Training for a 50 Miler?

Today, Saturday, is typically not a long run day for me. However, I’ve been considering training for a 50 miler (more on that later) and much of the training is based around running three or more hours on Sunday after nearly two hours the day prior. I wanted a taste of what that kind of training was like and, with no races on my official schedule, I thought now would be a good time to try.

I went over to Winding River and prayed for the rain to stay away. The weather.com site is a real you-know-what when it comes to planning your daily run. Today’s weather depicted a sun obstructed by an ominous looking cloud emitting powerful streams of rain and a vicious looking lightning bolt, yet there was only a 10% chance of rain. Is that picture really necessary?

The rain held of wonderfully though the air was very moist. There weren’t many people in the park: three couples walking and a burly 20-something getting in his three miles; this fact made me extra alert for wildlife as the road traversing the park was unusually quiet. Alas, I only spotted a deer calmly crossing my path about 50 feet ahead.

My overall time was fair especially since I was going easy in hopes of running even longer tomorrow. My splits were rather consistent for each 5k: 25:32, 25:34, and 25:53. I ran a half-5k (does such term actually exist?) in 12:15 which would have put me on pace to top those times.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck the run as my Ultimate Direction water bottle broke. The nozzle tore open from being pulled out and plugged down too many times. The bottle served me well for nearly two years during long runs. Donations to purchase a new one can be sent directly to patrick.dennis.lyons@gmail.com. J