RUN 4:50 25.3 miles
Desperate times call for desperate measures?
I was running alone today, in the snow and cold, on a trail had a long lonely loop, in weather that's been knocking me down lately, and was the cause of a gotta-bail run just a few weekends ago. So why did I choose this trail? The redemption. The long loop would help with loop boredom. The shelter from wind down in the valley. And TV didn't seem excited about running LV again so soon, while I happened to like it. Or need it. One of the two or both.
It was 20F at the start, and forecasted to get to just above freezing, with snow starting in the afternoon. More snow! The snow we got a few days ago was already melting off and I wasn't sure yet what I'd find on the trail. Given that it's a biking trail too, probably a lot of packed, slick areas.
I've been fixing my nutrition lately, eating a bigger dinner of starches instead of a bigger brekkie before the run. Today's nutrition plan was oatmeal, peanut butter, and maple Friday night, then just some eggs and banana this morning. In run plans were 200 cals of maple syrup, a few gels, plantain chips, and a powerbar, not to be all eaten but rather eaten as needed. Forgot the chips when leaving, so scratch them off.
My goals: finish, don't let the camelbak freeze, stay hydrated, stay fed.
My plans: I was going to take my time, eat as needed every 45-60 mins, walk and drink every mile, check in with LC and TH, and this is where the 'desperation' comes in -- I downloaded some podcasts to listen to so that I wasn't alone in my head for 5 hours. I've never listened to these, not even on a run, and certainly not on a trail run with mountain bikers to keep aware of. I put only the right earbud in, secured it with my white nike headband, set the volume, overdressed as always, and took off.
I started on the Hamburg trail, measuring the distance to the first turn-off to LV (it was 1.5 miles). I kept going all the way out to the tunnel thinking if I could get 8 miles on the Hamburg, 10 in LV, then a finish-it-out-loop in Lewis and Clark, it would be a good day with little repetition and the push of finishing a loop.
The end of the Hamburg was 4 miles. Things were good, aside from having to blow my damned nose every mile. Still not sure if I had a head cold or not, but I'm thinking I did, just not a full-blown stuffed-up-sneezing-stuffy-head type of cold. Every mile, stop to drink and blow. Five miles in and my nose was already tired of it. And so was my head, not just the pained sinuses but my mental status. Twenty more miles?!
The podcasts were from something called Marathon Training Academy, about an hour long interviews and chat. They were good! Race cheaters, foot care, interviews with two female runners (one who discussed The Peaceful Warrior and "staying in the calm", gotta look that book up). It was somewhat distracting to have that voice in my ear, but it was super helpful to keep MY VOICE from being in my ear. It kept me from thinking, and it seemed to work.
Mile 9 I thought was mile 10. Oops. Stopped to pee, hoping the mountain bikers that passed didn't notice. Why would they care, I dunno. Kept going, feeling good, happy to see mile 10 go by. At mile 11 I texted LC and TH with an update.
The trail was pretty, oddly the remaining snow was only on the trail. The brown leaves flanked the white trail that wound through the valley. Normally you can't see the trail off to your side, but today I could look ahead and follow it. I kept looking for the road, a landmark I was looking for. Once at the road, I'd be off these packed and slick trails!
Hit the road at mile 17, did an out-n-back backwards on the short loop road with the goal of reaching the truck at 20 miles (then only a 5 mile Clark loop), I kept plugging along, kept steady, one mile at a time, sticking to plan, staying in my realm. Needed a short out-n-back on the Hamburg, then hit the truck exactly at 20 miles. Decided to skip a stop at the truck, and keep moving.
The L&C system was a MESS. Frozen snow, frozen footprints, rough, slick. The LV trails also had frozen bike tracks that pained my feet but it least I had traction. I slowed down quite a bit here. Thus far I'd only eaten the maple syrup and a gel -- 300 calories in 4 hours. I was starting to feel the need for more, but decided to test it and see how much further I could go. It didn't help that at this point I was listening to a Dr Noakes interview talking about fat adaptation in runners...I was fat adapted, so I got to thinking about how much further I could go without munching on that last powerbar.
I made it to mile 22 when I started getting clumsy. Stopped to have a third of the bar. It helped :) Feed the dragon :)
Snow started to fall in this last 5 miles, and towards the end it was a beautiful thick fall. It obscured the trail, made it harder to see the ice slicks, but it was so pretty and quiet! I always worry about reaching the end of the loop before my goal mileage and today was no different. Luckily I hit 25 before the truck, kept pushing it, and arrived at the truck at 25.3!
I felt great! No blisters, only a mild right knee pain from the uneven ground, hungry, kinda gotta pee, no stomach distress. But I had to get going -- the snow was getting heavy and I had a long drive home.
Great recovery, did my grocery shopping, started planning for tomorrow's 12-13 miler. In the snow!!
AND GOODBYE FEBRUARY!!!!!!
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