Day 4,186—Half with Joel—

 

        The earlier I start my run, the later I write. Or at least that’s what happened today. I ran for 3 hours for a comfortable trail half-marathon with Joel, but afterward I had so much energy, so I went to the store, and once I had bought groceries and unpacked. I was exhausted and not super interested in writing.

        The run went by fast. Joel told me about his 340-mile canoe trip, which sounded amazing. I don’t know how much I am interested in doing something like that, but at the same time, it sounds like an adventure, and imagining being on the river so long seems both scary and exciting. He was talking about the hallucinations, which sound so much scarier than the ones I would see while running. There just isn’t the same scale when you’re on the river compared to running on a trail.

        We were both talking about the possibility of doing something different for a 100-mile run in December. He said he was seriously considering doing a self-supported one, which I am not against, but it feels kind of anticlimactic doing a self-supported one for my 40th birthday. I could run 140 miles, and that would be different, but I don’t know how I feel about that. I am still holding out hope that I decide on a 100-mile race to do around then, but I have looked at all the ones going on, and so far, none of them feel right.

I am feeling more ready for the OT, only three weeks away! Next weekend, I am thinking of running just a half-marathon each day on the trail. I've got the legs for it, and the cold weather was making it easier to stay hydrated today. However, 100 miles is never easy. I just think doing it like this on a trail, doing a point-to-point, sounds like so much fun. As much as I enjoyed the Badger 100, the trail I did on the Huron was such an adventure. Even the drive down gave it this otherworldly experience. Reflecting on the Huron got me thinking about this year and how amazing it is that I was able to complete so many races. Already doing 5 is the most I have completed by far, and yet it still doesn’t seem like enough.