 (training for Amsterdam Marathon), he is definitely the odds-on favorite in the handicapped version of the race, with Jim a close second. Either way, it will be a fun day as always, and the beer always tastes better after a good slog through the mud.