Today I'm recovering from a 13k trail run through the finer parts of the McDowell Mount Regional park. In the past I've run trail runs that have been no less than 15 miles, so when I signed up for this 8 mile race I figured, "No training? No problem. I can handle this one easy." I was wrong.
I felt pretty good for the first 2 miles and found myself passing quite a few runners. It was about 2.5 miles in when 1) some odd abdominal pain kicked in, 2) my quads started burning on all the uphills and subsequent flats, and 3) I fell twice before reaching the aid station at mile 4. That pattern continued on for the last 4 miles with the only difference being I only fell once at about mile 6.
Two days later the right side of my body (the side I used to catch myself at each fall) feels like monkeys snuck in the house during the night and beat with me baseball bats. Aside from the pain, I'm really disappointed in my finish time. I should have done much better but I shouldn't have expected a decent performance without having trained or even continued to maintain my running base.
I have registered for several races this year with three half marathons, a couple of shorter runs, and another trail run. The upcoming trail run is another night run out at McDowell Mountain park, this time a 25k. I start a training program for that race at the end of June. Believe me, after last weekend, I'll be sticking to it faithfully.
I felt pretty good for the first 2 miles and found myself passing quite a few runners. It was about 2.5 miles in when 1) some odd abdominal pain kicked in, 2) my quads started burning on all the uphills and subsequent flats, and 3) I fell twice before reaching the aid station at mile 4. That pattern continued on for the last 4 miles with the only difference being I only fell once at about mile 6.
Two days later the right side of my body (the side I used to catch myself at each fall) feels like monkeys snuck in the house during the night and beat with me baseball bats. Aside from the pain, I'm really disappointed in my finish time. I should have done much better but I shouldn't have expected a decent performance without having trained or even continued to maintain my running base.
I have registered for several races this year with three half marathons, a couple of shorter runs, and another trail run. The upcoming trail run is another night run out at McDowell Mountain park, this time a 25k. I start a training program for that race at the end of June. Believe me, after last weekend, I'll be sticking to it faithfully.
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