Day 79

Route

-47 miles, 7:43, 127avg HR, 5142 Calories
-(8 mile trail run easy morning with K-Benton)
-107 mile week


This run was from about 10-6am. Starting the run was really tough mentally, knowing that I had long of a night I had ahead of myself, and also knowing I'd be at work from 11-6pm the next day. Even worse, I only had my old kayano's with me (some 400 miles on them already) and I had tendinitis in my knee. I was pretty tense as I climbed up Palos Verdes Drive West, and didn't get comfortable until about 5-6 miles in when I decided to get an aggressive mindset and take on the run. My pace really picked up through the rolling hills along the coast, and flew into Point Fermin well ahead of schedule.

Kept moving through Port's O'Call, and felt good as I approached Wilmington. I ran in between the port and the surrounding area along Harry Bridges Blvd, and started to feel uneasy. My support crew (mom) was staying near, and a cop pulled her over to see if she was a DUI. She explained our crazy plan to run from Redondo to Newport in training for a race, and he explained how dangerous the area were were traveling through.. my mom being big on safety got me in the car, and we basically drove from mile 23-30 (subtract 7 from total distance). At the time, getting in the car for 20 minutes and realizing how dangerous my planned run was made it pretty hard to get back on the road and continue running, but surprisingly enough I just got out of the car, reloaded my pack, and kept moving without looking back or procrastinating much. My mom had pleaded with me maybe breaking up the race into several days, and I think the pleas to take it easy weakened my mindset at first, but then served as motivation to silence doubt through hard running. She was definitely getting tired staying up past 1 AM. As everyone in Long Beach was heading in for the night, the natural inclination was to call it a day and head to bed.. but something in me wouldn't take no for an answer.

I Traversed bike path and 2nd street with ease before crossing San Gabriel River, where I missed the turn for PCH, and headed down to beach adding a mile or so. I started to loose some willpower running into the wind along a desolate flood control channel. As I arrived at the beach, the open public restrooms were in use by a couple consummating their vows.. Talked to mom and decided I would try to run for another hour and see how I felt, as my will power was starting to fade significantly as we passed 2AM.

After Seal Beach and Surfside, I enjoyed the open road along Bolsa Chica. It was clear that I was incredibly insignificant on the long straight road leading on for miles, but I had a good turn over and pressed on rather well. As I got into Huntington Beach, my lack of eating began to slow me down, and I refueled at the car. I continued on to Newport pretty consistently despite sunrise still being hours away, and turned around at an old ex-gf's house of all places. I hadn't printed out the last map for the race, and figured driving out of Huntington would be a lot faster than out of Newport, so I decided to run back to Huntington pier and hopefully be around 50 miles. It turned out to only be 47, but considering I'd run 8 miles that morning, I was okay with that.

Having broken down the course, I know it's going to be ridiculously long, but also feel that if I keep my focus on the town or area I'm in, I can keep my head in the game. Also, victory in this event is simply not quitting. Pacing is relatively insignificant also. If I run fast for three hours, there isn't much of a dent made into the distance. What's key is running without injury, walking, or going #2. I need to remember that just deciding to continue on is the true victory in this race. I'm nervous about how everything will work out logistically that weekend, but I think my body is ready for it.. Now it's time to cross train and lower the mileage.

-107 mile week