Post SNER

The race was a few weeks ago. I may have rested the body (barely) but my mind has been on overdrive. Since the race I have had a lot to think about. Sucesses and failures and things that I need to focus on during the upcoming months. I registered for my first 50K on December 3rd. It takes place just a few miles from my parents house, the house I grew up in. The trail winds through some of the areas I used to get lost in/explore as a kid. It goes through Huddard park, the park where I used to attend Girl Scout camp. Only negative...it will be FREEZING! Also, it is an out a back. BLAH!

I took a full 5 days off after the race. I sat on my a$$ and drank A LOT of beer. I also enjoyed eating everything in site. Needless to say the day I came back and ran I felt HEAVY! I still feel very heavy on my feet. Not a good feeling at all.

This last weekend I ran the Olmstead loop up in Cool for the first time. We started from the fire station which is also where Way to Cool 50k starts. As soon as I started running I knew I was not fully recovered from the race. My ankles were killing me. I forced myself to keep going. Mentally I had been itching for a run just a few days after the race. I had to get out on the trail. It was a slow battle during this run, but I managed to finish. The rest of that day I was on my feet getting ready for our housewarming party.

Sunday morning I got up early to join some FTRs for a long run from Granite Bay to Rattlesnake Bar. This section of trail involves Twin Rocks which is rather technical. During the race I ran/walked this entire section. I didn't even power hike it. It was a mental defeat for me during the race as well as this weekend. My legs felt HEAVY and I felt sluggish. I started out leading the pack and got passed rather quickly. I had a moment and realized it was probibly a stupid idea to be doing high miliage just a week after SNER. Like clockwork I felt awesome around 13 miles and was able to restore my self confidence for a little.

After Sunday's sad sad story I realized that I was not ready to put in high miliage this weekend. My ankles were KILLING me and I am starting to think that is what happends to my body when running Twin Rocks. Thats probibly why my ankles were sore from SNER. My legs felt dead tired after this last weekend. I have a lot to learn. I figure since my miliage was high going into SNER I should be able to maintain.

Last night I ran with FTRs from Karen's Bakery in a counter clockwise fashion around Lake Natoma. We did 6 miles total (three out and back). It was pouring down rain and this section of trail has some river rocks that get mighty slick. It was a great experience. I felt pretty good and the rain felt liberating. I pushed the pace the majority of this run. I have added inserts to my shoes and had been walking in them all day prior to the run. My feet felt a little tired before starting the run, but quickly my left arch was aching. No problems with the ankles, but I woke up this morning with tired feet. I will give them a little more time before I nix them.