3 Weeks Out

It's 3 weeks until the Old Goats 50 Miler and I am just a little bit freaked out right now. I know I can run 50 miles. But 50 Miles with 12000+ ft elevation gain...yeah, that's a whole other story.

I've been trying to get some hills in. I think I did a good job of that at last week's 50K. Hopefully, this weekend helped too. I just don't know.

I ran 25 miles on Saturday. I was a little bit tired. I had wanted to do 3 repeats of the Euclid trail but only ended up doing 2. :( It was a good run though.

It capped off my highest mileage week ever! 92.21 miles. I never dreamed I could run that many miles in one week. The 50K last Sunday and Saturday's run were a big portion of that but still. I think my legs did pretty well with this week. I'm really happy with how they are doing and I think I'm getting stronger. I just hope it's in time.

Today's run was a blast. I decided to run up to the top of Lower Monroe Truck Trail. I didn't make it all the way to the road last time and I wanted to do that today. I had planned 12 or 13 for today and figured that would be enough to get up there. It was a really pretty day. Clear and sunny with a high of 85 predicted. I started at 7 so it was still cool, especially in the lower portions of LMTT.

When I was starting out, there were 3 mountain bike boys getting ready to head up the trail. I made it up to the first look out at 5k before they caught up to me. I headed out while they paused for a break and I kept waiting for them to pass me on the trail but they didn't catch me until we were almost at the top of the single track (6.5 miles). But only 2 of them passed me. I made it to the top before the 3rd guy! When I got up there, I said "Woo, I'm 3rd!". They laughed and said I was first in their books. They were easily impressed. ;) We talked for a bit while we waited for their friend to get up there. They asked me about the bobcat down at the bottom of the trail and I was like "Whaaat?". They told me that when I was heading up the trail, there was a bobcat watching me. They thought I'd seen it but I hadn't. I was bummed that I missed it but also a little freaked out too. I really need to pay attention for things like that. They asked me if I carried anything just in case and I said no. I do have a knife that I used to carry with me on my photo expeditions (for opening stuff, etc. not safety). I don't know about carrying it while I run though.

After I left them, I saw my first wild animal on the trail! A little fox ran across the trail and pounced on something on the other side. That was very, very cool. Other than that, all I saw were birds and lizards.

It turned out to be 8 miles up to the top. The view up there was very cool...

Since I'd only planned 13 for the day, I decided to take a short cut on the way back and do Mystic Canyon. That would shorten the run down by 2 miles and bring the total for the day to 14 miles. Not a bad day at all even if I did fall on my backside coming down MC! The elevation at the top was 3471 and I'd started at 1200 and I had a total elevation gain of 2800. I wish it had been more. Sigh.

I was a little shaky when I got to the bottom of the trail. I didn't eat enough or maybe I was more tired from last week than I thought but I felt good after I ate. In fact, I took my mt bike out for a 15 mile ride in the afternoon. It was too beautiful a day to stay inside.

Next week, I'm supposed to do 20 miles on Sat & 10-12 on Sun. I might go over to AZ and do a 30K there on Sunday. I haven't decided yet. It's in White Tank which is right near where my sister and my dad live. I haven't been to AZ in a while and haven't seen the kids in forever so I think I should go. And not just because I'm addicted to racing. Really. Yeah, I don't believe me either. ;) Ha!

Here's one last photo from today's run. This is my favorite. I love the sunlight streaming into the photo.

I hope you all had a great weekend and that you have a fabulous week!