Saturday, June 2, 2012

48 mile long run



Angel Fire is 4 weeks out, and I am woefully undertrained. Still, with a month to go, in theory--it is possible to improve my chances of finishing by squeezing in another couple of long runs. I have eyed this loop for a few years now, running Prue Road to Cleveland, and coming back on the service roads of 412. I really did not know for sure until doing a MapMyRun map.Circling the larger part of Keystone, it did not actually have a view of the lake except in a few places. What it DID have was HILLS!!

Dennis Crosby, Charlotte Lindley, and Caroline Glen joined me for this little jaunt. The weather was PERFECT. It was 52° to start--a welcome change from the 90-something days we had been having. I don't think it ever made it out of the 60s all day long. A gentle north breeze kept us cool, along with overcast skies and a light rain for the 2nd half of the day.

The only way it could have been better--if it had been a Tuesday.

The hills early on were gradual, but long. We ran most of them, but still took a few strategically placed walk breaks.

I did not know I had a road named after me. :-)

One of the most scenic lake crossings is just ahead.

I see these hills and wonder if there might be trailz out there?

And HEY!! I have a STORE too!! It is a store/bait shop/hunter checkpoint. We refueled here, but quickly got down the road.

Just as it started to warm up, overcast skies moved in.

Dennis had drove the course and set up some aid station drops for us. I had posted this picture on Facebook, and it got a few interesting comments.Actually, the contents of the trash bag was a bucket with ice, water, Gatorade, and snacks.
Dennis is an aid station god.

The route from the end of Prue Road to Cleveland was on the shoulder of a busy highway,, and it was raining. Semis roaring by, and cars driving 70+ made it nerve-racking. This part sucked.

Near the end of this section, my friend Wes had spotted us running, and met us to cheer us on. He then drove ahead to our next aid stop, and handed me a cold beer. WOW! I needed that!!


The rest of the run was along this service road to 412. This service road had a wide shoulder, and was a more peaceful run. Crossing the long bridge across Keystone was on a shoulder of the main highway. I was worried the large trucks might blow us right over the edge, but it was not all that bad.

We finished in a little over 12 hours, and I had 10:32 of running time, which took our our prolonged stops for aid and a sit-down lunch.

Thinking about all my friends racing here and there this weekend. Good luck to those at Tail Twister, Catsmacker, Hospital Hill. (or congratulations, as some of them are already through.)

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