Ran another easy 5 this morning. Long run of 30 miles or so either tomorrow or Sunday. I would prefer tomorrow, but I may be grinding deer meat tomorrow.
QOTD: Have you ever had a race/event where everything turned around for you late in run?
I have had that happen a few times, but the most memorable would have to be the 2015 Cottonmouth 100. The course was long, at 102 miles; we spent about an hour or 2 off course and lost until finally seeing a headlamp down through the woods. Some hunters had moved signs and other markings. I think the race coincided with opening day of deer season in that part of Florida; I didn't see many hunters, but the ones I saw weren't very happy with a bunch of runners coming through. Anyway, very late in the race, I started running some pretty fast miles. I really didn't think I was going to make it, but I was running 9 minute miles beyond 100 miles into the 100 mile race. I ended up running about 109 miles.
LB2
Nothing this morning. The plan was to get up and do some core/ST, but around 11:00, The Hub got hit with a bad inner thigh/hamstring cramp and we were up for quite awhile trying to get that under control. After, he fell right to sleep . . . on his back . . . snoring. I didn't have the heart to try and get him to turn over since he'd most likely start cramping again, so I eventually went out to the couch. I'm still leaving work at 2:00 to go run at Headwaters. I'm calling it "mental health time" since I never take sick time.
He frequently gets inner thigh cramps, which are really hard to get rid of. I told him this morning he needed to start drinking something with electrolytes in it during the day and/or evening instead of straight water. We're going to stock up on Gatorade this weekend.
QOTD: A 50k I did years ago in Forest Park in Oregon, which was the 3rd day of a 70-mile weekend I and my two buds were doing. I missed the first cutoff - as did many because it was an extremely tight cutoff - but a few of us who missed it by only a few minutes were allowed to continue. I ended up with a 50k PR that day.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Probably no run today. I don't feel like dealing with icy cold wind. Tomorrow should be better, just cold with minimal wind and after that our temperatures moderate again.
QOTD: I've had a few bounce backs in long ultras. First 100 miler, MMT100 in 2009, I went from barely able to shuffle due to blistered sore feet late in the race to all of a sudden finding a surge of energy on the second to last big climb and a cruising running pace coming down the switchbacks on the other side. It was magical buzz like feeling. Powered it home. Laurel Highland ultra in 2015, I had a real crappy start both figuratively and literally. About 25 miles in things turned around completely and I pretty much felt great for the remainder of the 70 mile race. I set a bit of PR for the course that day which was pretty special as my previous best time I was 7 years younger and much faster.
Fattozig - Funny about Blue Oyster Cult. Did they have the laser show when you went. It was kind of short lived thing for them in the late 70's. We had the full affect but kept our sight. Pretty cool short video on the topic in the link... OSHA shut it down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIZva-ngHM0
In dog beers, I've only had one.
Those of you dealing with the freaking freezing temps coming your way - No, thank you! And weirdly, in some places it's expected to bounce back up to 40's by Sunday.
XT - No laser show - thankfully! If I had come out of that concert temporarily deaf and temporary blind . . . my poor mom . . .
Chowder and I got in just under 4 just before nightfall yesterday in Rock Creek. Trails were pretty muddy, but that is par for the course this time of year ( haha, pun intended). Today is some strengthwork and a walk as the wind is dying down just a bit.
qotd: None that easily come to mind. No ultras in my race history, so I don't have that experience to draw from.
Are we there, yet?
Too cold for me, too.
qotd: Yes, one of my earliest distance races. I'd been focusing on 880 yd and mile, so stepping up to a couple long races, 8 miles and 12 miles, was a distinct change. I'd been running less than a year, but my coach insisted I try something longer. I managed to get through the 8 miles without dying though I did go out way too fast. Did the same thing a month later in the 12 miles, though this time I crashed at mile 10. After averaging 6:04 for the first 10 miles, I ran somewhere around 6:45-6:50 for mile 11 and was hanging on just to finish on my feet. Somehow or other I managed to bring my pace back down near 6:00 and finished in 1:13:03 averaging just over 6:05 per mile.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K, 9:11:09 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Got up and did 5 miles early this morning because we had some stuff to do today and I knew if I didn't run early I probably wouldn't have time later. I also needed to do some sort of run today since I won't be able to run tomorrow since I'll be volunteering at the DamNation aid station all day at Rocky 100.
qotd: I've had a few where all of a sudden in late miles of a 100 or 50 where I "came back" and was able to run pretty well (I'm sure the pace was still very slow, but at least somewhat faster, smoother and/or easier than I was going). I remember one time at Cross Timbers 50 along Lake Texoma my friend dropped me at about mile 30 I thought I wouldn't see him until he was waiting at the finish. But then at about mile 40 I had come roaring back and caught him, I sure surprised him and actually passed him. For the last 8 or 9 miles of the run I was looking over my shoulder expecting him to come back and re-take me, but he never did and I got to wait for him at the finish (one of the very few times I finished before him). He sometimes still mentions that day and how well I was running at the end.
tbd.
7 easy miles yesterday, SRD today. Big plans for the evening include feeding the neighbors' cats and G&T on the porch. A drizzly day, with more in the forecast for Saturday night and Sunday. But not atmospheric-river stuff, just regular rain. After a couple dry weeks, I think the land should be okay with more water.
Interesting graphic about CA's drought status from the US National Weather service. We have moved from mostly severe/extreme/exceptional to mostly moderate/severe. Good thing, as I think they were probably scratching their heads trying to come up something to describe even worse drought than exceptional, which is where we were headed a few months ago.
QOTD: I usually rally in the last few miles, something about smelling the barn or whatever the analogy is.
5/11/24 Grizzly Peak Marathon, Berkeley, CA
7/20/24 Tahoe Rim Trail 56 miler, NV
9/21/24 Mountain Lakes 100, OR