I can rest easy now knowing I have given 110% this season. Actually I hate that saying but I did ask much of my realtively young body in the past 10 months and I’m proud of the result. A full schedule of racing and training is behind most of us and we are all going back to “normality” for a brief period. Unless we are going to Maui, there’s less incentive to log pre-dawn workouts and burn the evening oil on the bike while everyone else is home relaxing.
I, for one, did not qualify for Maui and after USA Championship still had a tiny itch to scratch. I figured (in my twisted logic) that running a 50 mile Ultra 2 weeks after Utah would prove to myself that I was good enough, fast enough, strong enough and talented enough. Enough for what I didn’t know, but I was gonna make this the cherry on top of the sundae of my Xterra season.
The 2 weeks between “finale” races went surprisingly quickly, although little training got done. I didn’t see the necessity in risking injury with high mileage, so I basically sat on my a$$ for 2 weeks and convinced myself it was a smart taper.
I felt fine on race morning, however, and the weather was ideal for running. The Ultra scene is alot like Xterra in a way, everyone knows everyone else. I knew no-one, but that was OK. I considered myself a visitor in the land of running giants. I just stayed smart and kept an eye on my nutrition. What’s that you say? GU2O at the aid stations? I’ve been training on that all summer!! My stomach embraces GU2O like nothing else I have tried. Success #1- No new products. The Aid stations were fully stocked with goodies, and all my favorite GU flavors were there. After about 7 hours I couldn’t really distinguish flavors, but none the less, it was familiar digestive territory and my body accepted these products all day long. Thanks to GU not only for a great season but also a SUPERB day!
What’s better than mom’s homemade cookies? A Maple Pecan PRO-BAR after 50 miles of running!! I ate nothing but gel and a few pb+j’s for 9 hours and 17 minutes and at that moment PRO-BAR was possibly the best solid food that has ever crossed my lips. I wouldn’t have traded it for a steak.
The best part of the day was the comfort that my AVI-Stolz shoes brought me. Other runners brought changes of socks and foot creams and all sorts of blister prevention-I used none of those. Not because I have steel feet, but because these shoes are THE BOMB!! My first 50 ever I ran in 2008 I wore a pair of Asics trail runners and the entire bottom of my foot was a blister with matching pools of pus and blood left over in the shoe. Saturday I ran 50 miles in my AVIA’s (and visor) and had not 1 blister or hot spot.
I owe alot of thank you’s to AVIA and GU and PRO-BAR for Saturday, and a whole bunch more, especially Melanie, for making the entire 2009 season of racing truly unforgettable. Xterra or Ultra, I was decked to the 9’s wherever I went.
Thanks!