Xterra Richmond 21K Trail Race - FUN!

Last weekend it was North Face, this weekend it was XTERRA. I signed up for the XTERRA Richmond 21K trail race this past Monday, got us a room and decided to bring the family down to Richmond for a weekend getaway. I did not realize what a great weekend it was going to be.


It all began when we checked into the hotel Friday night and they told me they no longer had the room I booked, so they put us in the executive suite. This room was great and had a spectacular view of the James river, bridges, trains, etc... all things my 2-year son thoroughly enjoyed!


I had no idea what to expect with this race as the website was not very descriptive. I brought both my trail and road shoes to the start and started asking people what is was like who did it in prior years and in no time, I immediately strapped on the trail shoes. Also, I heard last year they cut 4 miles out of the race because of the heat. Really??? If you are running in Richmond in June shouldn't you expect it to be hot??


Well HOT is was, and HUMID and HILLY. This course was tough and it was a blast! I started off a little too quick and backed off after the first couple of miles because I could just feel this was going to be a tough one. About two miles in we climbed "Mayan steps" which were these steep steps about 2' high each and were made of railroad ties. My quads just burned after that. Moving along, we hit this park that was up and down the entire way, it was loop 1 of 2 and that first loop felt it took forever. I was downing fluids like crazy. I was pretty much walking up the hills to save any energy I had left. Thank goodness the 2nd loop wasn't as bad. I just kept telling myself to stick to my nutrition and I'll get through it.


As we got through the 2nd loop, we were running along on some flats and than had to run across this huge river bed of rocks. It was gorgeous and once we got to the other side, we had to climb a small ladder that still zapped more energy out of me. Back into more trails for a while than for some more fun, had to take the ramps up to a high bridge to cross over the rest of the river, down the ramps and than to the finish.


So for 12.5 miles (almost a 21k) it took 2:27 (11:47 pace). Although I was 27 out of 31 in my age group, this race was more survival than anything. I drank over 1/2 gallon of fluids, had 3 gu's and 5 endurlytes. No cramping, just a steady effort.


After the race, we lined Thomas up for his first kids race. That was fun. Although he didn't run as much as the bigger kids, he did cross the finish line on his own.


The rest of the weekend was spend exploring Richmond and enjoying it with the family. This one goes on the calendar for next year!

North Face Endurance Half Marathon - Race Report

Today I did the North Face Endurance Half Marathon located at Algonkian Regional Park in Virginia along the Potomac. The course was mostly trails with some paved sections and gravel roads on an out and back course. Overall, it was fun, but with 600 runners, it was crowded for several miles on the trails and when it finally started to thin out, you had runners coming at you when they hit the turnaround first. For the most part, the course was flat except one steep hill and one stream crossing, which was fun, that you hit twice.


After the 1st aid station at mile 1.7, the course turned into single track and I mean single track. There was no room for passing and the trails were covered with serious roots. Other sections we were running through fields with grass 6-7' tall on both sides of you. Between the roots and runners flying at you, you had to stay focused. It was great!

I had no watch as my Garmin locked up right before the race so I ran stickily by feel. For the most part, I kept a pretty steady pace and finished the race at 2:21 (10:49 pace). I was pleased with that and actually enjoyed not wearing a watch. I timed my nutrition based on the aid stations since there were about 3-3.5 miles apart. This worked out pretty well.

The highlight of the day is that I got to talk to Michael Waridian who finished 1st today, he finished 3rd yesterday in the 50-miler, and wished him good luck in Badwater 135 next month. Than I got to meet Dean Karnazes, got my picture with him and congratulated him on completing his run across America. The guy's amazing.

little dusting needed now...

Let me dust the cobwebs off this blog now and start updating it. Since my 50k, I've been in hiatus trying to figure out what I want to do for my next event. Thinking, planning, trying to figure out but felt like I was going in circles. I felt like a lost boy trying to find my way. For endurance athletes, this is what happens, if no events are planned, than there is no direction. Week after week, I was struggling to get my runs in especially on the weekends.

Every Saturday rolled around and I struggled, because I didn't want to run when Thomas was awake, typically 6:30 am - 11:30am (goes down for his nap), and running during his nap time got tougher and tougher because of the heat. But I need the runs and need to start early so I joined Arlington Road Runners which starts at 6am - perfect! I can get my run in and be home by 9ish, spend a couple of hours with the little guy and than after his nap - have fun with him the rest of the day. And on Sundays I run with Thomas for 4 miles, than let him run for 30 minutes.

Next, I had to find some events to train for. After going back and forth for so long, I've come up with the following fall line up! I cannot wait!!

Sept 25th - National Capital 20-miler
Oct 2nd - Wilson Bridge Half Marathon
Oct 15th - Medoc Trail Marathon in Hollister NC
Oct 22nd - Tough Mudder in WV
Nov 13th - Potomac Heritage Trail Run (50k) - need to make sure I get in when registration opens.

The Medoc Marathon in October is going to be great. All trails! Turns out the race filled up on May 20th and I emailed the race director to put me on the waiting list and he opened up a slot for me right away. That was nice!

So - the events are planned, now it's time to get out there and have some fun!

So now what??

It's been 2-weeks since HAT - feels like it was months ago. I have one rule that I always go by when I'm training for endurance events - Never sign up for any race until after I finish the race at hand because I will sign up for everything! I now have a 2nd rule, never sign up for a race within the week following an endurance event. Wow - I came close to signing up for a lot of races the days after I completed the HAT because I was so pumped after race. It was such an incredible experience. There is nothing wrong with signing up for other events but it is nice to get a little break from the training. So, I held off for a week and went from signing up for a 50K to a half marathon on June 5th sponsored by the North Face Endurance Challenge. Although not an ultra, this will be a nice 13.1 on trails along the Potomac. I'm looking forward to some easy running the next 2 months as I decide which Ultra I will do in the fall. : ) I had a nice weekend of running, not training. Yesterday I hit Rock Creek for 8+ miles and when I started it was sunny but halfway through, the wind picked up and then is started to POUR heavy rains and chunks of ice. It was at that point, the run became smooth and even more enjoyable. The rain lasted for about a mile or so and then it was cloudy and the run ended being in the sun - nice day! Finally, today I hit the roads for my urban run, running through Cleveland Park, the Zoo, Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights and then headed home (9+miles). Nice run.

HAT Run 50K - Race Report

The conclusion of my journey to my first Ultra was incredible. I had such a good time the entire race and it seemed to go by so quickly. Don’t get me wrong, there were some low moments along the way, but you learn over time to expect them and just keep moving forward. Below is my race report for my first ultra and I hope you enjoy.

It was a week of many restless nights and different aches and pains but I arrived at the start healthy and jacked up. My Dad was kind enough to take to me the race and there was a surprise appearance by brother Mike and Marcy. Carol and Thomas were there along with her friend Lisa and Mark came up as well. So I had a great cheering team.

The morning was just right in the 40’s and partly cloudy. 400+ of us lined up at the start and then ran across the field. I hung toward the back to be conservative and felt pretty good. The course was absolutely beautiful. I fell in love with trail running all over again during this race and wondered if I’ll ever do a road marathon again.

The hills, and there were a lot of hills, were challenging and I took them one at a time. They were about 3x the elevation of what I trained on in Rock Creek but I stuck to my plan, walking up the hills to conserve energy.

The first 3.6 miles were mostly on paved roads and little trails to try and spread the masses (Pace 11:56). At the Steppingstone Pavilion we had our gear set there and I used that to drop off my long sleeve and grabbed a bottle of nutrition. After this, we got into the single track trails and ran about 4.3 miles to the Aid station (Pace 13:15). We had several stream crossings throughout the day which I just barreled through in water up to mid-calf. Some people were trying to jump across rocks to avoid getting wet. That looked like a disaster to me because I know I would have fallen. During this leg, I felt strong and was moving long at a nice pace.

The next leg was 4.1 miles to the aid station and this was the quickest pace (11:28) I ran the entire day. This section had a huge downhill on gravel/paved road and I just let myself go. I felt great getting into the aid station and saw the whole cheering squad again. The next 5.3 miles were tough, tough in the sense that it had some serious hills! I was dreading the fact that I had to do that section one more time as the last part of the race but I just kept trudging along. I still had energy, when I got back to the Steppingstone Pavilion but that section of the course definitely took something out of me. This was my slowest pace so far at 13:24).

After some refreshments, I took off for the next aid station and felt pretty good, But after a couple of miles I could feel the effects of the last leg and ended up slowing down quite a bit. It was 4.3 miles to the aid station and I averaged 15:35’s.

When I got to the aid station, Mark joined me for the next 4.1 miles and they were slow as well averaging 15:22’s. This was the lowest part of the day for me. I had no cramping, didn’t feel tired, I just could not keep running. So, I just grinded through those miles one step at a time. At one point on the course we were running on this road and I said to Mark “is it me or are those trees on each side of the road closing in on us”. I’m still not sure if I truly believed this at the time but my mind was wandering and I was looking for anything to distract me from that moment. Keep in mind this is the part of the course on the first loop I averaged 11:28’s so going almost 4 mins/mile slower I could tell something wasn’t right.

When I got to the last aid station, my friend Kirstin told me to try some salty fries. WOW! I never thought cold, salty french fries and a couple of cokes would taste so good! My dad kept saying for me to keep going and all I wanted to do was stay there and eat fries. As Kirstin said, this was pure ultra food. After I left the aid station I felt awesome! There was this new found energy. It reminded of the time when I did my first Ironman and discovered chicken broth. I knew at some point of this race today that there was going to be a low and that I just had to keep plugging along and I would get my energy back.

It was interesting running the 2nd half today as you can tell when someone was feeling great they would take off and then you would see that same person a little bit later on not feeling that well. Everyone just kept leap frogging along. So, heading back to the finish, which was suppose to be 5.3 miles, I knew would be the hardest part of the course based on the first loop. But man, I was so jacked up I was loving life. After I passed 22 miles for the day, I was excited because I have not gone more that 22 since Florida IM 2009, then I hit 26.2 and was like, WOW this is pretty cool because every next step is a step further then ever before, and especially being on top of this huge hill I just climbed with views of the river with no one in sight behind me or in front of me was just breathtaking. I was all alone and enjoyed every minute. I was having such a blast that I closed my eyes for a second and opened them up. Then, after a few minutes, I started thinking that nothing around me looked familiar. I saw a tree lying across the path that I had to go under and thought, this was not here before. A little further I get to an opening on a hill and said no way! I made a wrong turn. So I back tracked and got back to where I screwed up. Oh well, I was in such a groove that I didn’t care.

I got to about ¼ mile from the finish and there was Mark with a big smile and said “hey man, you going to sprint to the finish” and I said nope! I just wanted to enjoy that last bit to the finish and I did. The entire day was remarkable and I wanted to remember every step. When I crossed the finish line one of the race directors was there to hand me a hat and shook my hand. I was so happy with just one big smile – it was a beautiful day.

My total time for the day was 7:18, an average of ~14min/mile if you account for the “added” distance” Today, I truely embraced the experience. Trail races are not the same as road races. Only 412 people started the run and 356 finished. This is so different from the races I have grown accustom to that thousands attend. I enjoyed the moments of being completely alone or talking to other people, one guy who did Leadville 100 Leadville 2 years ago and comments that it was a tough race for an East coaster, or another gal who was doing the Hat for the 5th time doing and another guy who was his 5th time as well and I told him that in 5 years it will be his 10th and my 5th. And my friend Kirstin, who I learned did Vermont 100 a few years ago, got me into this from those night runs in Rock Creek and introducing me to the Ultra community. Between her influence and my readings of Born to Run twice, Bart Yasso’s book, Dean Karno’s Ultramarathon Man book and Ultra running magazines and now completing this race – I AM HOOKED! Nine years ago this month, I completed my first marathon and today, I completed my first Ultra. Grant it, the 50K is equivalent to what a 5K is to a marathon or a Sprint Triathlon to an Ironman.

Today, and maybe for a week or so, I’ll enjoy my accomplishment and then plan my next adventure. What will tomorrow bring?? I’ve got a feeling and one thing for certain – it will be on trails!

Race week

Last week I ran 14 miles and so far this week I have run 2x for a total of 6.

This has been quite the week with respect to restfulness that I have ever experienced the days leading up to a race. In the earlier part of the week I discovered new aches and pains. Monday was IT day with IT pain in my right hip and Tuesday was left foot pain and right quad pain day. As Wednesday rolled around, there were no more aches - maybe because I ran Tuesday night to loosen things up.

Regarding sleep, or should I say lack of, has been interesting. Mon/Tues/Wed nights were all filled of flips and flops and body jumping. I woke myself up when my entire body seemed to jumped up and fall down. I told Carol about it the next day and she said that's what I had been doing for three nights (hmmm - good think I only remembered that one time). Needless to say, I got very little sleep until last night. Ahhhhhhh, so nice to have a good night sleep until my 4:30am calling to the bathroom.

So, I'm just over 24 hours out, sitting at my desk ready to bang out a few hours of work. The journey has been fun, difficult at times, but well worth it. Suppose to be 70's today, but 50's tomorrow - thank goodness!! Thanks everyone for all your support!!

Taper week..

It was a pretty good taper considering I did not run at all during the week. Felt like I was fighting off a cold and staying away from my wife all week who was really sick! Also felt like I did not get much sleep as I tossed and turned every night this week. Barely motivated myself to run yesterday and took about 3 miles before I "woke" up and than the last 9 were fun - all trails. Today I ran 8.5 in Rock Creek in between the rain and felt pretty good.

Totals for the week:
20.7 miles
3:42 hours

less than 2 weeks to go..... : )

ahhh

Well waking up yesterday, no mental thoughts would get me to run. My shins were sore and my toes were killing me. Last night I ended up doing some minor surgery and popped a few blood blisters around my toes - ahhhh what a relief! The pain immediately went away from my toes. This is good insight for those really long runs in which I need to relieve a some pressure, it is just a pinch away.

I stopped at REI and picked up some new trail shoes. Let's hope these are the answers to my prayers. La Sportiva - Crosslites. I'll take them for a test run this weekend, don't have much time to break them in.

PEAKED!

Woooohooooo. Peak week is over and what a week it was and overall, amazingly, I feel pretty good. During the week I was suppose to run 20 miles over 4 days, but ended up running 17 miles over 3 days. I was just tired on Tuesday night and had to rest. Yesterday was my peak long run in which I knocked out 22.3 miles of all trails in Rock Creek Park. The best part about it, if my Garmin read it correctly, is between all the up and down hills, I climbed 9,300' total! That is great considering Hat Run is 9,800' over 31 miles.

For the most part, everything worked out well. I did about 7 on my own and then Mark joined for me for 12 and then I finished the last 3 on my own. Of course, the last 3, rather than take the flat road, I went right back onto the trails and continued the up and down hills. My nutrition worked out well in which I drank Infinite and hit my gu's every 45 minutes and one of the times woofed down pringles and PnJ sandwhich. Only thing I discovered is that my trail shoes are too small and I kept smashing my toes against the front. My big toe and 2nd toe are trashed on both feet and I'll be losing some nails pretty soon. I took a picture to post here but it was too disgusting so I deleted it. I'll be buying new shoes this week and will need to break them in.

Overall I felt good and solid during the run. We walked each of the hills and still averaged 12:20's overall. I guess to me that is pretty good considering the inclines. At the end I was getting tired, but never bonked and truthfully, if I had to, could have kept going.

Today, my legs were not sore, just my toes were busted up. I needed 10.6 to hit 50 miles for the week and finally felt like I was in a groove around mile 4. Than the miles just started to float by. As I got toward the end I just felt like I had to end today with even miles so I finished with 11 and averaged 9:43's (this time it was all paved path/roads, and ended the last 1.7 on a long up hill out of the park).

With all this running I was asking myself today, what is really holding me back from more miles, is it my body, or it is my mind. The bod felt strong, but the mind seems to hold me back from saying that's too many miles, or that's enough for the week. I feel like I'm getting too that point where it is time to just let go......I am close and it will come. soon...but for now - let's taper and be mentally and physically strong for my first 50K in less than 3 weeks!

Totals for the week: (never experienced these numbers before)
50.4 miles
9:14 hours

Hard to let go...

Thursday night I banged out another 6 with Mark on a night run through Glover Park trails to the C&O canal. What a night, temperature was around 65 degrees. Friday was brutal as I had to go to NY for the day - there and back a tiring 10 hours of driving.

Saturday's long run turned out pretty well although the wind was really blowing. I was suppose to run 8 on my own then hook up with Brian to do 12 more but after a night of no sleep because Thomas was up all night, I couldn't get started at 8am as planned so I met Brian at 9:30 and we ran 12 miles through lots of hills in DC and then I did 8 on my own on the Custis Trail. Overall I felt well, but was getting tired towards the end, gee go figure - 1o hours driving on Friday, no sleep Friday night, then run 20 miles...hmmmm.

Sunday, after a 2nd night of no sleep - turns out Thomas is sick, I couldn't get in my run at 8am, Carol was gone most of the day and as I type this I have officially bagged my 10 miles I was suppose to do today. Not sure how I feel about this but it is hard to let go sometimes to just relax when you have a goal to hit a certain amount of miles and you don't. It definitely plays with you mentally. Well, time to move on and look forward to one last long week of miles!!

Totals for the week:
36 miles
6:15 hours

Routine

So here was my typical schedule for the week

Tuesday
6:15am wakeup
7:30am arrive at work
6:00pm arrive home from work
60 minutes with Thomas
7:00pm put Thomas to bed, I fell asleep next to crib
7:20pm wake up
7:30pm treadmill for 50 minutes
8:45pm dinner, spend few minutes w/Carol
9:00pm shower
9:45pm asleep

Wednesday
6:00am wakeup to Thomas singing : )
7:30am arrive at work
6:15pm arrive home from work
45 minutes with Thomas
7:00pm put Thomas to bed, I fell asleep next to crib again
7:25pm wake up
7:40pm treadmill for 50 minutes
8:55pm dinner, spend few minutes with Carol
9:15pm shower
10:00pm asleep

Just trying to get it all in.

Today just felt right

I met Mark at Pierce Mill today to bang out the last 10 miles for the week. It was a failed attempted in some regards as we hit the trails which at first appeared to be clear of ice and snow and after a couple of miles they just became a sheet of ice so we divered back to the dreaded pavement. To make things even more interesting right before we started my Garmin locked up and then just over a mile in, Mark's Garmin went blank - so for the rest of the run, we had to guess on how far we were going. I definitely want to hit that 10 mile mark to put the icing on the cake for a very solid week.

During the run, I felt pretty good, considering I did 18 yesterday. There were times I felt tired, but my legs felt pretty good overall. It was a nice feeling especially after the 16 mile run I did 3 weeks ago in which I suffered miserably on the day after run due to being sick. Today was a different story and toward the end I felt Mark needed a little pick me up so I picked up the pace the last .5 just for kicks. Such a nice run that just felt right.

So - did I get the 10 in?? I just plotted the route on Gmap-Pedometer and wouldn't you know - 10.1! Fantastic!!

Totals for the week:
42.1 miles
6:52 hours

2-more weeks to go before taper...

Don't minimize the upcoming race...

People ask sometimes what I think about on the run and sometimes I think about nothing at all and then there are other times my mind just wanders from thought to thought. During the run today I kept thinking about the race and thinking it's only 30+ miles. WHAT?!?!?! am I serious?!?!?!? I have never gone this distance before. Sure it's only 4 miles more then a marathon but I have never done a marathon on trails, nor as hilly as this race is going to be. 9800 feet of elevation gain! 9800 feet! That is serious!

Part of my thoughts minimize the distance because of all the stuff I've been reading - between Bart Yasso's book and Dean Karnazes Ultramarathon Man book, the Ultrarunning Magazines, etc... and how 50, even 100 mile runs are the real ultras and the 50k is really the lowest of the ultra's. Just like comparing a 5k run to a marathon or a sprint tri to an Ironman, 50k is the lowest to lets say a 100-miler. However, these are baby steps and the 50k is a big step into this new adventure I'm exploring!

Had a moment on the run....

SOLID! That's how I can describe today's run. 18 SOLID miles. I started at Roosevelt Island and did 8 miles, 4 there and back, on the Custis Trail and then met Brian and did another 10 on Custis Trail - all hills and felt good the entire time. But, I had a moment on the run. Around mile 16, running on this small bridge, I backed off on the pace and let Brian get a little bit ahead of me. During this time, I felt myself drift away a little, became totally relaxed, then looked within myself and then came back. It was an interesting moment and it didn't mean much to me until after the run, and even now, when I look back, that moment propelled through the last 2 miles and I felt could have gone further. It was a mental lift that I'm learning to tap into.

Total run time was 2:52 for 18 miles (9:30 pace). Quite pleased.

Ut oh! My first Race nightmare...

That's right. Last night I tossed and turn thinking about the 50k race which is only 5 weeks away! I kept having these dreams of running a loop of the course and taking a break to go back to my car to put on a different pair of shoes. The only problem was I couldn't find my car in this huge parking garage and once I got to the car I remembered I left my key at the aid station. As a result, I lost over 2 hours before I could start up again. Keep in mind the first loop was only 4 miles and I had 27 more to go........

Needless to say, it was a restless night and I was pretty beat today at work...

Tough weekend ahead, time to crank some miles.

Social time or workouts???

I should know better by now. This week I went to the hockey game Tuesday night and a work event on Wednesday night. Although I enjoyed both, it forced me to cram my workouts in. On Monday, which should have been a rest day after running all weekend, I was on the treadmill to crank out some miles. There was no time to run on Tuesday and Wednesday nights with my social activities so I had to double it up on Thursday and ran 4+ miles before work and 5+ miles after work. However, I didn't get to spend anytime with Thomas or for that matter spend much time with Carol for a couple of days. It's interesting now with Thomas in the picture, how I value his time more and more and when I do other activities that takes me away from our time together, it really weighs in on me. Typically during the week, I'll come home from work, spend time with him until he goes to bed and then jump on the treadmill for my workout.

As the training becomes more time consuming, the balance becomes more difficult and the need to spend time with family it very important. During these times, there just isn't much time for social activities.

Nice week back in the saddle...

Considering over my half my miles were on the treadmill this week, this was still a very strong week for me. Especially after my outstanding performance of ZERO miles the prior week! So between Tuesday and Thursday, I got in 9.5 miles. Yesterday, it was cold and raining outside so I bagged running outside to avoid a repeat of getting sick and ran 7.5 on the treadmill. In order to get some hills in, every 8 minutes I cranked the incline up to 12% and fast walked uphill for 2-3 minutes. At one point I whacked my head on the basement ceiling - that didn't feel to good but good thing I was holding on when it happened otherwise I would have been laid out flat on the floor. : )

Today was great, sunny, 42 degrees, and got to run in shorts. Somehow I convinced Mark to do 13 miles today on a very hilly course. Man, he hung in there and I'm sure he will feel it tomorrow, but thankful for the company. Overall, I felt strong and steady the entire time and was pleased with this week's solid effort.

Totals for the week:
Miles: 30
Time: 5:07

It all makes since now!

So Monday night was just brutal with fever and other things going on, I was spent. I went to work for a couple of hours on Tuesday and totally bagged Wednesday. This little virus wiped me out! My big concern was feeling better for our trip to Florida on Thursday and as my strength started to come back, I was able to enjoy our visit with Carol's family and returned on Monday.

It all makes since now that when I look back and reflect on the run last Sunday, no doubt I was sick. Interesting enough though, my legs felt good but my body was shot. And, after cranking out 38 miles for the week, I was not sore on Monday or the subsequent days. However, I did not get one run in this week and look forward to putting some miles back on these legs this week. So, another adjustment to my training schedule as last week was suppose to be recovery week. Well, I recovered from being sick, this week will be recovery running week and will do 30 then bump up to 42 next week.

Totals for the week:
0 miles
0 hours
(this was a first)

102 Degrees!

So after my cold run on Sunday, I could not get warm. Late in the afternoon I had to crawl into the bed and crank up the electric blanket and finally warmed up after 30 minutes. As Monday morning came, I rolled out of bed and just knew something was not right. I went to work and again, could not get warm. I was in total denial all day saying I wasn't sick but as the day went on, my strength became less and less. I got home and laid around and took my temperature and wouldn't you know - 102! and then I passed out at 6:30pm.

Pure exhaustion!

Today was one of the roughest runs I have had in a long time. I got no sleep last night because Thomas was up all night and all I did was toss and turn. I just needed 9.8 miles today because I got a little extra yesterday. It was cold and pretty windy and somehow I drummed up the strength to get out around 12:30pm. Run - heck, if you call it that. I made it down to Rock Creek and started to hit some trails and I immediately was slowed down to a walk. Nothing hurt, I was just tapped out. So for the majority of the run, all effort was concentrated to just keep moving forwardd, a combo of running and walking. I had negative thoughts and was so determined to just cut the run short and not hit my goal for the week but I kept pressing forward.

In the end, I was able to get the 9.8 in and it took me just under 2 hours. It was a long 2 hours and all I could think about is this what I might feel like the last 9+ miles of the 50k and I just need to keep going. When I got home, I took a nice long shower and ate some oodles and noodles. I know I should have taken a cold bath but that hot shower with the jet sprays couldn't be passed up! Now I seem to have a shortness of breath from the cold air and I hope this passes shortly.

The satisfaction of the week is I hit 38 miles! and now get to enjoy a week of recovery. I just hope I can replenish my energy stores to get some miles in this week.

Totals for the week:
Miles: 38
Time: 6:27