Happy to report that yesterday was a great run at Ft Yargo. A picture perfect sunny day with temps in the high 30's at the start climbing to the low 50's by the end.
With 488 people signed up for both events, about 400 for the half and the remaining nuts in the full. This made for a rather crowded first 3 miles on the single track but I like to think that was to my advantage as I need to remember to take it easy while I'm fresh and save my energy for the later stretches. Having a big crew out for the half did also provide plenty of people to try and pass on the last few miles of the half which probably lead me to over exerting a little too early and rolling my ankle at 11.8 miles. As I predicted to one of the other runners by mile 20 it was feeling pretty good. A minor lesson at mile 16 in slowing down and allowing my heart rate to drop down to a reasonable level indicated to me that this may be a rather critical item I should pay more attention to as I ramp up my training and in future races. Trails were absolutely perfect for running, as always it's hard to beat being out in the woods on such a beautiful day. The whole atmopsohere of the race was excellent with all runners being very positive and offering words of encouragement and support to each other every step of the way. The motivational signs on the mile markers also provided a nice lift,I especailly enjoyed at the 5/18 mile marker "Your not slow you just know how to enjoy a race course" and at 13/26 mile marker "I'm going to enjoy that pint tonight", for the record I did.
As usual many hours on the trail gives a person plenty of time to ponder, especially on the second lap when all the half traffic had disappeared, plenty of alone time. So I guess my gem of inner thought for the day which probably should have hit me sooner in life is that I need to do what makes me happy and if something is not then I need to just move on and let it go. A number of people trying to drive that message home for me in the last few months, guys apparently I have been listening subliminally and it is now popping out. Next step putting it in to action. This apparently is part of the anticipated growing expected in going through this whole experience.
A little sore this morning but keeping my ankle on ice for 2 hours yesterday seems to have nipped things in the bud. Of course my knees are screaming at me still. Apparently all the jumping over rocks etc was not what they loved, time to drop many pounds so that the load is more manageable. Of course the idea of carrying a lighter load for 100 miles is also very appealing and necessary.
Now last night as I was enjoying the aforementioned pint at Steinbecks it dawned on me that in August I will still be running NOW (now being 8 pm). Yes there will be no sitting down to have a sandwich on a nice bench, then heading home for a nap before going for a pint and some of Andy's fantastic fried chicken (almost as good as his vindaloo). Finally the enormity of what I have signed up for was hit me, no more fooling around, I guess but sure what's the fun in that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment