Cross Training: Running

[citoyen]

No, I think it's just that some people really do think they need water for a 5k run.

And maybe they do - I wouldn't myself but hydration is a very personal thing.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

How do you fit in long training runs?  You have to take every opportunity. We had a trip to my wife’s parents to sort out some paperwork.  As usual with these things it took up the middle of the day.  So I suggested that I run back.  My schedule had a 30-mile effort and a quick check on Google indicated it was about 33 miles.

So at three in the afternoon, after sorting out the paperwork and cutting their hedge I laced up my running shoes and headed out of Rowlands Castle at 3pm.   It was hard to get into a rhythm on the steep hills of the South Downs and there was a brisk northerly headwind, not what I wanted to greet me at the start of a one-way run.  Soon the bulk of Butser Hill loomed ahead, a steep 150m ascent to the highest point on the South Downs.  This will be good training for the Dorset Coast Ultra, I thought, as I laboured up barely faster than walking pace.  The water worn descent was probably better training, forcing me to tread carefully or risk a broken leg.  After Ramsdean the bridleway wasn’t well used, so more nettle stings.  The top of this hill was steeper than Butser and I walked about 50m. 

All the footpaths I’d picked out from Google Streetview and close ups on the satellite view were good except for one which crossed a ploughed field.  I’d been going two hours so stopped to tighten a lace and eat a Tunnocks bar, one of the few things that I seem to be able to eat when running.  There was a long tarmac section up and over the high ground past the Pub with No Name, fortunately set well away from the road so that it could not lure me in. 

The next section was tricky to navigate and I stopped a couple of times to check the map.  One steep little ramp brought me to a standstill so I stopped and ate an admired the view, one of those hidden valleys you can only see if you get off the beaten track, the low sun picking out every angle of the landscape.  I continued my weary way, three hours down and still south of Alton, which was probably two hours from home.

But as the sun lowered, the temperature cooled, and I got into a nice rhythm through Chawton, Jane Austen country.  There was another moment of temptation as I passed a pub in the outskirts of Alton.  I could sit with a pint of beer and let the alcohol ease the pain before getting a taxi home.  I gave a group of people sitting on an outside table an envious glance and then continued through a few suburban streets before heading back into the country.  Everything hurt by now and the fact that the next three miles were mostly uphill was not a comfort.

The sun was setting as I reached Shalden, rich amber light glinting through the trees and I stopped and ate my third Tunnocks bar.  The electrolyte drink in my Camelbak was getting low.  I walked for about 100m whilst munching before urging my legs into their fifth hour of running.  The next footpath, one I was a little worried about, turned out to be well trodden and idyllic.  The wooded sections were getting dark and I had to watch my footing.  At least I’d done the last big hill.  When I crossed the next road I was finally on familiar ground, a long wooded descent towards Weston.  I spotted a hare and some deer in a field that pranced more like red deer than the common roe deer.

After Weston were the last two proper hills, at least someone had cleared the path so that it no longer had overhanging brambles and nettles.  I put my head torch on and was soon reliant on its narrow beam.  At least I knew this route, on woodland trails it is easy to lose the path at night.  I was still running in a good rhythm, albeit slowly.  I phoned home to let my wife know I would be late, as it was going to take longer than the 5 hours I’d planned and kept it steady all the way back home.  I was sad that I’d gone slow, but pleased because I think I had finally started to crack the ultra-marathon runner’s secret of that slow but endless pace with which I could tackle greater distances, as my legs were still working effectively at the end.

34.2 miles.  Three-quarters distance.  With eleven weeks to go to the main event that means I’m ahead of the training curve.  I’m starting to believe it’s possible.

[SteveC]

<snip> Long poetic piece </snip>

And there was me feeling quite good about managing to run for an hour for the first time ever over the weekend...
You, sir, certainly live up to your forum name!

[αdαmsκι]

I'm back on the Park Run treadmill and my times are improving, but annoyingly today was 18:05. Hopefully next week will be <18:00.

[Polar Bear]

After a break induced by a cycle touring holiday, a freak accident invovling a canal boat and lethargy, I'm back on the trail come Monday morning and looking forward to it.   

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

It was three weeks since my last epic training run.  Since then I’d only run once, 17 miles at a slow pace shrugging off the after effects of a cold.  I wasn’t concerned; I’ve never run with great frequency; this allows the legs to recover from the pounding.  To stay fit I’d done three 100mile plus bike rides.

But one of the hardest parts of training is getting started.  My only window was 8am to 1pm on Saturday morning and at 7.15am it was raining heavily.  The rain stopped and I started in the dry, trail shoes slithering on wet tarmac, with little enthusiasm.  I’d abandoned plans for a round-Basingstoke run and set out on my marathon route in reverse with a few hilly extras.

I didn’t start to feel happier until Five Lanes End, when the sun came out and lit up an autumn scene.  The plan was 30 miles in under 5 hours.  I got into a good rhythm over the hills.  The trail shoes worked well on the rain-loosened surface and muddy patches.  I played tortoise to a mountain-biker’s hare.  After a couple of hours I stopped to tighten my laces and eat a Toffee Crisp, which slipped down nicely.  I’ve tried lots of expensive energy bars when cycling and found that all of them taste little better than the packaging and are usually indigestible once you’ve been out for a couple of hours. 

I was now out into the open hills of the Hampshire Downs, fine views and good running.  There are lots of short steep sections and the valley floor bits are deeply rutted, which is good practice for balance, trying to maintain the speed whilst hopping from ridge to ridge, without burning too much energy.  I reached my second add-on section, a totally gratuitous long steep hill followed by a shorter steep descent only to retrace my steps, much to the confusion of a dog walker, whose pet was far more interested in my pace than their owner’s. 

Now for the crunch part of the ride, a soul destroying two-mile gradually ascent along a stony track that winds up a wooded valley.  I rewarded myself with a Tunnocks Wafer at the top.  On the long descent my hamstrings began to give me hell and I realised I was growing a third generation blister on a damaged toe.  But I comforted myself that there were only about 6 miles to go and I was going to get back well ahead of time. 

It rained a little, but I was dressed for it, so it was just welcome cooling.  The A339 section passed without event; they’ve cut back the verge, which makes it easier to run on.  Someone had also trimmed back the nettles in Nettle Alley, which I was doubly pleased about because I didn’t fancy nettle stings this late into the run.  I began to pick up speed over the last few miles, a sure sign that my training plan was working, as this was the first time I’d been able to speed up at the end of a marathon distance run.  I kept the speed up all the way back home.  29.4 miles in 4 hours 9 minutes.

The next big run will be in two weeks time, the Beachy Head Marathon, over the South Downs, the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head, starting from Eastbourne.  It’s the training event for the big one at the start of December.

[mattc]

Now for the crunch part of the ride,

He he!

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Now for the crunch part of the ride,

He he!

old habits die hard 

[αdαmsκι]

Things are going in the right direction. Yesterday I managed a sub 18 minute ParkRun, and then ran home. Today I have done a 12 km run. However I can feel the increase in effort on my IT band, which I screwed up in January. To avoid messing it up again I'm back to using the foam roller*, core strength exercises and various stretches. It feels like I spend more time on the post-run routine than actually running.


*For something with the word "foam" in the name it is amazing how much pain using the roller can inflict.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Things are going in the right direction. Yesterday I managed a sub 18 minute ParkRun, and then ran home. Today I have done a 12 km run. However I can feel the increase in effort on my IT band, which I screwed up in January. To avoid messing it up again I'm back to using the foam roller*, core strength exercises and various stretches. It feels like I spend more time on the post-run routine than actually running.


*For something with the word "foam" in the name it is amazing how much pain using the roller can inflict.

I know how you feel.  I reckon that if I do all of the stretches and post-run conditioning that I should do to walk properly afterwards it takes about 25 minutes, whereas after a 4-hour cycle ride, my usual warm down is preparing the pasta sauce, putting the pasta on and running up and down stairs for a shower in the time in takes lunch to cook.  And I still feel better afterwards than if I went for a run.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

When i go training I start from my front door.  I have about five minutes preparation - mostly getting the right tension in my shoelaces, then I'm off.  No fuss.  No palaver.  Just running.

In planing, for the big one, the Dorset coast ultra, I decided to do one trail marathon event as part of my preparation.  The Beachy Head wasn't my first choice, as I'd run most of the route (in reverse) on the Sussex Coast Marathon in March, but on reflection, with over 4000 feet of climbing on coastal paths, it was probably a good one.

So I drove two hours, registered, pinned on my number and hung around for an hour before the start, three hours after leaving home.

The run started with a 'wall', a 30% ramp up the face of the South Downs.  This was my downfall, not because I went too hard, but with my cyclist's legs and aerobic capacity it is the sort of terrain where I have a natural advantage over proper runners.  So I reach the top in the company of those a lot better at this sort of thing than I am.  Although I had the experience to settle in to a steady pace, I kept getting passed.  Endurance sport is about the head and the stomach, once you can run or ride a certain distance it is the mind or the gut that fails you more than the legs.  The experience of being regularly passed by other runners was tough, making me feel that I wasn't going well.

In fact, on the long draggy hills of the first half, I was going really well, faster than in training.  the other problem I had was dodgy sinuses, the aftermath of a touch of a cold during the week.  This had a knock on effect on my stomach, making me feel slightly nauseous.  I concentrated on the checkpoints that came and went: 4 miles, 8 miles, 12.2 miles.  The descents, especially where the path was eroded to bare chalk were treacherously slippery.  Offsetting my discomfort were excellent views over the South Downs to the far-off sea.  I longed for the flat section by Cuckmere Haven before the home run over the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head.

We crossed a road and there was another checkpoint.  I'd been going for a little over two hours, so I stopped to eat one of the snack bars in my bum bag, just as I had done on my training runs and wash it down with some water.  Getting stiff legs back into motion hurt, as did the sensation of being passed by a dozen or so runners as I was stopped.

After the skiddy descent to the Cuckmere River there was a steep muddy ascent.  I was one of the few to run up it.  Then there was another steep slippey descent; it was painful trying to control the pace of descent on tired legs.  I ran up the next ascent until my way was blocked by others walking (at least that was the way I rationalised the marginal relief to my bursting lungs). Here I realised a fault in my training; I'd not practiced walking briskly up such terrain.  Even so I kept going well through the woods and into the open downland near the coast, despite the totally gratuitous hill they threw into the mix.  Looking at my watch I reckoned I had a good chance of going under 4 hours (I'd done 4-08 on the Sussex Coast).

The Seven Sisters are one of the most magnificent stretches of coastline in Britain, rolling hills that meet the sea in vertical chalk cliffs.  but running along them is a rollercoaster of drops and climbs that blow any sense of rhythm.  In the spring, at the start of a run, they were a joy to fly down and dig deep on the way up, but after 20 miles they were purgatory.  No one was running up them, not even the guy with the Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc finishing shirt.  That meant seven painful transitions from walking back to running.  The only pleasure was seeing that I was on the final descent to Birling Gap.  That meant just the long drag up Beachy Head and a quick descent into Eastbourne to the finish.  And I knew I was good at long drags.  But after the Seven Sisters my legs and mind were destroyed.  i laboured up the hill.  In one spot there was a low bank, only about two feet high.  It stopped me in my tracks and I stood for a moment, disorientated, wondering what I was doing.  Then I continued, until a short descent that broke up the rhythm that I had struggled so hard to regain.

At the top I walked for a bit, aware that I wasn't going to finish in under four hours and putting off the agonising moment of starting to run again.  Then it was all downhill, finishing on that terribly steep ramp, finishing in 4 hours 6 minutes.

I should have been pleased.  I wasn't on a good day and yet I'd still done marginally better than I had in the spring.  But at the moment of finishing I was thinking that, on the big event, on similar if not worse terrain, I would have 19 more miles to do.

But once I'd had some recovery drink I reflected on a few things.  Firstly, on the Sussex Coast, I had been on a good day.  Secondly, there were a lot of good runners in this event (an entry of 2000 compared with 200) which meant that there was a lot more distraction from other competitors.  Thirdly, the Seven Sisters had exposed a weakness, that I can address in the few training runs that remain.  Finally, I was nowhere near as destroyed as I had been after the Sussex Coast.

So I'm still on track for the 45 mile monster in December.  Based on this experience I think it will take 8 hours...

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Just 17 miles today!  Wanted to stretch the legs but couldn't face another marathon training run.  After Five Lanes End it hosed it down, but the ground was still firm enough that most of the way it was Splish-Splash rather than Squelch-Squelch.  On the way back, got into fast mode on the long rain-softened descent from Weston Common and kept the speed back all the way home, so that I was only 17 seconds of my best for this test piece, which was set in the dry. 

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Sorry to hear.  Hope its something simple.

I'm nursing a dodgy big toe, the main joint has gradually got worse over the years, so the next big run will be the last for a while.  In any case it will be impossible to do any big running events next year with PBP and the Cambrian 8A on my agenda - I don't have time to take both cycling and running sufficiently seriously.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Four weeks to go…

This week and next week are the hard ones, running for as long as I have time for.  The distances will taper after three weeks to go so that the legs can recover before the big day.  Today it was 36 miles, mostly on tracks and muddy footpaths, a week of showers having got into the ground.  It was windy, sometimes enough to blow me off course.
 
Mid Hampshire is a landscape of rolling hills and small woods, not dramatic, but pretty in the late autumn, fallen leaves cushioning the stony ground but also hiding the depth of the mud.  The first two hours passed without adventure, even paths I’d never been along before from Shalden to Wivelrod via Bentworth.  But then a squall hit.  I stopped to check the map and have a snack and then headed off in what turned out to be the wrong direction.  At least I noticed that things weren’t right before I added much to my journey.

The third hour involved a long leg to the west.  I settled into my long distance pace and tried to ignore the growing pain in my legs.  On a short road section I stopped for another snack, resting against a gate, trying to stretch taut calves and hamstrings.  The Ox Drove was rolling, constantly up and down, making it hard work, but I was on the homeward run. 

Four hours were up.  Two short steep hills around Moundsmere were hard work and then there was a long drag up to Farleigh Wallop.  By the time I got to the top I could hardly put one foot in front of the other.  I laboured down the hill.  The last five miles took about an hour.  Everything hurt.  I was running on empty.  Twice I stopped to stretch and drink or eat.  Finally I reached the canal towpath and the last mile.  I wasn’t much under six hours but I had finished and learnt more about running distances.  I’m not sure that I like what I learnt, but another run like this and I will have done as much as I can do to prepare for 45 miles on the Dorset Coast in December.

Once when I was about to set out for a long cycle ride I had to do an emergency nappy change for my younger son.  I could imagine at the time Lance Armstrong (he wasn’t disgraced at the time) doing the same before a stage of the Tour de France.  Today, once I’d stretched after the run and eaten some pasta, I did the weekly shopping.  I can’t imagine Mo Farah doing that after a long training run.  But then again, perhaps he does.

[swiss hat]

Good going CET to fit these runs into a busy schedule. 2 x 36 mile runs and then rest before the main event and you should be able to put in an excellent run 
In comparison I had an easy 2 hours along the Thames towpath from Kew to Teddington this morning. A good day to be out running  

[αdαmsκι]

Saturday 8^th Nov. = Park Run + running home
Sunday 9^th  Nov. = 12 km + interval training up & down a hill
Monday 10^th Nov. = 8 km run home

Since then no running as I've been limping. Stupid IT band. More foam rolling and stretches needed :-(

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

I went cycling instead of running today.  Should have done my last big training run, but that will now be next weekend.  Really enjoyed the cycling.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Two weeks to go…

I didn’t do a hard run last week.  With other things happening at the weekend the only time to have started was 11am on Sunday, which would have meant the whole weekend was used up.  Besides, I didn’t really feel like it.  So I got on the bike and joined my cycle club on their club run for the first time this year.
All that did was put off the long run to the next weekend; when we were due to go to our caravan in Selsey.  I could do the run on Sunday morning.  But the weather forecast for Sunday morning was dire, even for someone used to training in bad weather.  So at 10am on Saturday morning the plans changed and 45 minutes later I was running from home to get as close to Selsey as I could.

The first ten miles were familiar roads and tracks to Alton, the ground soft and muddy underfoot, a surprising amount of leaves clinging to the trees, especially the young elms and field maples.  I plodded through Alton, dodging shoppers with heads bowed in the light rain.

The bridleway out of Alton was a river, water flowing down an ancient trackway, polishing the old stones.  I slithered and stepped my way up, shoes full of water for over half a mile before reaching dry land.  Just after two hours I stopped to check the map for the next section and munched a brioche roll. 

The route followed the escarpment of the Lower Chalk, lots of short steep climbs and boggy hollows, a part of Hampshire I’d rarely explored. The scenery was outstanding even if the terrain was hard.  After a steep hill on a road I turned left.  Some lads in a four-wheel-drive gave me a cheery grin.  Half a mile later I understood.  A deep puddle spanned the track from bank to bank.  There was a path around the side which made it most of the way around but I was going to have to wade the last section.  It was knee deep, but I put a foot in a soft patch and I was in up to my waist.  I floundered my way to dry land.  Luckily modern clothes wick moisture away and within twenty minutes I was warm again. 

The next three miles were on tarmac before a long steep climb up to Hillbrow.  I was feeling tired and dizzy and stopped to eat some more next to a garage that sold vintage Bentleys.  That perked me up for a while but by Rogate I was feeling rough again.  I promised myself that I would run until 4 hours 30 showed on my watch and that discipline got me all the way to East Harting at 4:45.  Another snack break and then I tackled the South Downs.  I started running but gave up on the 30% grade and three-inch deep mud.  I reached the top in thick mist and late autumn gloom.  My legs hurt as I continued a long steady gradient.  I stopped to check the map.  I had two options, another hour and a quarter to Fishbourne or thirty minutes to Chilgrove.  I could make it to Fishbourne but it would be very tight for time before our dinner at the Blacksmiths.  Common sense prevailed and I phoned my wife to pick me up at Chilgrove.  We arrived at the same time and I levered myself into the car.

It was “only” 33 miles, not very far for 5 hours and 48 minutes of effort, but given the soft ground, floods, and navigation, good preparation for the big event on 6th December.  I will be glad to get it over and done with.  Running hurts.  My left ankle is sore from holding steady despite all slipping and slithering, the tendons tired and slightly bruised, so I won’t run again until the event, to let everything rest.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Route map is finally out for the Dorset Coast Ultra

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw--uyYQL8uvUE1DX3k0YTFVTGM/view?pli=1

Basically its a marathon, followed by a half marathon, followed by a 10k.  So the good news that you pick up stuff from your kit bag at 27 and 39 miles. The bad news is that you have head out into the wind and rain (and for the last 10k probably the dark) knowing that you could just stop and stagger to your car. 

That is going to be tough.  Very tough. 

I've just worked out why the night circuit on a 24-hour time trial is a long way from the HQ.  To stop you from packing.

Plus I have a nightmare week at work with lots of travel.

Ho Hum.

[αdαmsκι]

There's a Jantastic 2015 thread here for those who are planning to spend the early part of next year running. However, unlike last year cycling and swimming also count, making things potentially easier. Let me know on the Jantastic thread if you're interested in me setting up a yacf team for next year.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

There's a Jantastic 2015 thread here for those who are planning to spend the early part of next year running. However, unlike last year cycling and swimming also count, making things potentially easier. Let me know on the Jantastic thread if you're interested in me setting up a yacf team for next year.

Count me out.  After tomorrow I'm hanging up my running shoes and going back to cycling with the occasional bit of rowing.

[swiss hat]

Count me out.  After tomorrow I'm hanging up my running shoes and going back to cycling with the occasional bit of rowing.

Good luck with the ULTRA run tomorrow CET. Perhaps try shorter off road runs which can be FUN and keep the fitness going over the winter?

[αdαmsκι]

Count me out.  After tomorrow I'm hanging up my running shoes and going back to cycling with the occasional bit of rowing.

But cycling counts! You can have fun when setting your target for a longest ride. "This week CET's target for his longest ride is 300 km" ;-)

Good look with the coast race. I hope it goes well.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Glorious day, but hard work.

Stayed at the Countryman Inn so only had a five mile drive to the start.  Scraped ice off the windscreen.  It was a cold start.

Sensibly stayed in the pack up the first hill, then stretched my legs.  But the hills along the coast were too steep to run at and tricky to run down.  After about 4 miles we had a long descent followed by a long muddy climb up a ravine to the first checkpoint (6.3 miles).  Felt good but still nervous.  The next 6 miles were the easiest on the route, mostly flat or rolling on grassy paths before a very steep descent back to Lulworth Cove, (12.3 miles in just over 2 hours).   Then it got interesting.

Firstly was a sapping run along the shingle beach, followed by a short steep hill and then a monster, far too steep to run up, followed by a descent that was almost too steep to run down, then straight back up again.  But the scenery through the Lulworth Military ranges was astonishing.  It took almost an hour to get to the next checkpoint (though that was only for the marathon and half runners - not us ultra guys) at 16.3 miles.  But there was another punishing hill almost immediately afterwards and by the time I had got to the end of the ranges and the oil well I was at sixes and sevens.  Audax training took over and I walked for a while up the next hill and for a bit along the gradual climb later on, eating and recovering.  For a short while we were running in the opposite direction to others doing the marathon route; it was encouraging to see them all walking up the bits I had struggled up.  Then we dropped into Tyneham, the fastest half runners going past and a few bystanders shouting encouragement.  I walked up the road to the turn, familiar from the Dorset Coast Audax.  23 miles.  4hr 23 minutes.  Then I got going into a hobbling run to meet the outward route for a big descent and big climb. On one of these sections my right knee started to complain so, just as in Audax events

My fear was getting to the marathon finish (27.3 miles) shot to pieces.  The temptation to stop would then be overwhelming.  So when I next felt the hunger knock I stopped and ate another chocolate brioche which gave me enough energy for the precipitious descent back to the shingle beach.  There were lots of shouts and cheers for those finishing the shorter event.  I ignored those and walked up to the Ultra check point where they went through my bag to see the head torch, first aid kit, survival bag, whistle, windproof jacket, etc that were required to be carried.  My watch showed 5hr 27 mins.  I topped up on snack rations from my bag in the supply tent and headed off to do the first 12 miles again.

I knew I had plenty of time and so did not hurry.   I walked pretty much all of the uphills as, by now, my pace running up them was hardly any quicker.  I'd worn blisters on my second toes, which often happens in such hilly terrain and I also had a hot patch on the inside of my right heel.  There were 18 miles to do and they could be broken down into 6 3mile sections.  This slow and steady strategy worked well for a while and, encouraged I started to run properly again.  This lasted for a mile or so until I felt the nausea of hunger knock return.  Worse still, I realised my Camelbak was getting empty, so I wouldn't have any water to wash food down.  Another brioche and the last of the water got me going again and I walked for the next mile, up the muddy ravine to the next checkpoint 33.6 miles at 7hr 3 min. 

Here I got chatting with someone else and we walked and run for the next two miles until I couldn't keep up with him.  I found the camarderie in these later stages more akin to an Audax event than running events, people would chat, their legs too weary to run hard.  Watching other's run I could see the same laboured gait as I had and didn't feel too bad about my crablike progress. 

As I headed down to the caravan park and the "1 mile to go" sign for the second time a couple of faster runners went past me, full of the elation of being about to finish.  I continued at my pace, enjoying the last of the sunset. 

I checked in and got a scone from my supply bag and started the slow walk up the first hill.  I ran quiet well down to Durdle Door and made it up to the top of the next climb before switching on my head torch.  I even passed a couple of people on this section.  But I'd miscounted my climbs and so there was a period of false elation before I realised I still had a mile long drag to go to the final checkpoint.  I was struggling again but my spirits were lifted by joining a group who were still on their second loop, so I was 6 miles and 2 hours ahead of them.  I managed to run most of the way to the caravan park.  Up the last hill I was aware of someone behind me and I decided that I wouldn't give up any more places.  But I couldn't go too fast down the last descent, especially as my head torch was about to expire.  So as soon as I got to easier ground I stretched my legs.  With the prospect of an end to the torch, the muscles seemed to free up and I was able to run properly for the last 100 yards and my final check in.   

I didn't hang around at the finish.  I wanted to do the short drive back before rigor mortis set into my legs and whilst the adrenalin was still flowing.  I gave a German runner, Johannes, a lift to Wool Station and then rolled into the Countryman for a long bath and a vast mixed grill.

10 hrs 10 minutes is the rough time on my watch so an hour or so longer than I expected, but a contour count this morning (now that I knew the route) suggested at least 2880m ascent, so probably more like 3000m when all the little undulations are added in.

So that's it for silly running events for a while.  I'm going to let the legs recover and start towards some rowing goals next, as I think that will better training for PBP next year.

[mattc]