I had signed up to participate in the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler that was held on Feb 7th in Huntsville, TX. With the economy downturn and the inability to make time to train, not to mention the cost, I decided to withdraw and save it for another year and run our Trail Nerd Flagship event “Run Toto Run – Psycho Wyco 50K the following weekend.
I should have known better. There was just too much self doubt leading up to the race. Not enough training and the few times I was able to get in some longer runs, I had trouble with my IT, PF or some other ache. I knew I wasn’t ready but figured I could gut it out if I had too. I made it through most of the first 10mi loop feeling pretty good and at a pace to break a personal best 1hr 40min loop time.
I ran up into a bottle neck at the east side of the dam. Someone slipped in front of me, grabbed a tree to catch their fall, it whipped back catching me in the shoulder and knocking my feet out from under me. My right foot went forward while my left stayed put. It didn’t seem to bother me until I got to about the 8mile mark. By the time I reached the end of the loop I was starting to “gut it out.” Needless to say, I didn’t finish the loop with a PB time.
I didn’t start the second loop.....dropped…..Quit…..I didn’t even try to go on. I figured I wouldn’t make it through another loop so why try. It's the day after, I’m pretty upset with myself for not trying harder or making room in my schedule to stay up with my training. So now I have a DNF to add to my list of accomplishments. Pretty hard for me to come to terms with, but at least I know how bad it feels…..especially the day after…..
One bright spot...my new and improved 2009 Vasque Blurs are awesome.....can't wait to get out on the trail again with them.....They are so light I can't believe they are on. The same great foot-bed with plenty of cushion for the rocks and plenty of toe protection. The toe box feels roomier than the older version. In fact I almost sized down but glad I didn't. I ran the 10 mile loop and they felt great. Can't wait to try them out with a stream crossing. The older Blurs had a lot of material on the top of the shoe that soaked up a lot of water making them even heavier. The new design has minimized the extra material greatly. It feels like something is missing (in a good way). he new Blurs are light, light, light......
