Turquoise Lake Night Run
I met 8 other lunatics yesterday at Fish Hatchery. That's 23.5 miles from the LT100 finish. We waited until it was nearly dark and headed out at 8:36pm.
Unlike what we'll have at the race, last night we had a full moon.
The weather was fantastic. It was cool, but as long as you didn't stop, it wasn't cold.
I tried to mentally imagine myself with 76+ miles of wear-and-tear. I put my mind and body into never-give-up mode. My form changed - not for the better, but realistically. When you're worn out, you just can't stay up on your toes running. You have to improvise. Your run becomes pathetic. There's virtually no air-time because there's no lift-off power.
I sprained my favorite ankle again! Then later on, I sprained it yet again! That second time HURT! I immediately got on my back and elevated it. I had taken an ibuprofen before the run, and another at the top of Sugarloaf, so there was no need to take another. The elevating worked wonders. Two minutes. I was back on my feet as if nothing had happened.
There was a woman with us who must be in her 60's. Her face is wrinkled, but OMG! her bod' is hot, like a HS girl would kill for a butt like hers! You meet some real super-athletes out doing stuff like this. I get a kick out of it.
The stretch from Mayqueen aid wasn't as easy as I'd heard. The first several miles are tricky in the dark. I need brighter lights! But once you reach the boat ramp on the north side, the rest is not bad.
I finished at 3am, without even trying. That's faster than I'll be moving during the race.
A very fun weekend with people who share my affliction.
Around Leadville, some tourists and locals have asked if I'm doing the LT100. I tend not to wear anything that would indicate I'm involved with it, but I guess my tree-trunk legs kind of give it away. Somehow, I look the part. I feel confident but I don't want to get cocky. Everyone says I'll finish with no problem, but I've heard stories of those who were prepared to slaughter the course, but got destroyed themselves. You never know what race-day will dish out.
This was my last training run. All that's left is casual jogging next Tuesday, two 90-minute massages, and casual biking and walking.
My weight is down to 167lbs. That's still 5-8lbs. over-weight. It'll have to do.
posted by JeffO @ 10:42 AM
3 Comments:
Congrats on completing your Leadville training! Very exciting!
I don't know you beyond this blog, but I am also confident that you will finish Leadville. You've put in the training time, and that's obviously most important. Almost equally important, though, is that your mind is in the confident yet adaptable place that it needs to be for these crazy endurance events. Your body will carry you the distance and your mind will guide you through the obstacles that you encounter along the way. It's simple, yet at the same time so complicated, isn't it?
Boy, you pull out the funniest comments about women sometimes. Today it's the hot 60 year old. So entertaining... :)
Glad you had a good weekend and thanks for the niceties over on my blog.
Meghan
www.running-blogs.com/meghan
Yeah Jeff, congrats on finishing the training. And as a reader of your blog, thanks for keeping such a detailed record of everything. It really helps other people who will want to train for the same thing, perhaps me some day. I am training for Imogene right now, my biggest running challenge to date.
But for others your blog is very readable because it is so detailed and not overly sentimental. See you on the trail, perhaps tonight at Gudy Gaskill.
It was good to see you at Gudy Gaskill.
I'm not certain where I heard about Dirty Girl Gaiters. It may have been Anita Fromm. She knows Chrissy Weiss. Also, Chrissy was at Javelina in either 2005 or 2006 when Paul Grimm ran, so that was the first time I saw a photo of Chrissy. I've been wanting gaiters, but my sewing machine wads everything up when sewing light-weight materials. I have very little time for sewing these days - more money than time. So I bought Dirty Girls.
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