Saturday, June 5, 2010

Another Evening Run

I really like to run in the morning. But this week, for some reason both of the runs I've managed to fit in (aside from Pineland) have been in the evening. Sam was up yesterday at 5:00 am. I knew she was still tired but she did not want to go back down in her crib. So, I laid down in the bed in her room with her in the crook of my arm, hoping she would sleep for just a little bit longer, and she fell asleep for another 2 1/2 hours! It was great, except that I had been planning to get up and run, and get things done, and instead I was her pillow, and therefore could do nothing more than cuddle her, and kiss her head, and feel her breath on my arm, and fall back asleep while she slept next to me. OK, maybe it wasn't that bad after all! :-)

Therefore, I was once again running last night at 7pm. It was a beautiful evening. The swamp irises were blooming in the gully near the start of the powerlines, and the scent of the laurel and the flowering shrubs along the way filled the air. The towhees and phoebes were singing. I felt pretty good, still a bit creaky but more like myself.

As I ran along, I kept thinking about Sunday. Ryan proposed the idea on Monday that we run next year's 50k at Pineland together. Both of us have things to prove in this race, our time goals would be similar, and we would have each other to lean on during the race. I like the idea, and am already looking forward to my revenge on the Pineland course, but part of me also wants to run a 50k before then. A year is a long time to have this unfinished business with the distance hanging over my head! However, there aren't many 50ks out there until September rolls around. I could stick with my original thought for the year and run either the Maine Marathon or the Stone Cat trail marathon in the fall - I would probably lean toward Stone Cat since lots of our Trail Monster friends run it and it sounds like such a cool race atmosphere, and besides, it's on trails. The other option that keeps popping up is The Pisgah Mountain 50k in mid-September over in New Hampshire. It's on a Sunday and it is relatively nearby. Plus George said he's planning to run it! Hmmm... What do you think?

5 comments:

Blaine Moore said...

I like Pisgah; it was my first 50k.

I see they've pushed it back a week, which is nice...it's been the same weekend as the Bruiser for the past few years. Looks like it's a week later this year.

If you want my impressions from the course, you can read my articles on it from 2007; here's my race review.

sn0m8n said...

I did? 50k? I must have been very drunk.

Scout said...

Hmmm...Not sure what I'd choose. Wonder how much difference there would be in Sam to aid in your fall attempt.

R. Ian Parlin said...

Maybe we need a summer Fat Ass. Or you could try the Ultra Xtreme Bradbury Badass, not a 50k but comparable difficulty. I highly recommend the Stone Cat marathon, being trails you won't worry about comparing time to a road marathon, the course support is a lot of fun and you're bound to see a lot of familiar faces. Don't wait too long to sign up though, it usually fills up around the end of the summer I think.

Sparkplug said...

Blaine, thanks for the link to your race report. Didn't realize Pisgah was your first 50k race! And Ian, Stonecat is definitely tempting. Thanks for the tip on not waiting too long to sign up... And Valerie, I know, I can't decide either :-)