Pre-race thoughts of the Ruth Anderson 50m

Kind of late, both in a post and in the actual time, but I wanted to write some quick thoughts on tomorrow's race. My first 50 miler, and it is an easy one at that. Not saying easy, really, only that it should be easier than other 50 milers because it is a flat loop course with no hills. I haven't trained too well since the Napa Marathon where I ran way faster than I ever imagined I could. I think this effort will suffer because of this, but I am hoping I can hold on to some of my former tenacity and push through and finish.

The course is unique in that you are running and when you get to the 50k finish you have the option to stop and collect your time or continue on to the 50 mile finish (or 100km if you so chose). So I will feel it out tomorrow and see how I am feeling at the 50k finish and decide whether I should push it through to the 50 miles. I am stubborn, so I will probably attempt it nonetheless. And what is the worst that could happen? Push on and run 40 miles and have to stop and get a DNF? Oh well, at least I tried.

So some hopes. I think I will run it at a slower 10-11 minute pace and see how I feel. This should allow me to finish the 50k in about 5 hours or so. So even if I walked at 3 mph the rest of the way that would give me a 12 hour total for the 50 mile. So hopes are to finish the 50 miler anywhere from 10-12 hours and I will be happy. Hell, so long as I finish I will be happy.

Here's to happy running, although in a few short hours I am sure I will be asking myself the typical mid-race question: Why, O Why do you continue to put yourself through this? Answer? Because I can, we can, everyone could, if they put their mind to it. So push the limits I will.

Lake Merced here I come.