Saturday, September 27, 2014

Evergreen Lake Trail Run 51 Mile

three 17 mile loops around lake evergreen.  first 50 since 2009, so i'm pumped.  came off a solid summer of volume, for me anyways, and was using howl 8 as a long run for leg strength.  smartly and rightly took the early start at 3:30 a.m., projecting 13+ hrs to finish. nice and cool, 40s to start, some really great night running under a clear and starry sky.  there are few things better.  kept a steady power hiking pace, with some running of the downs, made good time in the dark.  i did stupidly veer off course at one turn, probably cost myself 10 min. or so.

loop one ended in the morning sun.  quick removal of long sleeve to short, kept moving.  second loop was solid, good, consistent fueling strategy throughout the day, didn't have super dramatic energy lulls.  this is not a tough course, so hills not a factor, able to grind my pace pretty much the entire time.

loops two ends, not sure the time, but sub 9 hours, on pace.  lube up, change shoes into montrails, fuel, and go.  last loop was in the heat of the day, although really really nice in the 60s.  i did get some posterior knee pain in both knees, that i think was due to the higher profile of the montrails, vs. the old, beat up vasques i wore for 34 miles.  took the pain of the newer shoes to absorb more of the trail punishment of the latter part of the race.  i think this was the right choice.  honestly, mostly power hiked the last 10 miles or so, came off pace a little, but not horribly.  finished in 13:28.  really happy with that, didn't suffer mightily and generally executed my race plan, although i would have liked to have felt a little better in the late stages to push a bit more running.  ah well.  great swag, hand-carved walking stick and necklace, a couple of ipas at the finish.  another beautiful day on the trails. 

recovery has gone pretty well.  have been generally tired, to be expected, and dropped mileage a bit. eased back into some more normal days this week and am contemplating the farmdale 30 to finish out the season.