I had planned to head out there with the objective of running anywhere between 30 and 50 miles. I would just take it easy and see how things felt. I knew going in it would be a challenge. I think I under-estimated how impacting my run with Emily on Saturday was on me. I actually felt pretty good that whole run, however, in the 2.5 hours we were out there I didn't fuel at all because I gave my one gel to my wife to eat. I also kept my fluid intake to a minimum because I made her take more due to the heat. I ended the run feeling pretty worked, considering it was only 11 miles. Sunday I really felt it. My legs felt tired and heavy and I was lethargic all day. I knew I was feeling the after effects of mild heat exhaustion. So I knew going into Monday's run that I would be working against my own legs and energy. It was a good thing though because I wanted to test myself on tired legs and without a taper.
I drove out to Cedar Valley and was parked by 5:15am. I was off and running my first loop by 5:20am. The moon was bright and I didn't even need my head lamp. I never turned on my light and fully enjoyed running in the dark. It was a beautiful, cold morning, with a light mist over the valley and beautiful stars above my head. The first loop runs around into Eagle Mountain and then back to the car. It is about 4.75 miles back around to the car. It was a great warm-up with little incidence. I then took off towards The Ranches because I wanted to get the big hill out of the way early. There is also a lot of running on pavement and I wanted to get that out of the way too. It was a smart decision. I felt pretty good most of the way, but by mile 13 my Plantar in my left foot was starting to really act up. It would plague me until about mile 20 when it would finally settle down. Loop 2 is about 13 miles and is a direct out and back on the Pony Express road into the Chevron at The Ranches. As I ran down the hill to the Chevron I got to watch the sun rise behind Mt Timpanogos. Beautiful. I didn't stop at the Chevron, but just turned around and headed back. Running back up the 2 mile hill felt just like running on flat ground and I was making great time. When I got back to the car I had traveled roughly 17.5 miles. This stop was longer because I had to refill everything, grab a banana (which I carried for another two miles before eating), and take off my pants. It was still chilly so I kept my long-sleeve, hat, and gloves on.
As I began loop 3, a lolli-pop run into Fairfield and back, I really started to feel the affects of Saturday settling in. My visions of going 50 seemed remote, but I knew I had enough for at least a 50k . . . and I was still maintaining a pretty good pace. That loop was also uneventful, although I pushed the pace much quicker the last three miles because I wanted to see if I could complete a marathon in under 4 hours, but I didn't quite make it. I got back to the car, 25.75 miles, in 4:02:00. This was another long stop (4 min - ish) because I took the time to stretch (very smart) before heading out again. So I didn't actually complete a marathon until about 4:11:00 or so. Stretching was genius though because I felt awesome. On loop 4, after 2 straight miles I had about a 250 ft climb over the course of a mile to reach the highway and again it felt like I was running on flat ground. I stretched again at the top and then turned to head back down. I took note of the time as I hit the 50k mark and it was exactly 4:53:00, a new 50k PR. I then trotted to the car to finish the whole thing off at exactly 32 miles. I definitely had more in the tank and could have probably gone to about 40, but I really wanted to get home and spend the afternoon with my family before my wife went to work tonight at 6pm for a night shift at the hospital.
I don't feel sore or all that tired. I already have plans with Scott to run during lunch tomorrow. I was worried about my fatigue for a while there and if I thought I could really travel 100 miles on flat dirt road. I quickly put it out of my mind though, knowing that after a good, long taper and lots of rest I should be just fine. I'll have a ton of support too and that will make a lot of difference.
| Mon, Sep 27, 2010 | ||
| Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance Total Time |
| 22.00 | 10.00 | 32.00 5:02:16 |
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