“Never again” was the
response I heard more then once as runners completed the hot, humid,
mind numbing Catoctin 50K.
 |
| Cooling Off At The Finish |
I am pretty sure a PR was
in reach for me until nature took over. Even so, my time of seven
hours twenty one minutes was competitive and extraordinary
satisfying. Crossing the finish line did not end my day of running.
Slow and steady was replaced by sporadic sprints to the bathroom while I
waited for running friends to complete their day.
Jumping into the car the
next morning for a ten hour drive may not be best way to treat sore
and beat up legs but how else does one get to Lake Placid for a few
days of hiking?
In addition to the legs I
had concern about the drive itself, particularly my ability to make
it without incident.
I am happy to report the
drive went well.
Monday morning I woke to
sore quads but everything else seemed amazingly happy. Our plan was
to hike Giant Mountain, a climb of over three thousand vertical feet
in three and a half miles. I wasn't concerned about the uphill
sections of the trail but I knew the downhill's might produce
“screaming quads”. The ones that talk to you with each step,
yelling when you have to stretch those legs out. All in all the hike
went well.
Everything tastes better
in the mountains and our spaghetti and meatball dinner tasted like a
gourmets feast. Even the Carlo Rossi jug of red wine purchased for
the occasion tasted splendid with yours truly tastefully drinking
(more then I should) out of my water bottle. It would later prove to
be a monumental mistake in judgment.........
Lets just say that I will
be returning home with one less pair of underwear.
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