I love understatement.
So saying Woodstock 2011 was a bit muddy is like saying I occasionally like to run, or that political ads can be kind of annoying.
It started off with a wrong turn. Or a correct turn that wasn't followed by dozens of people- whatever. all I know is that I was following the pink flags. Doesn't really matter that I was going the wrong way- it gave me a chance to cheer on all the 100K, 50 & 100 milers who were going in the proper direction.
And if you hadn't guessed, I'm also a fan of rationalization.
I paced JB, who was doing her first 50K and seems to have a gift for it. At least, she held up better than I. For me, the day started off painful- my right lower back was tight when I woke up, continued to feel uncomfortable on the way to the race, and was got pretty bad as the race progressed. Which is why drugs were invented. Advil was very much my friend- otherwise, I don't believe I could have finished.
As more and more people tromped through the trails and water and dirt mixed nicely, it really did become a mudfest. In retrospect, the word I like is "slurry" because it avoids the obvious comparisons. Occasionally it looked like chocolate frosting. I also thought chocolate pudding- and the designs of all the shoes that had slipped in it reminded me of abstract art. All us runners were adding in our own marks, making it a collaboration.
I really liked to think of it artistically, because all the comparisons to chocolate made me pretty hungry.
We finished to first lap and got food; we also decided to make the half mile trek out to the car to drop off gear, get more advil, and randomly help stuck cars out of the parking lot. Two of the half marathoners (or maybe 5 milers; I'm not sure) needed a push out of the mud, and I thought "why not?"
Obviously, the drugs were helping.
The second loop was even more fun- there were hills far to slippery to climb without using trees; water that went up past my knees, and bees at most every aid station.
The volunteers were awesome; pretty much everyone had a "good job" encouragement as we passed one another, and the hours and time flew.
My longest (time wise) run ever!
Distance 31 miles (plus a mile or so to get to the parking lot)
Time 7:59:59.9
Pace 15:27
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3 comments:
31 miles. So so impressive. Nice job there. Did you use the Saucony's? Did you get so muddy you had to throw stuff away after?
Okay that just sounds crazy...having to climb trees? But Congrats on an amazing accomplishment. Hope ur feeling better. Ps- I always love when you update the blog, you should on a more frequent basis :)
Congrats on breaking 8 hours! :)
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