I had my heart set on a long slow run for the end of last week. Friday I farted around all day and never got out for any run. The crapped weather played a part in that, altho I don't mind running in the rain too much. Then Saturday turned out to be a effed-up schedule because of all the rain storms over the past few days. Soooo, Sunday early a.m. I was ready to hit the trails for a maximum distance effort.
Decided to wear my new hydration pack for the first half. Ended up being 11 miles with pack, felt much better than before. Even stopped to stuff in an old bottle along the trail (yes, new hobby is bottle collecting. Sounds so olde fuddy duddy I know, but I like old crap, history, etc., and I've found a few spots in the woods with what I will call farm dumps (ok, so they're trash piles... but they're old trash piles so the stuff is like practically antiques!). Anyway, I'm getting comfortable with the hydration pack. And I came home with a circa 1940's ASCO brand vinegar bottle for me new collection.
21 miles never goes down too easy. Felt tired almost right away. Stopped back at the car every 3 to 6 miles for water, gatorade, Gu & cereal bars. Avoided most of the hills, total climbing over 21 miles was approx. 1200 feet. Time: 3:32 which is about exactly 10 minute pace. That includes a good 10 or 15 minutes of stoppage time for the car refueling pit stops. Quite muddy out there, but I purposely avoided the worst of it. Warm for mid-November; start 50 & end 60 degrees. Did a good bit walking - top of every steep hill plus a few short breaks in the last couple of miles.
My legs & feet feel remarkably good. The slower pace must really work for saving the body! Also I love these trail shoes - Asics Trail Sensor 3. Never dreamed I'd go back to Asics, but being forced into these shoes has worked out great. I am def buying another pair soon before they friggen change (i.e. screw up) them.
Overall impression: i don't know how the heck I'm going to do this 50k race that is now 6 weeks away. I hear the hills ain't too bad over at Fair Hill NRMA, but just the 31 miles itself is daunting. I didn't eat well the night before this 21 mile training run, so maybe I can get some energy there. Also, this is my longest effort since May, so maybe I can add to my endurance some more before taper begins. This run was 3:30 . . . I figure the race may take 5:30 so I really need to increase my 'time on the feet' over the next 30 days.
Anyone want to join me for a four & a half hour trail run next weekend? yeah, didn't think so! and I've got the last race of the year (Rothman 8k) so I guess that 4:30 LSD will have to wait 2 weeks.
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i know the saying of never say never, but i'm quite confident that an ultra will not be in my lifetime... but looking forward to seeing you reach your goal!
ReplyDeleteAw man, I would SO be down for a 4.5 hour trail run, but I have to . . . uh, wash my hair. Yeah, that's it! :)
ReplyDeleteI think you will surprise yourself and rock that 50K. I am definitely excited to see how it goes. It might just help me to decide whether or not I have a 50K in my future . . . but no pressure or anything ;)
I know both of you's could do a 50k - it's only 5 extra miles from a marathon. And I'll be leaving plenty of time in my goal for walk breaks...starting with the first big hill and probably alot during the final hour or two. I hope to finish in the 5:20- 5:40 range.
ReplyDeletewow! a 50k! good luck getting ready. only 10 more miles from this run, no biggie right? ;)
ReplyDeletei'd like to do an ultra one day... just not quite sure when.