Something strange seems to be happening to me lately. I'm barely 72 hours past finishing my first 50 mile race, and yet I feel fresh and ready to do another. My legs, which were so achy for the first day after the race that even going up and down a flight of stairs was excruciatingly painful, are now completely recovered. I've been taking the stairs at work two at a time, and feel like I have more of a spring in my step than I used to. I've also noticed that pain doesn't seem to be bothering me as much lately. There were moments during the race where pain was so total, so all encompassing, that anything I feel now is somewhat dulled. Perhaps that effect will pass a bit in time, but if so I should probably capitalize on it now.
The run itself was...almost indescribable. As can be seen from my Garmin Report, It took me just shy of 9 hours to run the entire thing (less about four lost miles, due to a lost marker on the trail. Apparently everyone missed it though, so I'm not feeling too bad about that). Even though I spent the better part of the day in some of the most beautiful country imaginable, I really didn't see much more than what was about three feet directly in front of me. I also discovered that while my homemade gel recipes may work well for shorter runs, after about 5 hours the last thing I could stomach was the taste of dates. Fortunately I managed to make it through thanks to some #9 Energy Gels and a few PB&J sandwiches at the aid stations, I had more than enough energy to get through the race. I also learned that my Ininji socks did not keep my feet from blistering, particularly with all of the downhill that I was pushing. By the time I reached the halfway point, I was ready to drop out between my shredded feet and my twisting stomach, not to mention my thighs were locking up on me and fighting me every step of the way.
Shortly after leaving the midway aid station though, I had a strange moment. I was trundling along, barely keeping above 5mph, when suddenly I thought to myself "Why am I letting my legs dictate what I can do? It's my head that's in charge, not them!" So I started pushing as fast as I could down the trail. I got back up to about 7.5mph (so about an 8 minute-mile) and probably held that for about a mile and a half before sheer pain forced me to stop. Still, it was a valuable lesson in using my mind to overcome my body.
My only regret with running Sun Mountain is that because my feet were so tender, I wasn't able to make up any of the time I lost going uphill by barrelling back down the trails. Still, I had a decent time and I've no regrets. I managed to keep myself in the race by promising that I'd drop out at the next aid station...and then the next...and the next...until I was done. Future races I hope not to maintain such a pessimistic attitude, but the end result is what matters, and finish it I did.
I haven't exactly jumped back into my regular running routine yet, but I'm definitely feeling ready to. Kami and I did go spin out a single mile around Wapato Lake the other night, but short distance was as much because of my feet as because of my legs. Well, not exactly because of my feet, but because of what was on my feet. You see, after reading a little book called "Born to Run" I've decided to give this whole minimalist/barefoot movement a try, and so Kami and I picked up a pair of Vibrams the other day. In addition, I'll probably be getting some Luna Sandals some time this weekend. So far, in what running as little as a mile can tell me, I am pleased with the result. I could feel the areas of my footstrike that need work, and I liked that I could tell what sort of terrain I was running over. We will see how they fair on longer runs.
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