So today I rolled out to Funk Road to run on the Ice Age Trail. I would run 2.2 miles out, then back, then ride out the balance I had left on the hour. I would complete 5 circuits and see how it all goes. These were the running times (52:25, 51:51, 51:30, 49:00, 47:30). So the idea was to start slow and kind of hang around there. What happened was at certain points on the trail I started basically taking advantage of the more runnable portions. It turned into something I looked forward to and it broke up the sameness of it all. I was noticeably tired on the third loop and the occasional pick up seemed to cure this. The biggest take away was that by the 4th and 5th loops my back and pelvis were already getting stiff. Note to self to look into pelvis stuff. I'd hate it, but the occasional few minutes of work could help. Besides you can pause Gilligan's Island now and pick right up were you left off.
If I get into the Backyard run, my thought was one might as well dog it for the first daylight hours. If one can average 12:30 pace for 4.167 miles that is 52:09. That is still a solid 6 minutes to take care of yourself. I would be all wound up anyway and not tired enough to try and sleep. It was nice having 10 minutes to change some clothes, eat and drink, and do whatever. Right now I don't feel like I covered 22 miles, but I am stiff. In long continuous runs I tend to loosen up and find a rhythm. Stopping is going to take getting used to. Probably more of and age thing.
Most people already in this event are long distance monsters. Many events covered from 6 day, Multi-day, Badwater 135, Arrowhead 135, 24 hours, European events, and tons of 100 milers. I also see some folks have some pretty long events lined up 1-2 months before the Big Backyard Ultra. This seems odd to me. I have a grand total of one 100 miler finished and that was 2003. But I don't look at it as a disadvantage at all. I just want to get used to running every hour and see how to figure that out. I'm not fast any longer, but I am still able to run sub 8:30 for trail 50s.
I have to keep the mind set that I am going to get in, so I stay motivated to train. If I don't get in, then I don't get in. I might try and sign up one more time, but after that I'd be 60. I'd probably migrate to trying to run a fast marathon then. Well...fast for me.
Other notes from the run. Johnny Appleseed was out with his dogs today because no one else would probably be on the trails. Black dog 1...Me 0. First time I have been bite in the inner thigh. Just nicked me, but we left on amicable terms. Multiple people with dogs off collar today, because when it hits 40F+ in December who would be out on the trails? I have a dog, I get it and as long as I'm not seriously hurt I try and be cool about it. One lady had her dog off leash and her 6-7 year old on a leash. She let me know her dog would never bite me. Which is nice. So I have that going for me. Glad she paid it forward.
I bought a sub and chips afterwards. While waiting I heard one guy say to the gal he was with, "I'm just telling you how I feel and you keep telling me I'm wrong." My experience is most people don't give a rats rump about feelings. Best I play it close to the vest and invest in ways to be comfortable in my own skin.
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