Sunday, October 25, 2009

20 Days and Counting

Till the Rockledge Rumble 30k that is...

After learning my lesson about the Northshore trail officially closing for 2 days following any decent rain, I made it back out to the scene of the crime this morning for what ended up being about an hour and a half run. Upon arriving at the parking lot near the MADD shelter (because the Murrell Park lot was apparently still under water) I was fortunate enough to meet a few fellow runners who will be participating in the 15k leg of the Rockledge Rumble and one member of the North Texas Trail Runners (NTTR) group who was accompanied by her two canine companions (the two of us both enjoyed the sight of a helpless mountain biker trying to pop a wheelie in the parking lot but falling flat on his back at the end of my run).

The fact that I was forced to park at the MADD shelter meant I was that much closer to the west end of the trail, the end I've yet to explore, but that in order to get a run longer than 90 minutes I'd have to come back to the parking lot and head towards the east end of the trail (or so I thought). Turns out what I thought was the west end trail head wasn't quite the end of the trail, but that's ok, now I have an excuse to go back earlier than I would've otherwise.

Since I posted on my hydration options, I devised a system by which I use the CU pack
but remove the bladder and place a small REI bottle in the main compartment and thus have the use of the pack without the hassle of a leaking bladder hose. However, today I learned that the pack is only good if I'm wearing a shirt since I now have a nice raw spot on my back from where the pack rubbed after I took off my shirt 40 minutes into the run because it was getting heavy with sweat.

Also, I officially broke in my $20 Asics
from Marshall's today, and by break in I mean soaked the heal in crimson as my sockless heel finally baptized the shoe in callous forming blood, the mark I always used in highschool to mark the successful break in of any new shoes for cross country or track season. I thought to take pictures of my heel but decided against it, though I may still snap a shot of the shoe, but that's a decision I can make down the road.

Back on the issue of hydration and the accompanying pack, I'm more towards abandoning the pack on any regular basis and either just carrying a bottle for extended runs or really learning the available watering stations on my favorite runs, even the race has an aid station every 5 miles. Plus, after reading Anton (Tony) Krupicka's blog today in which he described his 5 1/2 hour, 37 mile run carrying only a 16oz bottle and 3 gels I felt like a big sissy worrying about a pack for any runs I'm doing or will be doing in the foreseeable future.

Overall, things are looking well for the race on the 14th, after a slow start to get the legs turning over well, I felt strong at the end of the run, deciding to head home only to maintain a slow weekly built, otherwise I'd have been tempted to keep running another hour or more. Forecast is for severe thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow morning so I'll have some time to let the new blisters heal up a bit before heading out tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday and I may even get back on my bike this week for the first time since the US Open triathlon on October 11.

More to come...

Ryan

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