Day 3,976 —Last Year—

Strava showed that last year I ran a marathon on the Chubb Trail. I was preparing for the Ozark Foothills 100 (104). It feels like that was a different lifetime, but that was a fun race. I didn’t do exactly a marathon today, but I was closer than yesterday, and I felt good throughout this run, which is odd because I was more tired yesterday, and I got up early not thinking about daylight saving time. When I got there, a few cars were in the parking lot. There were a few people who started on the trail close to when I left. I saw 3–4 runners, more hikers, and a few families. There was a dad with his son on bikes. His kid couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6, and he was ready to try to navigate the difficult terrain. I didn’t want to tell him how he would have to carry his bikes across this section and still risk falling in the water and the mud. 

         I ran the Castlewood loop, which is supposed to be 3 miles. I was trying to remember if the water had ever been low enough to run the whole thing. Today, I made it back to the start, took some pictures of the frost, and marveled at how many fallen trees I had seen. 

         When I made it to the Prairie Loops, I did each one and thought of the time I jumped over a snake when I was out here. I saw Jake from the Shippey, and we talked for a minute. I asked him about the Ozark Foothills because I saw he had done it before. He said it was a point-to-point, which is reason enough for me to make it my fall 100 this year. I had already debated signing up for it, but knowing it is a full point-to-point makes me look forward to it even more. I have been dreading doing this .9-mile run this weekend, and then the Potawatomi 200 is a 10-mile loop, a format I don’t love. At least it will mean it will be easy to have a home base and take naps easily, but those short loops can make your run feel so much longer than it is. I am thinking of maybe bringing a dry-erase board to keep track of my laps. 

I kept moving and ran into a couple who said that I had rubberbands for legs. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I am glad my legs still bounce back. 

First day of going without caffeine at all, and I am feeling it. I want to go to sleep now.