Taper week....who hoo! Just an easy seven miles on the treadmill to keep things loose and scare away the taper pains. 7x8:00x3.5%
Rocky Raccoon weather this Saturday looks perfect to me. Cold start mid-20s (can really push that first 20 miles hard), warming up to mid-50s, cooling to about 40 by finish. No heat, no rain! Mud in places could be an issue, but blast on through it! Humidity only 50%.
The no-headphones debate continues on the races' facebook blog. It is interesting to that those who chime in and are so negative toward people who use them haven't even run a 100-mile race before, yet they want to see them banned.
Here's a funny exchange:
Runner: "One of the things that I like about trail running is the friendliness of the fellow runners. When you add headphones (like on the roads) people become very unfriendly - no smile, wave, nod, or howdy. Besides, if someone can't handle using his own brain for entertainment, makes me wonder how much he likes his own self? To me, it's a time to think things through, review classnotes, to do lists, listen to nature, make new friends as they jet by."
My reply: "Yes, same old endless argument. People who like to listen to music while running are mentally weak, unattached from nature, unfriendly, not alert, so we need to put in a rule so we can make them be better runners like us. I don’t buy it at all and I go both ways in my use. I find all 100-mile runners to be generally a fantastic, friendly, completive, mentally strong group. Some are in a zone and aren’t going to say hi to everyone, that is fine, after all, it is a race. But let’s not impose rules to make people run exactly the way we think is “right.” Barefoot/Hokas, headlamps/handhelds, meat/no-meat, music/no-music, and on and on. Live and let live, run and let run." | 