Although it was almost 2 weeks ago, I thought I would put up some sort of rambling about a 50K a lot of my TATUR friends and I did over in Arkansas. The Midnight 50K, or at least that's what they used to call it is a nice run on gravel roads through the wilderness area in central Arkansas. Hills hills, and more hills. Long hills. Some steep, some long some really long. It was my 3rd year to do it and somehow I had gotten some funky idea I could PR there. The last 6 miles are mostly downhill and a fast finish was a certainty. These same hills I figured I could run up early in the race what with having fresh legs and all.
Here, Kathy laughs at the notion of me PRing. The coach knows me all to well. Russell has his game face on. Marvin is in the process of farting, and Bobby's sensative nose has already picked up on it.
A couple of Arkansas trail-virgins. Lisa is biting off a chunk running this 50K, and jason is looking for redemption after a tough run the week before. Both passed their tests with flying colors. In the background, Tom Brennan (in the green) chills before the run. Tom was running the 25K--he wanted to finish before dark and with the race starting at 8:00 he probably did so!
Patty flashes her awesome smile. It's always great to see her and Carrie (in the blue) as they usually run right about my pace, and we get to visit some. This year, they did the 25K and were gone by the time I finished my run.
What a big group of TATURS! From left to right, Randy, a shirtless Tom, Roman in the red, Russell in the back middle, then a very determined Bobby, a bandanaed Jason, a do-ragged Kathy, and Marvin. On the front row, Lisa in the pink, Brian, and the Zombie.
After a little Arkansas fanfare, of which not one picture turned out, the word was given and we headed up a long 3ish mile hill.
Darkness set in after about an hour. There was a great vista hidden by the twilight hours. A hint of lingering light in the sky casts hints of the fading horizon. The race had an aid station about every 7.5 miles, the second of which was the turn-around for the 50Kers. If this run were a football game, and each 7.5 mile segment was a quarter, I would say I had a great 1st quarter, then gave up several touchdowns in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, and made a valiant effort at a comeback in the 4th quarter, but fell short of winning the game.
Miles and miles of this. After the turnaround, I was all alone. I was struggling, but still mostly running. At about the 20 miloe point, I decided to quit rying to push the pace, and go with whatever my body would allow. After that, my pace seemed a lot smoother, and I started enjoying the run a lot more....taking in all the sounds (cicadas and frogs and the sound of my feet.) As I said, the last 6 miles were almost all downhill, and I ran this at what seemed fast but according to my Garmin, was only at an 8-10 minute mile pace. I finished in 7:38:39, near the back of the pack but still ahead of 8 people. I did manage to pass a couple near the end of the race and finished with the appearance of running strong.
Jason had a good race, finishing well under 6 hours, and had a nice bit of blood to show for it. Brain PRd, Kathy PRd, Bobby and Russell PRd as well, I think.
Not sure of PR status for Roman and Lisa, but they made it in under he wire, and Roman followed his dietician's advice by eating right after his long run.
Brian and Kathy however, followed common sense and caught some winks after the run. We all had a room rented and showered and slept for about 5 hours before driving home. A perfect TATUR weekend.
Here, Kathy laughs at the notion of me PRing. The coach knows me all to well. Russell has his game face on. Marvin is in the process of farting, and Bobby's sensative nose has already picked up on it.
A couple of Arkansas trail-virgins. Lisa is biting off a chunk running this 50K, and jason is looking for redemption after a tough run the week before. Both passed their tests with flying colors. In the background, Tom Brennan (in the green) chills before the run. Tom was running the 25K--he wanted to finish before dark and with the race starting at 8:00 he probably did so!
Patty flashes her awesome smile. It's always great to see her and Carrie (in the blue) as they usually run right about my pace, and we get to visit some. This year, they did the 25K and were gone by the time I finished my run.
What a big group of TATURS! From left to right, Randy, a shirtless Tom, Roman in the red, Russell in the back middle, then a very determined Bobby, a bandanaed Jason, a do-ragged Kathy, and Marvin. On the front row, Lisa in the pink, Brian, and the Zombie.
After a little Arkansas fanfare, of which not one picture turned out, the word was given and we headed up a long 3ish mile hill.
Darkness set in after about an hour. There was a great vista hidden by the twilight hours. A hint of lingering light in the sky casts hints of the fading horizon. The race had an aid station about every 7.5 miles, the second of which was the turn-around for the 50Kers. If this run were a football game, and each 7.5 mile segment was a quarter, I would say I had a great 1st quarter, then gave up several touchdowns in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, and made a valiant effort at a comeback in the 4th quarter, but fell short of winning the game.
Miles and miles of this. After the turnaround, I was all alone. I was struggling, but still mostly running. At about the 20 miloe point, I decided to quit rying to push the pace, and go with whatever my body would allow. After that, my pace seemed a lot smoother, and I started enjoying the run a lot more....taking in all the sounds (cicadas and frogs and the sound of my feet.) As I said, the last 6 miles were almost all downhill, and I ran this at what seemed fast but according to my Garmin, was only at an 8-10 minute mile pace. I finished in 7:38:39, near the back of the pack but still ahead of 8 people. I did manage to pass a couple near the end of the race and finished with the appearance of running strong.
Jason had a good race, finishing well under 6 hours, and had a nice bit of blood to show for it. Brain PRd, Kathy PRd, Bobby and Russell PRd as well, I think.
Not sure of PR status for Roman and Lisa, but they made it in under he wire, and Roman followed his dietician's advice by eating right after his long run.
Brian and Kathy however, followed common sense and caught some winks after the run. We all had a room rented and showered and slept for about 5 hours before driving home. A perfect TATUR weekend.
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