It's taken me five days to actually get to logging this run. I guess I've been trying to forget it...although I've also been busy from dawn to dark (on my "vacation") working on projects and trying to run the household while Karen's been gone for a week. She got back last night so I'm back at work. Thank goodness. Anyway, Saturday's planned 20 miler with Kerry and Verdon started off well, but didn't end so well. This is the third time I've done this run this season, so I wasn't too concerned about it, which may have contributed to my difficulties. I managed to stay with Kerry the 10 miles up to Trefoil, but it felt much harder than I expected. By the time I reached the top I knew there was some pain ahead of me on the trip back down. Part way down South Fork I realized there was no way I was going to stay with Kerry all the way back. I had two painful blisters on my left foot (little toe, and ball of foot) and my legs felt completely drained of energy. I decided to push down to Vivian and then allow (force) Kerry to go on without me, which I did. After some water and a rest at Vivian I tried to continue on. It hurt too much to walk so I started running slowly. I stopped at Nunn's Park again for water. At that point I just wanted to go home. I didn't want to aggravate the blisters further and my legs felt like they were ready to start cramping. I decided to call my son who came and gave me a ride to my car at the mouth of the canyon. It was pretty demoralizing. I've attributed my poor performance to two factors. First, I blame the blisters on a poor choice of socks. They felt a little rough and worn when I put them on, but I foolishly ignored the discomfort. The shoes are also pretty new and I may not have had the left one tightened properly. As for the complete lack of energy, I attribute that to two days of hard labor in the sun going up and down ladders combined with inadequate nourishment. I also lost one of my eGel packets early in the run which could have helped me at Vivian. I had an eFuel waiting for me at the car and after drinking it I felt fine and even headed to do some quick shopping before heading home. I recovered pretty quickly as soon as I got some nourishment. I guess we have good days and bad days running. This was definitely not a good one, but perhaps one I can learn from. | 