off to asheville for a little old run

tomorrow i'm headed to asheville for the Mount Mitchell Challenge; however, for the second year in a row, i'll only be running the Black Mountain Marathon. not that a marathon is anything to turn your nose up to, but I've had my heart set on the 40-mile Challenge for two years, and each time, circumstances have forced me to drop back to "a mere" 26. Last year it was ITB trouble not yet cleared up from the Mountain Mist 50k 3 weeks prior; this year it was my 6-week training hiatus during the holidays (the groin strain & sinus infection that caused me to sit on my butt way too long). i just have not been able to get the mileage necessary to safely run the full 40. in fact, i'm hoping to finish the marathon somewhat respectably; my longest runs post-injury have only been 3 hrs. my goal would be to beat last year's time of 5:09 (which earned me an 11th place finish in the women's division). hmmm, maybe a top 10 this year? the weather for saturday looks good right now (partly cloudy, 55/35), although right now they are under an ice storm warning!