When I woke up this morning I realized I had a problem. It was solvable but significant problem. No coffee beans. I would not be able to start a long run until this problem was addressed. It wasn’t all bad because I had a punch card for Stumptown that was full, which meant that if I could get myself to the Stumptown, my beans would be FREE! Whooppeee! I returned from the coffee beans excursion, started up the galaxy’s best burr grinder and promptly prepared a gigantic pot of coffee. Nothing gets me ready for running like a bloodstream full of caffeine.
I was excited for today’s long run for 2 reasons:
1. It’s a long trail run and I love those.
2. I’d get to test out a new pair of shoes. The Montrail Rogue Racer
Montrail Rogue Racers - the cleanest they will ever be
I tidied up my place, procrastinated for 20 minutes and then hit the trail. I live about 45 seconds from a trail runners paradise. Which means that I can get to 30+ miles of singletrack and never even have to get on a paved street! There are literally no excuses for not getting out there and enjoying it at least a couple of times a week.
Anyway, me and my Montrails hit the trail. It didn’t take long, I would say about 7 minutes, for me to realize I was completely pooped! Between yesterday’s race and my slow accumulation of miles, today’s run was pretty lackluster. It took a good 45 minutes to even convince my legs to get working. That is a long time to suffer through a bad run. I did turn it around eventually and the second half of the run was better than the first. I came home exhausted but satisfied.
Run #11: 2:09, 13.5 miles
Terrain: Firelanes, single track, forest service roads.
Thoughts: This felt like the slowest run ever. Will I ever be fast again?
You WILL be fast again. I’m guessing you’ll kill it one day on the trails next week!
Looks like I’m not the only one that is addicted to caffeine. I even took some with me while hiking in the mountains of New Zealand.