Last Cool Days before Summer 50k
On Thursday, I settled down to watch the evening news. The Weatherman starts talking about the weekend forecast which caught my attention. He is saying that the lows would be in the 40s with the highs in the low 60s. In the back of my mind, I am thinking that this might be the last good weekend for running before the days turn hot, and I mean really hot.
With this mind, I just couldn't resist the idea of knocking down one more 50k run while I could still enjoy the run without needing to go through several gallons of water to make it happen.
Saturday morning, I rolled off just after 8 AM. The chill was definitely in the air. I could feel a little cold sting on the back of my hands. While I was in the sun, I felt great. However, when I stepped in to the shade, I was certainly a good bit cooler.
By the end of the first 10 mile loop, the temperature was nearly ideal. A small breeze blew just enough that any heat from the sun stayed at bay.
I repacked my CamelBack and headed out for my 2nd loop. My legs still felt pretty good. At least, they continue to do so through about 17 miles. Then, I started feeling just a bit of stiffness in my knees. This seems to be a trend for me these days. Somewhere between 17 and 23 miles, the fatigue starts to settle in to my legs. Around 25 miles, it starts to disappear.
What I don't know here is if this is from me mentally starting to ignore these pain signals or have I just beaten these pain receptors in to submission. Perhaps, both are the case. No way, I know for sure.
My 3rd lap was just as uneventful as the previous two laps.
Since I had plenty to think about this in my 5 hours and 40 minutes of running, I started counting up my runs of roughly 26 miles or longer in the past 3 months. I realized that I have been on this cadence running 26 miles or longer every other week. In the past 3 months, I have run 7 runs between 26 and 50 miles. This is more training that I have ever done in the past 2 years of ultra running. I wish I could parlay in to some ultra racing but this doesn't look possible anytime soon.
Will leave you with this short story. On the back side of my run, a buddy pulls up beside me in his car. He yells at me from his car and starts rubbing his chin. He is asking me what's happening with my face - specifically about my beard. I have to laugh. I tell him this is what happens when one leads the quarantine life.
The Cool Down Runner
With this mind, I just couldn't resist the idea of knocking down one more 50k run while I could still enjoy the run without needing to go through several gallons of water to make it happen.
Saturday morning, I rolled off just after 8 AM. The chill was definitely in the air. I could feel a little cold sting on the back of my hands. While I was in the sun, I felt great. However, when I stepped in to the shade, I was certainly a good bit cooler.
By the end of the first 10 mile loop, the temperature was nearly ideal. A small breeze blew just enough that any heat from the sun stayed at bay.
I repacked my CamelBack and headed out for my 2nd loop. My legs still felt pretty good. At least, they continue to do so through about 17 miles. Then, I started feeling just a bit of stiffness in my knees. This seems to be a trend for me these days. Somewhere between 17 and 23 miles, the fatigue starts to settle in to my legs. Around 25 miles, it starts to disappear.
What I don't know here is if this is from me mentally starting to ignore these pain signals or have I just beaten these pain receptors in to submission. Perhaps, both are the case. No way, I know for sure.
My 3rd lap was just as uneventful as the previous two laps.
Since I had plenty to think about this in my 5 hours and 40 minutes of running, I started counting up my runs of roughly 26 miles or longer in the past 3 months. I realized that I have been on this cadence running 26 miles or longer every other week. In the past 3 months, I have run 7 runs between 26 and 50 miles. This is more training that I have ever done in the past 2 years of ultra running. I wish I could parlay in to some ultra racing but this doesn't look possible anytime soon.
Will leave you with this short story. On the back side of my run, a buddy pulls up beside me in his car. He yells at me from his car and starts rubbing his chin. He is asking me what's happening with my face - specifically about my beard. I have to laugh. I tell him this is what happens when one leads the quarantine life.
The Cool Down Runner
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