Weather - 43-47 degrees, cloudy, misty, very windy. Another magical day. When I'm running in the fields and woods for 4-5 hours, a lot of thoughts come and go. One thought was this : the strength of my body has finally caught up with the strength of my will. The reason I believe this is because there is a serene sense of satisfaction when I finish these long runs, as if my will is finally at peace. I have been having running dreams lately. I usually have these types of dreams when I am injured or sick, and therefore not running. So it is unusual for me to dream about running when I am running everyday. But these recent dreams have been me running fast, something I have not done since August. So maybe the dreams are giving me a cue to start running faster. Today, being warm, I dressed in 4 shirts and shorts, and felt light and energetic. The first 5 miles I was running quicker than usual, pushing in places, then pulling back, as if I was on a 7-8 mile run. When I got to the South Farms road the 20-25 mile headwind slowed me down. When I made the turn to go north, I saw a speedy runner about 50m ahead of me, and with the wind at my back, I decided to go for it. I was running 6:20 pace, but could not gain on the runner. After 800m I turned off the road and into MBK, slowing down to a trot, as I was beginning to go anaroebic, which is not a good idea at this point in my training. Miles 11-13 I was changing paces, having fun going fast, then pulling back. When I got to Jimmy Johns to end the run, I felt too good to stop, so continued running to Strawberry Fields, where I stopped to buy a Cliff bar, some chocolate almond energy chunks, and Bolthouse blue juice. I had not eaten yet for the day, nor taken any fluids, so I was ravished for food and drink. I was not sure how far I was going to go at this point, I guessed maybe 4 or 5 more miles for a total of 18-20, because it was going to get dark in about 45 minutes, as I had started at 1:00pm. After eating on the run I started to pick up the pace, and my legs still felt strong and somewhat fresh, and before I knew it I was back on the South Farms road, battling the wind, as the sky grew very dark and gray. When I turned east into the corn field the horizon was dark and looked very far, making it seem as if I was entering into a black tunnel. I imagined I was running a 100 mile ultra at night without a headlamp. I was still feeling good at this point, even though the past 5 miles had been into a strong headwind. Now I was about to turn with the wind, the sky black, but with an orange glow at the northern horizon, which made me feel calm and happy. I ran through MBK pretty quick, the wind aiding my pace, and I passed a pack of 3 runners with flashlights. The final 3 miles I was in a running zone, feeling strong, good, invincible. When I reached the final 800m straightwaway, I sprinted at 6:30 pace, not wanting to stop, and contemplated running 30 miles. I was starving, however, and reaching Jimmy Johns for a second time, I decided to stop at 26 miles. I walked home, eating the sandwich, refreshed by a cool mist. One of the greatest runs of my life..... #394
Print made a few days ago : 
The Baraboo Hills
Printed 2008
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