Idiot Run Recap

Yesterday morning, my day started before 3 am as I prepared to head for another Idiot Run in Albemarle. Between packing and stretching, I barely made it out the door by 4 am. The drive over was warm and uneventful.

I was already to run until I opened the car to step out and felt the cold temperatures. A quick are dart up to sign-in for the idiot run. With so many running, Peter had to have everyone sign a release form. However, I am not really sure that it would stand up in court. After all, this is not called an Idiot Run for nothing.

Anyway, I signed-in and headed back to my car to change. Along the way, I saw Mike B. and then saw Mike K. Who let me know that Aaron also made it.

Around 5:30 everyone started to gather and Peter took a little video, some pictures, and then gave us some last minute instructions. It was good to see some veteran Idiots again.

Something new this year, we had a police escort to the Albemarle city limits. This was kind of neat and the police were really great. They stopped to the traffic for us to pass through the intersections.

The run out was brisk and the Morrow Mt. was just as tough as I remembered. However, the view from the top was as spectacular as ever. A beautiful red dawn gave us visibility for miles.

Peter's organization skills were on top as always. There were 4 water stops along the course along with 2 Gu stops.

Aaron, Mike B. and I were the first ones back in 2:17. I finished out the entire 20 miles in 2:22.

As for how my run went, I was a little disappointed in my effort. I thought I should have climbed better than I did and I really struggled running the downhills. Also I got several inquiries as to I keep looking at my Garmin. No, I wasn't checking the mileage; I was checking my heart rate. I wanted to keep my heart rate in a certain range. In doing so, I was limited by how hard I could push the uphill miles.

Don't get me wrong, the run overall was good and I enjoyed the opportunity to run with everyone.

And when I compared the times back to some of my other Idiot Runs, I was several minutes faster. All in all, it was a good run.

 

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner