a memorable day

Last weekend I finished my 9th Louisville's Lovin' The Hills 50k (LLTH).  It has to have been the most fun time I've had on the same trails that are my regular training grounds.  The ice covered trees & snowy hills were AWESOME!   Some races may advertise of their most scenic courses, but this was the best one I've ever run.
 
All photos on the blog today courtesy of Terry Fletcher w/SPORTZbizz:

Race blog recap here.  More pics here & here.

I also love narrow single track -- most of the course on the Siltstone Trail (about 13 miles) was only as wide as my shoe turned sideways -- I checked!  Runners avoided the unpacked snow & kept true to the skinny path or risked discovering the hidden edge/dropoff of the already narrow trail below.

Ryan & Russ w/ice beards:

 

It was my slowest time for LLTH, but I knew that would occur going in.  Marking & then re-marking (because of the ice storm) on the snowy, obstacle-ridden course completely wore me out.  Also, I just can't hike up & down these hills during the week of any race & expect a good time.  But time was not a concern this day-- I was out to have a memorable run -- and I succeeded!



I took a hand held video camera with me on the 1st 6m loop.  This camera was NOT meant to be used while on the run like a GoPro.   Also, looking at the short & shaky results after the race, it was obvious I didn't always know when the camera was on or off!  In very small letters on the screen it signals red for pause/stop, green for on -- not easy to see when running.  Anyway, here is a short shaky segment -- trying to keep from tripping while avoiding icy branches & trees from knocking the camera from my hands:  video  The video is in High Definition (HD) although the default on Google Drive is 480p.

Next race is LBL 50M in 3 weeks.  Such a contrast between LLTH & LBL!  I'll need to avg 13 min/mile for the 1st 36 miles in order to be able to continue with the 4th lap.  Based on my recent efforts, that pace will be an extraordinary task!  My back seemed to tolerate the much slower pace better at LLTH last weekend too.

Last year I had one of my worst efforts ever at LBL & I still don't know exactly what happened.  Maybe I need to put in a speed work or two before then?  Will see . . . .