I haven't run much lately. Mostly, I've been on the bike to save my legs. I rode 30 miles on Friday (a new high) and 20 more on Sunday. Yesterday, I added in an easy 12, after 8 the day before. I had to get in a run and I had to do it at Trexler. The end of the week is busy, so I headed there for a run that my friend Todd invited me too.
The run was at night. I've been wanting to run at Trexler at night for a long time. It was perfect. The only issue was that I was going to a minor league baseball game. Luckily, the people that run trails at night are a little bit crazy. I couldn't make it for the first loop, but I arrived early for the second one.
They had about 15 people going and most of them were only doing one loop, so I didn't have a lot of company. It poured so bad and there was thunder and lightning when I was at the game, so I almost didn't go. I was glad I did though, because it didn't rain much up there. It was just a nasty cell that went through the area, but missed this part of it.
I saw all the guys coming back from the first run and they were soaked and said it was very humid. That was helpful to know because it felt nice. I elected to run without a shirt on. One issue was that I had no water, so running 8.5 miles would be a little tough. With a few of the guys going 4 or 5 loops (I can't even imagine that there), I knew the pace would be slow and I could handle a loop without water.
It took some time until everyone got back from the first loop. I guess they were waiting for people at some points. I finally took off with a two guys that I didn't know. We ran ahead of Todd. It was already around 10:30 when this loop started.
I did run at night some, but that is on flat trails, definitely not places like this. It was tricky for my eyes to get used to. On the downhills, I was definitely slow and cautious.
The ground was wet everywhere, but it wasn't too bad. Most of the time, the trail was clear. At night, you can't see much of anything at Trexler. I'm glad I knew the route. We actually took the loop backwards. They were switching it up every lap. That was good, since I don't usually go this way. I usually follow the Quadzilla race direction.
I just ran along following these guys. I felt pretty good and was only doing one loop, so I could've run ahead. However, I wanted some company. I just let them lead the way and dictate the pace.
We walked up almost every significant uphill. That certainly saved my legs. It also made the run go slowly. Every mile seemed to take forever.
The humidity was bad, but actually it wasn't that noticeable until we would stop and walk. At times, there was a mist out and you could see it on your headlamp.
The guys I was running are military guys and they are a different bread. They train how I wish I could train and hope to one day. I want to be the guy that normal runners look at and think, "that guy is crazy." They'll run several loops here and the one guy used to even do loops while dragging tires around. I love all my normal runner friends, but these ultrarunning people definitely have more of my mindset.
These guys knew each other, so they talked a lot. I didn't have too much to say, especially because I can't relate to their crazy training methods. Maybe one day.
Even though I know this trail well, at times I wasn't quite sure where we were. Part of that was that we were running the trail in the opposite direction that I am used to. Normally, the scenery here during the day is beautiful, but at night, you can't see much of anything.
The hills were tough, but with all the recent rain, the creek crossing was definitely the most unique and challenging aspect of the run. The water was almost waist high. It was even trickier because it was so dark that you couldn't see the rocks at the bottom. I made it across, but at one point, I could feel the current pushing me down stream. Now, I see how people can drown so easily this time of year in real rivers.
The steep hill that is the toughest on the course was sure interesting going down. Normally, I am running up it. It took me forever to get down it. The guy in front of me just flew down it.
It seemed like the run was taking forever. Knowing how the trail is setup was helpful though. I realized that the final 2 miles would be mostly runnable. It was and that was nice as time flew by.
One big reason that I stuck with these guys was because I didn't know how to get around the gate crossing. It closes when the zoo closes. I've never run through there when it was closed. I didn't realize that you can just walk right around it.
After I got past the gate, I just took off. I was beat and needed the run to be over. I left those guys behind for the final mile. I was only doing the one loop after all. The hills from this point on were a bit of a challenge, but I ran most of them. I walked only briefly. I was still done in well under 2 hours. That wasn't too bad.
I wish I could've done another loop, but I'm traveling a lot today and I needed some sleep. It would've been after 3 AM that I would've been home after a second loop. If only I could've started earlier. If only I brought water too. Maybe next time. Running there at night was great and I definitely want to do it again.
For the longest time, I've known that I want to get into trail running and ultras. I figured that would be my main type of running. I just love the challenge of longer distances. This run and Dave Decker's Loopy run have just reinforced this.
I figured that I would qualify for Boston first. Then, I'd run it once and be done with marathons forever. I enjoy distances, but marathons aren't much fun to me. Since my body is crap now and I'm so slow, I might just sign up for an ultra and start running those and if my speed ever comes back again, I'll shoot for a BQ. I already have my sights set on a 50K in the fall.
8.51 miles - 1:48:09 (12:43 pace)
No comments:
Post a Comment