Another 40 miler
With a limited number of weekends left
before my 50 miler, I felt that I needed to get at least one more 40
miler in before it.
So the day after running a total of 18
miles warm up/Wild Vine ½ marathon/cool down, I was back running
miles at the Whitewater Center. This time, I was looking to do 2
loops of the race coarse plus another 6+ miles.
My legs were pretty beat up but I
pushed through it. It isn't like they are not going to hurt on during my
50 miler.
I knocked down the first loop, and I
didn't even let it cross my mind about stopping. I refueled and
headed out for a 2nd loop. Now, when I finished up the 2nd
loop, I had a much harder time convincing myself that I really needed
another 6 miles.
Some where in the back of my mind, I
knew that 40 mile barrier needed to be reached so I pushed off
again for more miles. There was not much spring in my step, but I was
moving i.e. running.
8 hours and 30 minutes later, my Garmin
clocked over to 40 miles, and I happily pushed the stop button. The
walk was slow but it felt good heading back to my car. This was a good day.
An interesting aside, these longer runs have made me more
aware of how the sun cast shadows as it moves across the sky. Most of
my runs usually end in a couple of hours so the shadows cast are
roughly the same from run to run. However, when I am out there 8 to 9
hours, the shadows go from being cast on one side to the other side
or in some instances, I can be completely in the shade by the end of
my run. In some ways, the shadows can make running the same course
totally different. What made me take notice of this more than usual?
I guess because on the trails, I have to be hyper vigilant of the
rocks and roots. The changing shadows play tricks on my eyes which
makes falling more of a possibility.
The Cool Down Runner
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