Friday, June 4, 2010

Tough 25

Today's run was supposed to be a confidence-booster. I've been worried about my slow paces and how they are dangerously close to the cut-off paces for my goal race. It had occurred to me that running with my dog might be slowing me down--it seems like we're always stopping to pick up poop, chase squirrels, take a dip in the river, say hello to other dogs and people, leash/unleash (depending on where we are) and deal with undesirable behaviour (I apologize if my dog has ever jumped on you while on the trail!). So today I decided to run without Sammy and see if it made a difference. My hope was that a faster pace would give me more confidence for the race.

It backfired. Yes, I think I would have been faster, as I was making good time in the first part of the run. But my legs were tired from the start, and I made the mistake of picking a very difficult route. As soon as I hit technical sections, I slowed right down. Then I was exploring an area I hadn't done before, and it was down, down, down followed by up, up, up. By the half-way mark I was already hurting and slow. Then I ran out of water in the 18th mile. While I felt well mentally, my body was suffering. My 40k run ended up taking almost as long as my last 50k. Definitely my most painful run yet this year.

Oh, and I saw a bear! I was glad then that Sammy wasn't with me, since I'm not sure how he would have reacted. I came around a corner and there he was, about 30 feet away, all cute and black with big ears. He wasn't full grown, but not a baby either. We both stopped and looked at each other (me wishing I'd brought my camera!) and then he turned off the trail and down into the bush.

So, I did not get the confidence boost I was looking for. My distance and time were both exactly half of what I need on July 31. My only comfort is that this was a much tougher route than what I will encounter in the race, so hopefully that helps a little!

5 weeks until taper...

Distance: 25 miles (40k)
Time: 6:34:49
Elevation change: 15,000 feet
Calories consumed: 1025 (not enough)
Bears spotted: 1 :)

5 comments:

  1. When race day is here, you'll be able to dig deep and beat the cutoff.

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  2. thanks Dale! I am counting on race day guts! lol

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  3. For sure. Race day is so different, as you know.
    Regardless of the time, it's still great for you to get this run in distance and time on your feet.

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  4. That is some serious elevation. Great job. How were the Raptors?

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  5. The raptors were better... I think they will be ok for the race! Maybe they just need break-in time (I still prefer the Sonic though!).

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