Saturday

Today's run almost didn't happen. The weather sucked all damn day. I thought about going to the gym to run the treadmill, but that didn't sound too fun. I finally decided to head to Shelby Farms to run on the paved paths and prayed it would not rain again. Although it did not rain, the wind was blowing hard and the temps were in the low 50's. Not too bad, but I prefer better.

My pace was too fast for the first 6 miles and I knew that I would pay dearly for this mistake later. I kept it steady for 10 miles and then my right hamstring and calf muscles started to lock up. I tend to sweat profusely when running due to being a fat ass...and today was no exception. Trying to keep my gut from bloating again, I had kept the water intake to bear minimum (20 oz H2O for entire run) and only had one gel (at 6m mark). I had a S!Cap at the start and another at the halfway. Figuring all this, I assumed that I was dehydrated and was experiencing some lactic acid build up in the legs. Oh well...I stopped to stretch several times and had to walk for a minute of so during mile 12, but I kept moving forward.

This story is getting too long...so, to sum it all up:
Total: 13.16 miles in 2:07:03 (9:39 pace) (PR)
10k time was at 56 minutes and change (PR)
Splits:
1 9:25
2 8:37
3 8:57
4 9:04
5 8:37
6 9:19
7 10:25
8 9:25
9 9:59
10 9:45
11 10:42
12 10:10
13 11:48
14 1:45

I am amazed at my endurance level since the MS50 two weeks ago. That race, even though I fell short of 50 miles, was a turning point for me. Before then, I would walk way too much in practice runs and races. I didn't have the confidence needed to successfully finish a marathon, let alone an ultramarathon. Now I do have that confidence and I can force my fat ass to hold a decent pace throughout each run.