Day 4,003 —5 Days and 4 Runs until the Potawatomi 200: Testing out a Creek Crossing Solution—

 

I felt worse than yesterday, and my watch agreed; it gave me a negative 5, which may bother me more if this wasn’t how it is always before a big run. My body somehow knows to start conserving energy in everything I do. It isn’t helping that it was raining, cold, and muddy. I figured it was the perfect conditions that made the test more realistic.

         I was carrying these two rubber covers that go over my shoes and snap high up on my leg. They don’t fit my shoes well, but good enough to walk through a creek. I am sure I would feel different if I were wearing them all the time. I am trying to determine if it is worth not getting wet to carry them and the time it takes to put them on and take them off.

         The creek I walked through was up to the edge, and although my feet were cold, they were not wet when I took them off. I am glad I brought a plastic bag to store them because I could see myself getting my vest wet if I didn’t.

I decided to order a bigger pair when I got home, but besides that, I would say the experiment was a success. I am going to have time to try it out during the race and decide each lap if it is worth it.

It destroys your feet to let them stay wet, so at all costs, I try to prevent that! I got a lot of my plastic bags today and the air mattress I ordered. I also want to go shopping this weekend and buy all the food items I think I will need! So much to do, but at the same time, I am so looking forward to it, as crazy as that sounds. I know it is going to be tough, and I am going to be miserable, but I am looking forward to focusing on nothing but running for 76 hours.

Now, part of me is thinking about tent security?! Should I buy a lock for my tent? I wonder how far my car will be from my tent. I originally was thinking of getting there two hours early to setup, which means I would leave at 8 a.m., Maybe I should plan to leave at 7:30 a.m.