31.34 miles, 6:14:03, 11:56/mi. Today's race was.....hot. 93F at start/finish aid station at the beginning of the last short 5 mile loop. Starting temps were in the 70s and most of the people running the marathon and 50K took the early start to beat the heat. Being a glutton for punishment, I opted for the regular start and ran the suffer-fest. Plenty of hills to work the climbing and descending gears, but by the halfway point, I was happy just to be able to hike the uphills and jog/run the flats and downs. By the 5 mile loop, I was happy to string together 60 seconds of running in any direction. Ran out of water on the return from the out-and-back about 1.5 miles from the mid-point aid station when the turnaround water ran dry. Spent minutes in each aid station from then on, attempting to hydrate as well as possible before continuing. Did I mention suffer-fest? Anyway, I survived, finished, and ran my first 6+ hour 50K. I also managed to run this 50K after running half(+) of the 50 miler last weekend, so I'm thinking this makes up for that DNF. Or at least tells me I can get in the proper mental place when suffering is required. Interestingly, I've taken 6th place in each of the 50k races I've run this year, and not against the same competition. Weird. | 