Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Hillsboro July 50K fun Run

I did a 30 +/- mile training run this past weekend. I had invited people to come out to join me for all or parts of the run, but all I got for responses was a bunch of maybes. Except for Josh. Josh has been there since the start of my running days and he wanted to be there to help me threw this run. Not to mention getting some training miles in himself. I was glad Josh would be there he is good company, can tolerate my slow pace most of time and is great at encouraging me to go faster.

The start time was set for 6am. After much grumbling of being tired and cold we started the run at 6:15. It was cold. I had a fleece on that I hadn’t worn in months. My feet and hands were cold. Josh had on a long sleeve and wind pants. The cold was odd and nice for a July morning. The first lap turned into a lot of walking vs. running. Josh was cold and tired and could not will his legs to run much at all. By the second lap he started to wake up a lot and by the third he was back to his old self. Running ahead and calling me on.

We had are ups and downs. Josh is such a strong runner and ultra walker. I can jog beside him and he will just power walk along at the same pace. He has inspired me a lot over the years. I am grateful that he was running with me but I was bummed he wouldn’t be able to finish the run with me. He had a prior engagement he had to go to. He was great at the house to making turkey sandwiches in between laps while I fussed with my running stuff. He was always ready to go before I was, thanks to his simple quick thinking and years of ultra experience.

I was feeling pretty good. My feet were getting rather sore though. I tried new socks before the start of lap four. We tried to push the pace as much as we could threw lap four, a five mile loop, so Josh would have time to get ready for his outing. I was not looking forward to doing the next two laps alone because there were some long climbs, especially for tired legs.

Back at the house after lap four Josh got ready to go. I got ready for the next lap and took some painkillers for my sore feet. I switched to a double water bottle pack since I was going threw more water and it was warmer then earlier in the day. We parted ways and started down the road again trying to work out a sore spot in my left thigh.

The sore spot went away and I trudged along hiking the ups and running the downs. Then the climb up to tower was next, a series of short steep climbs. When I reached the top I was surprised. I felt pretty good. My legs were tired and my mind was tad tired to. But really it wasn’t all that bad. I made my home from there with a smile on my face.

When I got to the house and stared to prep for lap six it really sunk in how far behind schedule I was. I had thought I would be done by 3pm. It was almost 4:30 now and I had another lap to do. I hurried up and left a note on the door saying when I would be back before 6pm incase company showed up for the night fun we had planned.

As I went down the road again the sore in my thigh was back. It wasn’t horrible but it did hurt. I was gritting my teeth trying to work threw it and just then G & A drive by on the way to my house. I feel bad that they will be there with out me. I thought about cutting the course short. But I knew couldn’t, I’d regret if I did. I ran as much as I could and hiked the hills as fast I could despite the nagging ache in my left thigh. It was a very good motivator knowing I had company waiting.

I got to the last road sections and I was still trying to hurry. My legs were tired and I was sore. But I really didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would after 30 miles of roads and trails all day. (Thanks to Josh for encouraging me to do the full 30 vs the 25 that I almost did!) I got to the house to finish the run and I was very happy with my time on the last lap. It was great to have my friends there at the end, despite being me being really tired and late, but none of them. Another great day of running in the books.

1 comment:

sherpajohn said...

Sorry I missed it. It was my dad's b-day and I had to go to the party. Keep on keepin on!