Saturday was a beautiful day to trail race at hilly Ft. Yargo State Park, near Winder, GA. Dirty Spokes Productions put on another great event, with equally great dry-fit t-shirts. The race started around 30 degrees but "warmed" to the upper 30s (maybe near 40) by the time most of the 13.1 mile runners were in (but the wind was a bit brutal, making it feel much colder). I ran the half-marathon in 2:03, which was better than I had expected considering the terrain, cold and wind. So, I crossed the finish line a happy camper/runner. Of course, the winning time beat me by over 30 minutes! Will never understand that kind of speed. I'm just glad to be a finisher most of the time. :)  Anyway, Dirty Spokes had boxes of bananas and boxes of pizza for an after race season of nutrient restoration. I'm not sure what the pizza was restoring, but I didn't ask questions. Here is a map of the race: 

Kristy scored some "awesome wife points" today (not that she needs them) when she encouraged me to go on a trail run as part of my post-Christmas staycation. So, obliging her, I drove up to Woody Gap and ended up running to Gooch Gap and back on the AT. Below is a photo of snow on the trail that had not yet melted. The snow melt created many mini-creeks and waterfalls along the trail. Really cool.   

I hear that the AT should be getting a good bit more snow on Tuesday. So, maybe I'll try to get away next week for some real snow running. :)  Who says that north GA didn't have a White Christmas this year! 

To follow up with yesterday's post regarding my accidental ultra trail marathon, I want you to know that the serious ultra runners do not settle for a mere 33 or 34 miles. Saturday, there were men and women running (on the same miserable course) both 50 mile and 100 mile races. Those are what I consider real, bonafide ultra marathon athletes, and my hat goes off to THEM! When I complete my first 50 miler, I will be sure to let you know. But don't hold your breath. :)

I completed my first "ultra" trail marathon (54K/33.5mi.) this past Saturday at Dawson Fores. Actually, it was an "accidental" ultra, since I thought I had registered for a normal trail marathon. Oops. On top of the extra milage, it rained all morning, which made most of the trail really souply/sloppy (check out my shoes in the photo below). Sometimes the mud was 6 or more inches deep (complete foot submersion). I've included a graph of the terrain below as recorded on my Garmin. Brutal. But that's running in north Georgia. Some post-race pics are below the graph. The best part of the day was to see Kristy and Schaeffer at the finish line after 9 hours of running in the mud.

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I finished Born to Run the night before my first 13.1 (half marathon) this Saturday. The book is quite inspirational. But it is more. It provides some remarkable research that challenges modern conceptions concerning the need for expensive running shoes—and how those kinds of shoes have made our feet weak (like plush recliners for the feet) and prone to injury. For survey articles that explain the conclusion in a bit more detail, go to this link and this link.

Anyway, I used the technique in the run and felt great!  I was surprised that at mile 8... 9... 10... I felt like I could go all day, and had plenty of gas to kick it up a bit for miles 11-13. Part of that is because Murfreesboro, TN, is like a pancake—flat. Meaning, training in the mountains made a level race pretty easy.  And my feet did not hurt the way they did after my last race (which was only a 10K) and after most of my long distance training runs. 

The best part is that I am totally pumped about getting back out on the trail for a long run. This may be an addiction. Maybe a mid-life crisis. But I now feel like I, too, was born to run.

Ultramarathoner and nuclear engineer, Epharim Romesberg, wrote about being sixty-five miles into the Badwater Ultramarathon (a 135 mile race through Death Valley). His commentary on his status may have some application for the rest of us at times in a variety of ways and life contexts. I definitely can see this quote eventually, somehow making it into a sermon. :)

"I always start these events with very lofty goals, like I'm going to do something special. And after a point of body deterioration, the goals get evaluated down to basically where I am now—where the best I can hope for is to avoid throwing up on my shoes."

There it is. The quote of the day. Have a great week! 

Personal refection #1: Trail racing is different than running on my treadmill while watching Sports Center. :)

Personal refection #2: Next time, I'm taking my iPod.  

Personal reflection #3: I should plan to finish, not to win. 

Personal reflection #4: Life is a lot like an endurance oriented trail race.  There are ups and downs. Pace is required. It is not paved. Sometimes you want to quit. Being with others facing the same challenges helps to keep you going.