04 August 2008

next steps

with 55 days until the vt 50 miler, i'm really trying to step up my mileage and strengthen myself for the challenge that lay ahead. crista and i are running it (and completing it) together. we're both quite nervous, as the time limit of 12 hours will definitely force us to work hard. we have the next two months to experiment with race day nutrition, long runs, and delirium.

at jay, i hallucinated a person reading a book on a tree stump, and then i thought a man at an aid station was wearing american flag shoes. he was wearing trail shoes. crista hallucinated once yesterday. good times. i guess we'll have to figure out how to prevent getting too slap-happy

we did a 33 miler in minnewaska state park, one of my favourite places to run. the path was rolling hills, rocks, but carriage paths. we hid a gallon of water and a small bag of food (pretzels and sliced oranges) under some bushes by the start of our loop, so every 11 miles we were able to recharge ourselves. we both learned that pretzels are a godsend for trail runners. i can't wait to get my new running vest, which hopefully has additional room for running snacks. i just checked the tracking, and it should be arriving today. hurrah!

my knees feel a little stiff and i know i need to take care of my IT band. t is going to sea for a week, so i'm going to take advantage of his absence and hit up some yoga classes, maybe punk rope at the gym, get extra sleep. i have to comb through my cookbooks and find some yummy stuff to make b/c i'm in a vegetarian rut...you know, tofu stirfry, pasta, rice & beans, veggie burgers, and repeat.

but i'm super excited abt the 50 miler, and even more thrilled we completed yesterday's run in 5:51:19. hopefully, this means that we can complete the vt 50 miler before the 12 hour cut-off. and if we can't? well, at least we had fun trying.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

WOW, amazing. Have you ever tried any Hammer Nutrition products- like HEED, or Perpetuem? I use it on all my long runs and it really helps with the energy levels..YOU GO GIRL!