Chicago Countdown: 10 Weeks

As I'm writing this, I'm kind of starting to freak out.  10 weeks??!!  I'm freaking out because the last two weeks of training haven't been my best two weeks because my mileage slipped a bit due to a vacation where we were gone for two weekends in a row, so I haven't really done a "long run" in two weeks.

With that said, last week, I got some stellar hiking and trail running in.  On one of our trail runs in the Rockies, at a break at a lake vista, we ran into a British woman that was also a runner.  She asked us how it was running in the altitude because she too was from sea level.  She told us that she didn't think she'd be able to run while visiting the Rockies.  I told her that we were training for a race, so I at least wanted to try and get some running in. (and how can you pass up the opportunity to run in the Rockies???)  She nailed the feeling I was having perfectly when she said (in her distinguished British accent) "I know, when you don't get a chance to run for a few days, you start to fret." 

While I tried to walk the fine line between being on vacation and not worrying too much about getting runs in and not abandoning my training completely, I am in fact starting to "fret" a bit about feeling unprepared.  With all that said, all I can do this week is hit the pavement (and trails) and get back into the swing of things.  I hope to hit a total mileage of over 30 miles this week.  This will make me feel like I'm more on course and give me some more confidence going into the 30K trail run we have outside of Austin in two weeks.

As a side note, we are going to buy our Chicago airline tickets soon.  Seeing as we don't fly (haven't in six years) anyone have any tips or tricks for getting the best airfare price?