With my final race of the year fast approaching, I'm feeling really happy with how training leading up the race day has gone. With a greater focus on faster miles and flat running, I'm starting to really notice the difference, so much so that my tempo runs are now an average of 10 seconds per mile quicker than a couple of months ago. I suppose it helps that the weather has finally cooled off, particularly in the evenings when I tend to do my runs, but regardless, I am for sure feeling fitter, faster and stronger than I have done since the San Diego Marathon back in June. Last weekend, I tested my race fitness by taking part in the McDowell Mountain Frenzy 25km trail race. Admittedly most of my faster runs have been on road which makes a huge difference, but I figured that if I could do 8 minute miles on the trails, then that is a vast improvement compared to last year. When I looked at the entry list, there was some good competition for this one and I knew that if I wa...