Day 2,875-6 —Queeny Park Backyard— with my PICTURES from the RACE #659-660

I did not win! And it took most of yesterday for me to accept that I had given up for good reasons, but still I had given up. 

My dad bought a pop-up tent we could use for the day which worked out well. I don’t know how I would have managed sitting on the ground and waiting between rounds. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to run the race. 

The first 8 hours went by fast. I met and talked to a lot of interesting people. This guy Newton was telling me about how everyone wears collared shirts in Colorado to run in. He said he was getting married next weekend, and he came down by himself to do the race. He was 10 years younger than me, so getting married at the same time I did.  

Brian, the guy who made the map, told me about the area and why he thought the route we were doing was the best option. The race director frequently filled up my water bottle. 

I talked to Tim the guy who won it last year and this year. He was quiet and super humble. Very focused even though it was only maybe around mile 40. 

Chris who I ran part of the Tunnel Hill with last November did amazing. He made it past 100. I talked to him briefly and his wife Abbey. Chris was extremely focused on executing his plan. 

I feel like the runners who do better are usually not as talkative, which I am starting to understand. 

I ran a few laps with a super fun talkative group who was joking and laughing constantly, but they were not walking certain sections that I wanted to walk, so overall I was extending more energy. 

I broke off from other runners around mile 50. I felt good on the first lap. I was dealing with pain around my calf at the top. It hurt to bend my leg. I had been using a massager between rounds, which helped. I don’t really know what it is. I know it was painful. 

When I started my last lap the pain at the start was so intense that I knew, it was going to be my last lap. I struggled through that lap making it in around 52 minutes. 

But I am really not sure, it could have taken me longer. 

When I was done I sat in the chair for a while as my dad tried to patiently convince me to move to his car so he could drive me home. 

We drove separately, but I was not going to drive if he left me. I was planning to just sit there. I would have been fine with sleeping in my car or under that tent. I did not want to move. 

Today, in retrospect I am happy how far I made it. I was just about 60 miles, which isn’t that bad for a guy who hasn’t done those kinds of miles in 4 months, so I am pretty happy. 

What does bother me is that I was fine in every other way besides the issue with my leg. I did not feel too tired or mentally unable to keep pushing, so it was a real battle of competing desires when I made the decision. Am I being safe? Or am I just making an excuse? What pain is injury pain v. pain you can quickly recover from?  

I don’t know what is going on with my leg, but I did not cause any further injury yesterday.  

Congratulations to everyone! And especially those who beat me! A lot of great runners out there. 

I definitely want to try this again. A lot of things make it so different from a 100-mile race. I could not find the optimal pace / time in my tent recovering between laps. I usually had 15 minutes between laps, but it was both not enough time and too much time. 

I did really need the time to massage that area in my leg that was causing me so much pain, so I am not sure how I could have done it that much differently. 

However, not hating the idea of going out for a run today. Thinking maybe I’ll do 4.2 miles. Why not?