The Chubby Mary

RUN 26.3 miles in 5:44, approx 13:00 m/m pace.

I love me some Chubb trail. But once TV saw the trail and we got a taste of the heat, our plans for a Quad Chubb changed to a near-Double Chubb as per normal race conditions. Besides, why spend all that time on the Chubb and not see the whole thing?

First lap. We started off with 2 other runners, one who had a crazy-energy dog that was so fun to watch. I was sweating heavily before we even reached the picnic table!We stayed as a group until the RR tracks at which point they split and T and I had to consider our options.

When I was at the Chubb a few weeks ago the river section was blocked by trees. You'd think it would be open or re-routed by now, so we decided to hold the Quad Chubb on a cooler day and see what the river trail looked like. In the end, this was the better option--the trail was dry and open. Grassy, but open. We went all the way out to the Chubb turn-around. By this time I was getting low on water and started being mentally conservative with drinking. I drank, but not ad libitum. I think this is what threw me off for the return trip. We had water at the tracks near the bluff but not enough for full refills. On the way up the wall, my tummy threatened to return the water I had at the tracks. I think it was swallowed air and increased effort. The few glugs I added before we hit the bluffs were gone by the time we hit the truck, 15 miles and 3:15.

15-20 min rest. Refill and refuel. I was feeling better and wanted at least 10 more. I switched to EFS for this lap.

Second lap. Back up the Chubb to the picnic table, some mental math to calculate the turn-around, down the wall, over the tracks, along the river, to the fire road, then turn-around. This lap was going much better than the first. At the 21 mile turn-around I was feeling great. Light, fast, and energetic. Of course, it was a flat section of trail...

I didn't make the same mistake this time around of drinking a bunch of water right before the climb. And this climb went better for me-I was able to run much more of it, although I walked a chunk of it too. This time we went down Flint to the end.

At the finish, I was hot, dry, achy legs, but awake. And I asked the question I always ask at this point: If today were Race Day, could I repeat what I just did? And if not, what do I need to change so I can do it?

The powerbar I had in the first lap probably wasn't what made me feel sick, although the 2nd lap with EFS was remarkably better. I do need to drink EVEN MORE. My hill pace management is still weak, thankfully the MT50 doesn't have hills like this.

Could I have done it again? Not today!