I can’t imagine doing that

After last Friday night’s trail event (I walked, finished  10 miles muddied but feeling good with a lot left “in the tank”, I though about the 30, mile finishers, the 50, 100, and of course, the 150 and 200 (yes, there is a 200 mile option)

I thought: “I can’t even imagine.”  But here is a critical difference between my saying that and a younger newcomer saying that:  I finished the 30 several times (2003, when it was 50K, and the fall 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 (latter is not listed due to an “early start”, but it took just under 12 hours), and I finished the 50 twice (12:46 in 2004, 31:3x in 2008…DNF’ed and then came back the next morning to “finish”, and yes, I got credit) and the 100 twice (34:16 in 2005, 47:48 in 2009).   When I DNF’ed the 100 in 2016, I was 15:2x at 50 and came back for 2 more loops the next day..and I also DNF’d the 50 a few years ago.

 

So yes, I did finish some of these longer events..or at least someone with my name and history did.  I just can’t imagine doing that with my current body. 

Ah…so onward to do what I can this morning.

 

Ten miles in the mud

 

The idea: I was to pace a friend who was planning on doing a slow 50 miles, starting at noon on Friday. The course was 5 ten mile loops in McNaughton Park, near Pekin, Illinois. She changed plans due to the nature of the course; it is a challenging course to begin with (featuring 13 uphill segments per loop; mostly 70-80 foot hills) but spring rains and a lack of drainage turned much of the course into a river of mud.

But I had signed up for the 10 mile even (Potawatomi Trail Runs) which began at 8 pm on Friday, so I went ahead an attempted the event. I wasn’t prepared to compete, so I went out and walked at a deliberate pace…when I wasn’t falling down.


My ruined shoes (they were old anyway)
Yes, even my handheld flashlight got muddy

 

The course used to be single track with breaks on grassy prairie. Now, with the exception of the initial “almost a mile” meadow loop, the grassy parts looked like narrow dirt roads which were rivers of mud. And yes, the old shoe sucking mud was there in force.
In fact, on Golf Hill (about 4 miles into it..a rope assist hill), my left shoe got sucked into the mud. My trail gaiters were also sucked in..I lost them. I feel 2-3 times (on my butt) and was off balance many more times, but my knee stretching program (part of my fitness) kept me from getting hurt.
Also, the elastic in my headband gave way so I had to use my headlamp as a hand held, and I supplemented it with the above flashlight..that actually worked out very well.

It took me 4:09 to walk this 10 mile loop (I used to finish my 100’s on this course at that pace), but I had a lot left in the tank.

Today: I slept in, did a standard weight workout (light on the bench, 1 x 185, 7 x 165, 10 x 165 incline, usual military, pull ups were good: 5 sets of 10, 1 of 5, etc) and then caught some Bradley Softball (sadly, they lost two very competitive games to Missouri State..1 run each time.)

Babs and me cheering on BU Softball