TwentySixPointWhat?

I've been terrible about keeping up this blog w/ race reports and training logs but it's my hope to get better. Yesterday was the 25th Bull Run Run 50; it was my second running of it. The race is put on by the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club (VHTRC) - this is there premiere event - it's a good one, too. I'm pretty sure you can find my race report from last year somewhere on this site, maybe I should go back and read it sometime. First of all, going into this run I didn't feel like I was actually going to run 50 miles. My world has been shaken up so much lately that writing Bull Run Run on my weekly to-do white board didn't seem like anything other than another assignment, a box to check off for the week. Friday I had hoped to have a relaxing day - you know, get shit done so that it was done for when I got home on Saturday night but the universe, aka, the JOB, had other plans. I got sucked into helping out on a deliverable that was FUBR w/ conflicting directi...

I'm not gonna lie.. . I'm terribly under-trained for the 2017 running of the Bull Run Run. If all the races last year were a personal affront given the foul weather (rain, sleet, snow and thunder in 2016) the weather for 2017 events are swinging too far in the 'nice' category to make up for it. . . i.e., ~65 degrees at the finish of Holiday Lake 50k AND Terrapin 50k. So far the weather looks to be holding at 38/65 and clear. If I keep a solid pace I'll do just fine.  For both Holiday Lake and Terrapin I came in just about 30 minutes over my time from last year - if the same holds true for Bull Run Run I'm looking to finish in ~11:50.  I'd be okay with that.

Around August 2016 the Garmin Vivofit I'd worn everyday since around Thanksgiving 2014 up and died.  After a few weeks I replaced the battery but the watch didn't resuscitate. I found my old Timex Ironman for Iron Mountain and managed to break even more of the band during the run which is to say that since around September 2016 I've been without a watch for the most part because most of the time I have difficulty wearing the fancy dress watch my ex- bought for me one year for Christmas. I ran MMTR blind (without a watch) and after my Timex died at Holiday Lake 50k_++ 2017 I decided it was high time to invest in a quality watch (the hefty tax return that comes with being both a student and a home owner helped influence that decision). After conducting an informal poll on Facebook and reading comments on the VHTRC group discussion board I decide on the Suunto Ambit3 Peak Sapphire (it was $20 extra an I'm accident prone). I wore the watch for the first time this morning an...

Where to start?  The beginning is as good a place as any - oh Iron Mountain. . .I'd first heard of the Iron Mountain race during the pre-race brief for Promise Land back in April.  Horton mentioned that if you were running Mountain Masochist in November that Iron Mountain would be a good gauge for where you are for MMTR - Naturally, I took the bait.

I had a rough night last night - my mind was racing and I couldn't sleep.  Something deeply personal is negatively affecting me and I ain't got time or the energy for that shit.  Fortunately, M was available and talked me through it. After sleeping in- yes, 0645 is sleeping in when you're awake from 0200 - 0400 - after sleeping in I got out for a quick 5-miler. . the temperatures are greatly improved from the last several days, 57 degrees with much lower humidity.  My glutes, quads and traps are sore from the non-running strength training that I've incorporated into my training. . squats, lifting and lunges.. . .come September it'll all be worth it.

This is actually a post from yesterday that I never go around to finishing. The weather's changed - we've transitioned from cool, misty March-like mornings to full on summer conditions.  I've been surprised how well my body has adjusted and handled this transition.  After a mediocre run yesterday (due to my thinking I had more time than I actually did and worrying about making it back in time to get showered and where I needed to be ), and missing my wake-up to make it to the mountains this morning, I slept a good 12 hours.  I must have needed the sleep.  After putzing around for a while I finally got out for my run around 1130 - Running at 1130 is not an optimal time to be running during the summer. I was surprised to find that it wasn't that bad of a run - sure it was 75 degrees and 100% humidity but hell, it wasn't that bad once I started running and kept and even pace.  At the end of the day I logged right about 10 miles.  Didn't get to the mountains ...