Last Big Run Before Race Day

Just finished a 21.5 miler on the MOPAC trail. Jennifer dropped me off at the end of the trail in Wabash, and I ran to the trail head in Lincoln. The official distance, according to the Great Plains Trail Network (GPTN), is 21.5 miles. There are no markers on the last 4.5 miles (or, when you start in Wabash, the first 4.5 mi), so its hard to tell if the distance is accurate. From my different pedometer readings, I think that leg is more like 4.88 mi, for a total distance of 21.88 mi. Regardless, I'll go with the distance reported in the GPTN brochure.

The Good, the Bad, and Lessons Learned.

The Good News:
- I cut 13:12 off my previous best time. Woo Hoo!
- I'm sore, but no injuries except for a blister on my little toe. That toe always gives me fits.
- MY BACK DIDN'T WIG OUT! It hurt a bit (and still does), but it was very managable.
- The new shoes are great.
- Weather was wonderful.

Mixed News:
I lost almost 7 minutes for an unusual reason; my sweats started falling off and I could not undo my drawstring. I haven't unfastened that drawstring for weeks, so the knot was very tight. But, I lost so much weight that my sweats quickly dropped from the nexus of my gludius and spinal erectors to the gludial-hanstring region (that is Kurt-speak for my pants kept falling from above my waist to below my butt). An unseemly problem, especially given my special physique and that the fact that people keep running and bicycling past.

The Bad News:
- I did not make my goal of 5 hours (not even close): 5:36:44. That puts me on a pace of 6:50:00, and I'll have to do better if I'm going to finish the Marathon in under 6 hours.
- I had to walk a little over a mile for reasons stated in "lessons learned." My legs then seemed to freeze up, and running again was very difficult.

Lessons Learned:
- The distance to a porta-potty is at least twice as far as it appears. If you see one only half a mile way, it is actually more than a mile.
- Porta-potties are named that way because they are portable. In other words, one can move away from you if its senses an urgent need. I personally saw the only one on the trail sprout little legs and attempt to scurry away from me. I finally chased it down, but it took me about a half mile of diligent effort before it tired and stopped so I could use it. While they are mobile, fortunately they don't have too much stamina.