Lake, Bridges and Bluffs
Solid run today. I did 22. I felt good for about the first 18 then the heat caught me and I wan’t sure if I was going to finish. After some serious conversations with myself I was able to make it to 22. Normally I go a bit further to get closer to home….not this time. At 22 I called it quits and walked it in. I was only about a 1/2 mile out or so.
I did meet some awesome people out there today and saw some cool animals. My gut was telling me to go south but I went north when I got to the lake. About a mile in I came to a massive downed tree with no way to pass in the middle of my normal trail. That was my sign…..I headed south.
I took a quick climb so I could at least see the lake. It’s hard to be that close without seeing it. I snapped a quick photo and was about 5 miles in so I decided to have a little snack. There was an older gentleman running by and I said good morning and told him it was time for breakfast. He stopped to have a little chat and went on to tell me that he was 74 years old…..freaking awesome. He used to run ultras but now tries to get 100 miles in per month. He was on a 5 miler to get him to 96 for the month. I love it.
I knew I was going to have to go a bit further south than I had been before. I did the math in my head from where I was and how far I had to go before turning around and decided I would run south to 12 miles then make the turn back for home. At about mile 9 I was close to as far as I had been south when someone came from a trail above. I stopped to ask him where it went and he told me it simply went up the road. I continued on and he followed along my path. We were going just about the same pace so I asked him how far he was going. Turns out he was on a short 6 mile out and back which was perfect for what I needed.
He showed me the way along the trails for the next 3 miles as we talked back and forth about trail running and the current state of the world. It was nice to have someone to chat with for some miles. He showed me some pretty sweet trails and I was happy to have met him. I am sure we will cross paths again.
We parted ways when I was at about mile 14 or so and I continued the solo mission back. There are some good climbs along the way but I felt pretty good. However, at around mile 18 I started to hit a wall……a BIG wall. I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish. The sun was blasting on me at this point, my legs were tired, all I had was Lara Bars and while I still had a little water, it was super warm.
With all of that being said I knew I couldn’t quit. I haven’t quit a run….ever I don’t think. Let alone a simple Saturday long run. I had to finish. I gutted out those last 4 miles and made my 22. Total for the week is 57+ miles, which may be my longest week ever. I think the challenge of the late night workout last night with the long run finishing in the heat this morning without my normal nutrition did me in. I basically did a 50k with a small nap in between….not really but kinda. Anyway, I am glad tomorrow is a day off and I am hoping to get some rest.
