The Course Awakens

One week to go before the Disney Marathon, so Sunday provided the opportunity for the last "long" run of this training cycle, a roving 10 mile loop through Tyngsboro and Dracut.

Thankfully, we didn't have to run Solo for this trip.  Instead, we were joined for the 10 miles by Carlos and this little droid, BB8.  He/she is surprisingly fast for a sphere.

First Order of business: we tried some new chomps courtesy of Gatorade on today's course.  Tasty, but a tad Chewie.

There were plenty of Reys of sunshine to be found on this glorious day, especially in the skies over Lake Mascuppic.  Seriously, we can't complain at all about our training weather for this marathon.   We were able to run in shorts and tees right up until about a week ago, and really only had to break out extra Leias of winter running gear three times during the season! 

Brand placement is key, as Carlos knows only too well.  You just have to Luke for it.

Along the course, Andrew literally ran into some of his old running mates from the Lowell High XC team, Nate McCarthy and Mike Kalenowski!  It's heartening to see how many members of that team are still out there logging the miles! 

We tried something different this time for the town line.  Bloodthirsty sprints and cutthroat positioning appears to be a thing of the past, as these three Jedi Knights took up an X-Wing formation and took the step over the town line together!  Maybe there's a New Hope for E Streeter showdowns! 

And finally, to the victors go the spoils, a pot of gold waiting for us at the Fin of this Ren!

 Carlos' hot tub is one of those things like chupacabra, the Loch Ness Monster, and pro-Patriots comments from Rex Ryan - you hear about them, you just never see them.

At least most people never get a chance to see.

Knowing Andrew and I are only a week away from the Disney Marathon, Carlos turned up the jets, cracked open the vintage Powerade, and peeled back the hot tub cover for his fellow Rogues.

It's every bit as exhilarating as the legends have built it up to be and quite the light saber for the legs after a long run!

So there you go.  As Coach Maia and Victoria Hatem are wont to say, the hay is in the barn, and the training is done.  Next up is a 26.2 mile jaunt through four kingdoms, encountering a cast of characters along the way that make even the E Streeters look tame!

Time for R2 sets of legs to Run Disney!

May the Force Be With Us!