I thought it would be cold and wet
to run in when I looked outside, but it was kind of warm and wasn't
nearly as wet as I thought it would be. Started out slow, went a little
faster in the middle but not too fast.
Yesterday, I was convinced for some reason that the race this weekend is on Saturday, until someone mentioned something about Sunday. It turns out I have the correct date written down and I even arranged for my parents to come over on Sunday. Weird. I guess I was thinking Saturday because Jenny's 50K in the fall was on a Saturday and my practice run up there was on a Saturday so I guess I associate Croom with Saturday.
The original start time of the race was 7:00, then they changed it to 6:00 so that the 50K and 100K racers would start at the same time. Then, they made it optional. So, I'm going to start at 7:00 and Jenny and her friend are going to start at 6:00 so that we'll all finish closer to the same time.
Jenny asked me about time goals and I really hadn't thought too much about them, other than to just run a bit faster than I ran my practice run up there. My training has been good but I have not had the mental focus with running a fast race in mind and I'm still a newbie on the trails. There are some small hills on the course as well as some obstacles like fallen trees to duck under and a couple places where you have to almost crawl, as well as the rooty section of trail (about 0.25 mile) near the parking lot which we'll hit three times.
I also want to try and enjoy the run as much as possible. Since this is my first 50K and first big trail race it is already a guaranteed PR. But still, it is always best to run within the range of your abilities where you feel like you put forth and honest effort of what you are capable of.
There is also the 100K race to think about. The book, Relentless Forward Progress has a sample training plan in it which just happened to have a 31 mile run this weekend. But it only calls for a one day active recovery after the race/run and then back to running. If I run this race hard then I'll need more than one day. On the other hand, so what? I guess that's the question. I haven't been following this plan to the letter, it's been more of a guide. As long as am able to run by February 18th I'll be ok (more or less). Because how can I really know what's going to happen out past 31 miles when I try and run 100K?
However, there are many stretches where the trail is flat and even with a good solid running surface where I could go faster.
So, to put things in perspective I thought of some paces and finish times. Also, last year the winner had a time of 3:54, second place was 4:15, and a guy I know (Pat) did something like 4:29 (he later went on to run another race at Croom and was sub-4:00 and won the race).
A few possibilities (I know people usually just have three, like gold, silver and bronze)
4:15 - 8:12 (pace) - I think I'd really have to be feeling great, would need a good number of sub-8:00 miles
4:30 - 8:41 (pace) - This one is a little more attainable but still very challenging
4:45 - 9:10 (pace) - I'm pretty sure I can do this one, although on my practice run, the 9:00 miles towards the end felt challenging, but that had been a long day
5:00 - 9:39 (pace) - I should really try to break 5 hours, otherwise I'm not sure if I'd feel like I put in what I was capable of
5:15 - 10:08 (pace) - still a faster pace than what I did the training run in, I guess I'll save this one in case things aren't going well because if it turns sucky it helps to concentrate on a goal to help keep going, hopefully it won't turn sucky. I'm pretty sure it won't.
Just finish it. Hopefully it won't come to this but if it does then it does and I am going to finish it!!
