Notes
Ultra training run on the cotton valley rail trail.
Went very well.
Time is moving time . Epson watch lasted the entire 50. my garmin is good for only about 6 hours so that was cool. Still shows full battery too. I stopped the watch if I needed to stop and/or use my self supported aid station at my car.
I stopped to eat the burrito and stopped at a bench at about mile 42 just to regroup.
Tried to practice drinking and eating the bars on the fly. I absolutely love the ultimate direction vest. So much better for me than carrying things around the waist. The soft water bottles are easy to handle and don’t ever leak or spill.
Legs still feel good. I could run more.
Fueling was key. In route only water and Lara bars. At aid station Limon pepino. 1/2 small can Red Bull at mile 25. The rest of that can got mixed into my second water bottle for slow release during the second half.
Carried a couple bars (Lara-lemon with seed and nuts) and one Amy's frozen vegan burrito and ate it when it thawed. Mile 36 I think. That’s it.
That was good.
Changed shoes At mile 25 from the Altra one minimal style to the more cushy Altra Olympus.
That helped. I still like the idea of starting in the light shoes though.
I wear them 90% of the time. But coming in at 25 I had this feeling I needed more cushion. I was heading over to Wakefield and would not be back at the car till 45. I think it was a good call.
Ok maybe there was a low spot or two and I'm just not remembering them.
Almost forgot about the bear. At mile 38ish two people on bikes stop to tell me a bear had just crossed the trail right in front of them and then went into the swamp. They said they waited a minute to see if there were trailing cubs then they passed by. I was about a half mile away from passing that same spot. The least traveled part of cotton valley. I just tried to make some noise. Ya know like I do. I saw nothing though.