The last practice before the big dance… 6 miles for everyone! It was a bitter morning, my car said it was 32 degrees as I pulled into the parking lot where we were starting. (Yes, 32 is bitter cold here in Vegas… and temps in the 20’s are NASTY cold.)

I wasn’t feeling well that morning, so I knew I wouldn’t be running. For a brief moment I considered calling in sick. I then debated on how much distance I would cover with the team, but I did end up walking the whole 6 miles. I spent a couple miles pacing one of our walkers at a 17:00 min/mile and another one at a 14:30 min/mile. It doesn’t matter what the pace is, just about everybody on the team is really pushing themselves to improve and achieve something new. (Yes, we still have a little bit too much sauntering at times, but I think that will be different on race day. I HOPE it will be different.)

After everybody finished the distance we passed out the Team Challenge singlets, went over some details about race day with the group and tried to wrap it up so we could all leave to get warm. I still can’t believe that the big day is already here. Honestly, it seems like I just barely agreed to coach my first season of Team Challenge and here we are, wrapping up the second. It’s crazy how quickly it has gone.

Now my goal for the week is to make sure my cold is completely gone by race day. Last year I got sick just before the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll, maybe it’s just bad timing for me!

I am coaching a group of runners for the organization Team Challenge. They are fundraising for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America while training to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas half marathon in December.