I'd already eaten a bowl of Life, sipped some espresso. The gear was packed as was my body with the spaghetti from last night. But what really got me out the door was the hard reality that I would probably not do a long run later in the week if I didn't do it now.
So, I headed north to Pine Point Park, and south down the Gateway Trail to North Saint Paul. I figured I'd make it up as I went. This was a nostalgic run. The very first ultra I did was a 50 mile, 12 hour run from midnight to noon several years ago. A fellow runner, Brian and I ran the first 26 miles following this course and running back home. The challenge today was that the entire Gateway is paved. The gravel trail that runs parallel is not consistent and often dug up by horses.
At mile 13, the prospect of returning the way I'd come was not appealing. I returned to Stillwater via highway 12. Once downtown, at mile 23, I splurged on a cup of Coke on ice.
Slow pace; 6 miles an hour to mile 24. Then, 15 min/miles to the end.
Total: 27.6. All on the road. All in trail shoes and gaiters. No blisters. Gotta love the Brooks Cascadia 2.
Oh yes, no photos. The digital camera dried out but did not revive!
2 comments:
Nice job! Glad you talked yourself into getting out there without me.
Sorry to make that 6:15 phone call. I was really hoping to sleep it off and be feeling fine by morning. Obviously didn't happen.
Way to stick with the program. Long run and no blisters.
Time for a new camera. I'm looking at the Olympia SW series.
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