On September 13 I will be running in the Big Cottonwood Marathon in Utah. This is the main race that I am training for in the fall. The first 15 miles of the race travels down Big Cottonwood Canyon and is a serious downhill. I have gotten a few good downhill runs in, but I still have a healthy respect for the possible difficulties.
I have been very consistent with my training over the summer. After my first 50 mile week ever, I followed that with another 50 mile week which was topped off with my first 20 miler of my training plan. Last week I had a recovery week and because of the South Mountain race I skipped the long run. This morning I had my best speed workout yet. (1 mile warm-up/1 mile striders/ 3 miles at 85-90%MHR/ 1 mile cool down). I was able to keep my heart rate up for the whole 3 mile section and was totally spent at the end. I am probably going to South Mountain for my long run on Sunday to get some more downhill in.
theironpalm 