I often hesitate to even buy them because it's like a 50/50 chance

Ditto peach, plum and honeydew.

 

What are you most worried about if the weather conditions are bad?  A bad time?  A miserable experience?  Worse?  Other?

lungs

Sorry for all the pics, but thought some might enjoy seeing. Again, this was Highlands Sky 40 mile, in WV. It was such a neat race to do, and I'm glad I got to enjoy it. As it turns out, the race director said that next year they will move to a lottery because of its popularity, so I guess I got in at the right time.

The race itself is almost two 20 mile races wrapped into one. The first 20 are exceptionally hilly, and there's lots of parts that you can't do a lot of running. Couple that with it being easy to get boxed in on the single track early on, and there's just not a lot you can do. I was frustrated for a while because I felt like I wasn't even racing the first 10 miles (at least after popping into the woods), but I decided to just enjoy what I was doing and to push when I could. In the end, it was probably a blessing as that saved my legs from getting too beat up on the big climbs.

I ended up negative splitting this thing by over an hour. I was the 53 person going into the 20 mile aid, and ended up finishing the race in 22nd place. Two of my last miles, which were either road or grass, were sub 8 miles, and most of miles 20-25 were around that pace too. Honestly, I felt really good and was happy with how my body handled the race. There were just sections out there that I didn't know how to run, because it was terrain I've never faced before. Pretty much every step was on some kind of rocks - very different from our mostly dirt trails in Ohio.

I saw the most impressive things on the downhills...there were two decents our there of 900ft down in 1 mile. I ran those at about a 13:00 pace, just trying to find footing and stay up right. On both of those drops, I was passed by women that were running 6:00 pace. I mean they were just gone in an instant, absolutely bombing down the hills! The only thing I can equate it to is when you're on a bike, and someone just has a better bike than you, and they go whizzing by, and then they're gone.

There was also a good bit of mud and water on the course...running uphill through creek beds, or through large rock fields that are entirely covered in mud, or just water where you don't know how deep your foot will drop. I'm not complaining though, it was beautiful and I loved it.

My finishing time was 8:14xx, which is a pace of about 12:00. I climbed 5700 ft and loved every second of it. I have a lot to learn if I want to continue to grow and do better in "big mountain" races, but this was a fun spot to test the waters. For now, the focus will be on my 100 coming up and just staying healthy - after that, who knows.

?&?$/"!&@¤¢£¢ meeting that just wouldn't end  Missed my time slot for running at lunch.

 

But you still are going to train for a fall marathon, right?

Yep. That one is my goal race of the year.

 

I'm in the "it doesn't hurt to try" camp. I know you're not feeling well, but sometimes that goes away during a race. Other times it gets worse, so if that's the case, then you can always drop.

 

It's not like you're going to get your money back, right? You've done plenty of running and have more than enough in the tank to get through the race, in my opinion.

I absolutely share your opinion that I could finish the race. My legs and body are well prepared for a 50K.

But why did I decide to do it in the first place? Last year, I don't like the state I was in when I finished. I wanted my revenge on that. So I ran like never before to be ready to go through 50K and probably be able to run the next day. That is what I was going to attempt. That is what I tried to train for.

Today, I don't feel like I could finish a 50K strong. Yesterday I was even less sure of that, and Saturday was a definite impossible.

For my fall marathon, the objective is totally something else. I don't care if I finish on my knees. I want the best time I can have that day.

I'm not sure if I want to run a 50K on so-so lung capacity, and on legs that have almost not run in the two weeks prior. Not sure I don't, either.

 

Yep. That one is my goal race of the year.

 

 

 I'm not sure if I want to run a 50K on so-so lung capacity, and on legs that have almost not run in the two weeks prior. Not sure I don't, either.

Since you were feeling kind of burnt out and since you have been sick for 2 weeks.. I would consider this the start of a end of season break (mental and physical) and focus on recovering and feeling refreshed and well and ready to jump into marathon training.

 

Since you were feeling kind of burnt out and since you have been sick for 2 weeks.. I would consider this the start of a end of season break (mental and physical) and focus on recovering and feeling refreshed and well and ready to jump into marathon training.

Yep. My thinking exactly. Now the question is do I want to start my marathon training with a 50K LR?