The Glacial Trail 50 mile is tomorrow at 6am. There is a feeling of anticipation as today is a Saturday and this is when one usually is running. Instead I have all day to think about tomorrow and get all my chores done in a timely manner. I have looked at the entry list multiple times and see 42 folks entered. I only know 2 of them personally. Scott Meyers has been around as long as I have been running. I saw him last at the Holy Funk run on August 10th where I put in 35 miles with Andrea. The other is "Brick" who I've known for 3-4 years now. We both ran the Wauwatosa Perimeter run at the end of July which was around 27 miles. Most of the people I know will be running the 50k which has always been the main event. There are routinely over a 100 runners in that one.
Having never run the 50 mile here, it was my carrot run in case I did not get in to Big's which I did not. It has always been on my to do list, but honestly putting up miles in the summer was only something done to race a fall marathon. That's seldom a goal now so I committed to run a lot of slow miles on about 11 runs a week. Nothing fancy. If you read my blog occasionally you can see that.
Back to the entrants list. It is my nature to look and see what the other runners have accomplished in ultras and how I might compare to them. My goal is 9:10 here simply because it is 11 minute miles. Though the course is not overly difficult it does have plenty of rocky sections, many short steep climbs, and leaf cover. For me and others it can be a challenge finding ones trail savvy. Especially for a fellow like me who has occasionally went out towards the upper part of the field just to see what might happen. Those thought do not go away, but memories of many failed attempts do linger. It is my intention tomorrow to strongly lean towards the latter, but I cannot rule out that foolishness may prevail.
Here is what I can say about tomorrow. I should be in shape as I averaged 81.8 miles over a 5 week period and just completed an average 2 week taper. At 58 it is no different than prior tapers in that how I currently feel never tips its hand on tomorrow's outcome. Just trust the work is done. I also have Tim crewing for me. I know Tim well and it is an honor to have this former 2 time state champion from the 70s assisting me. Dewey is having hip replacement surgery the following day so he is out. I'm hoping to be able to do well enough for Tim to relay positive updates to the Dew Master. These are the two guys I run with the most and it is great that they are willing to assist. Another positive is that I do know a fair amount of the volunteers and it is always great encouragement to hear from them. My weight is good as well as I weighed in at 170 today. Tomorrow will be cold. Really cold from normal with starting temps around freezing and maybe only getting to 45F for the high. Actually good running weather, but about 20-30 degrees less than we are all currently used to.
What does this all mean? It means I should be in absolutely no hurry to try and do anything. It is 50 miles so there is plenty of ground to try and cover comfortably. I do not walk much, but I think I will try and walk half the hills. With Tim handing me supplies I should be able to save a bit through the 7 aid stations. I know this is not necessary, but honestly this is what I have become used to. Like a relay team there does seem to be this sense of obligation to do well. You have to take care of yourself early. I've proven to myself numerous times that a conservative approach can result in positive finishes. Not sure why I have to remind myself of this ever time, but I do. The 2019 Ice Age is a strong reminder to stay conservative. Trying to be somebody at 20 miles in resulted in a beat down. Perhaps because I had family there and my mind went into flashback mode. No matter, twern't no Griz left anyway. Let's find out on here a few days later how it all worked out.
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