September 6th, 2009

Trying to write this blog after running 50 miles is about as tough as cutting the front and back lawn while you have swine flu. However, here i go given i want to record some of the information before i fall asleep and die.

First: I ran into 2 little lost girls and a dog around mile 38. That turned into a big situation but only cost me about 10 to 15 minutes off my last split.

Splits: 21.5 mile post=3hrs 30mins.

Splits: 35.5 mile post =2hrs 45mins.

Splits: 50 mile post = 2:hrs 50mins (minues 15 min. with the park ranger helping find the lost girls)

Give or take Ranger and rescue time i figure i did the run in about 9 hours and 37 minutes. The split times do not take in the rest time between splits / loops but the overall time does.

I started about 9am. The idea was simple. Do my 21.5 mile run starting at the mid point, Sleepy Gap parkway parking lot and then running on shunt-in trail do my entire 21.5 mile loop. The weather was cool around 65 when i started and cloudy which is proof there is a God.

The 21.5 mile loop is about 2 miles surface roads, 15 miles fire roads and the rest is single track. The grade is up and down with about 8,000 foot gain loss during the loop.

The next loop is about 15 miles with a about 3 miles on surface roads, 10 miles on single track and the rest on fire roads. I like this loop given the single track work but is tough on my right foot i have to be careful.

The last split / loop is the same and i run it a bit more to make sure i have 50 miles (more surface road and a bit more fire road.

The logic was simple. After doing the first 21.5 miles I would rest at the car for 15 minute which is not part of the split time but part of the over all run time. During the rest i remove my shoes and socks. I then consumed a protein shake i had made as well as eat some peanut butter plus drink some water. I took 4 pain pills which i dont think do shit except to make my kidneys work harder.

On the second loop i was there about 18 minutes or a bit longer. Time flies when you are sitting on your butt resting. This time i consumed my friend Multi-dextrin (sp) in large amounts. By the time i was about 20 minutes into that split i started to feel very good and very happy.. Gotta love stuff that is used in making beer for ultra run training.

The rescue time took place at mile 38 and mile 45. It cost me concentration for it is tough to focus on running knowing that these two girls are in danger and after watching two woman cry after i told them i saw their little girls. however I did ok.

I am very happy with my run / split times. This is proof that if i rest between splits the end result is much faster overall times. The other thing to point out is my run in october is kinda flat but super hot and dry. This run is very wet, full of bears, snakes and lost children. The wet really helps keep the body moving fast even though I do a ton of super big hill climbs for miles.

I plan on doing the same run next weekend with only a few small runs and some gym time during the week. I want the body to rebuild for the next weekend and see how well i do running another 50 miles. The real key is rebuilding and rest time. If the sun is not out again i might reduce my rest times between splits.. but not sure..

However, how does all this effect the second 50 miles? Great question. I came home and drank a ton of protein mix as well as sugar free cranberry juice so my kidneys got some fuel. I feel ok but the legs are tired and i have a bad rash between my two friends and the legs.. oh no..

My right foot is not perfect but the left is willing to do extra work to help the right foot..

enjoy