How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

I didn't run for 7 days following the 50 mile race. I walked, biked, and did strength exercises. 

I decided to make my first run a 7.55 mile trail race at Kickapoo. My thighs were about 75% recovered, had some lingering deep muscle soreness. 

I ran a moderate 8:00 pace the first 3 or 4 miles, then went a litle faster to end the race. Not too bad a result considering what I put myself through the week before.

2 miles barefoot on the grass loop at the arboretum.

It has been 6 months since I last wore a trainer/heeled/cushioned running shoe, I can't see myself ever going back to that type of shoe. I am wearing the lightest shoes I can find, with the least amount of cushioning, and with the lowest heel. The conversion fixed my achilles problem, it never gets sore anymore. If that darned 28 mile snow run last winter hadn't wrecked my knee, I'd be happy. It is slowly getting better, and I am hoping it will one day be 100%.Makes me wonder how I will train in snow this winter. I will try to avoid super long runs in thick snow, but maybe I can get away with runs shorter than 2 hours.

I wasn't sure if running the Kickapoo race would set my recovery back, but today my legs felt 90%, the deep thigh soreness is just about gone, and a slight fatigue is all that remains. 

I recently bought a pair of NB LDS spikes. They are 6 ounces, and feel comfortable on my feet. I felt like doing hard loops at Busey Woods with the spikes, so I rode my bike there and warmed up a mile on the horse track, then did 6 x 1000m loops at hard effort. Everything felt fine, so that made me decide that I will be ready for the Farmdale 32 mile race on October 17.

When I got home I registered for the race, and am looking forward to seeing how I do this year. Last year Farmdale was my first ultra, and I feel I have gotten stronger since then. They changed the course this year, shortening it by 1.5 miles. If I am feeling good I plan on giving another 100% effort.

The training I will do leading to the race will be hard loops at Busey, one 2-3 hour hill session, and maybe some hard sprinting. 

One of my best speed workouts of the year. Quads felt fully recovered from the 50 mile race 2 weeks ago, so I was able to put in a solid effort of 10 x 1000m hard loops around Busey Woods. #'s 9 and 10 I was feeling gassed, but still was able to hold on to finish strong.