Monday, February 24, 2014

A Pretty Sore 6 Miler this Morning

   This morning getting up wasn't really tough but going down the driveway was, my quads were freaking sore and aching from yesterday's long run. It was hurting, but it was definitely noticeably sore and this run went slow. 
    The temperature was 25 degrees, cold compared to the last few days and I had to wear my tights (pooh). Other than the soreness, Rocky and I had a good run. One loose dog, that thankfully didn't give us any trouble and 91 feet in elevation gain and 95 feet in loss. We ran 6.1 miles in 1:07:36 with an average pace of 11:05 min/mile, hopefully the sore feeling in my quads and hams will be gone by Wednesday's 8 miler.
Laps/splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:22
Mile 2 - 11:21
Mile 3 - 11:16
Mile 4 - 11:20
Mile 5 - 10:56
Mile 6 - 10:23
.1       -  9:46

Upcoming Events and Thoughts
    The Bound the Mounds Half Marathon is this Saturday, and if it starts off in the 20's then any mud or water should be hardened enough not to cause me a lot of trouble. I've been keeping an eye on who's coming and so far I think I only see 2 other women in my age group but women overall in the half marathon distance and they are only doing award for the top 3 females. It will be interesting to see where I place in this group. Either way it will be fun to be back on the trails, I just need to keep an eye on the markers they've got out there and not get off track. I will be wearing my fuel belt with my grape gatorade, water and a  Chocolate Outrage Gu, they'll have one aid station and most likely I won't hit it around the time/s I'll need a sip or the Gu.

   My husband mentioned yesterday that maybe I should do a few marathons before upping it to ultras, but I told him that other than the Indy Monumental I plan on doing my own trail runs at distances around 25-26 next year and if all things go well this June at the Indian/Celina Challenge Half, I might do the full marathon next year. I have no plans of racing the June Half, with it's around 3,100 feet of elevation gain I am hoping that it will hurt and humble me. Right now it is hard for me to slow down or hike or walk and I know how terribly important that is for an ultra race, or if I go out too fast and flat line and DNF. St. Louis' Half was around 1,100 feet in elevation gain and that is the most I've ever ran so this race will be interesting and fun. I am expecting and hoping that the hills will force me to power hike, and possibly break me down, I want to experience what ultra runners experience during those hours.... even if it is just a fraction of what they feel, if I can get through it and push on then I know I have a chance of experiencing ultras. The Land Between the Lakes 60k distance has around 3,017 feet of elevation gain while the 50 miler has around 3,966 feet BUT they do have the marathon distance as well with 2,068 feet. So if I don't quite feel ready for an ultra so soon after the Indy marathon I might register for the marathon.... of course 2015's race is a year away so no worries and I have plenty of time to decide.
  I've been reading race reports on the Ozark Trail 100 (or OT100) and though it sounds very tough and almost impossible, I still feel that is the 100 that I want to experience for my first 100.
   I think.... I think too much lol.

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