With a marathon under my belt, I got it in my head to train for our local favorite, Louisville Lovin' the Hills. It has a reputation for being tough for a 50k. Sure enough, the 7 hours I planned for
(based on the median time from last year
) turned into 8 hours after snow and freezing rain left tons of wood & dicey footing on the trails. 1st, 2nd & 3rd were all more than an hour behind last year's times. The first 20 miles were magical -- frozen trees, light snowfall, good company. Then my legs started to tighten up, making descending very painful. I was just trashed by the end, & happy to be walking the last 2 miles. More good company at the finish
(the 1st place finisher was greeting everyone at the door
) as well as terrific homemade soups.
Funny how a painful finish can make you swear off racing for all of, say, 48 hours. Now that the extensor tendonitis is easing off, I'm thinking, well gee, 8 hours is enough time to finish a flatland 50 miler! Now I just need to get the rest of my family on board.
Plenty of lessons learned:
- Train for more race than I need. Mud or snow can really change things.
- Either run more miles in my Trail Roc 150s or leave them at home for the long races, no matter how good they feel. I think a more forgiving shoe might have compensated for the extra time on the trail.
- Drill for descending as much as climbing.