Training Log - Sunday, June 5, 2011

I scheduled my last "long" run before the Desert RATS 148 mile race for today. I met up with Richard at his house at 6AM to run up the trails to the Monte Sano State Park Ranger Station for a final long run and hill workout. We ended up adding a loop atop Monte Sano to add about 5 miles for a total of 15 miles.

It ended up taking us 3 hours. The heat was excruciating and we both struggled with the humidity. Overall, I did feel pretty good. Running with the backpack has been helping me ready myself for the stage race. I ended up going through 2 bottles of Gatorade and half of my two liter hydration bladder filled with water. I should be ok with that kind of fluid intake rate at the Desert RATS race considering that none of the aid stations during any of the stages will be more than 15 miles apart.

All my gear for the race is basically packed, I just need to reevaluate my blister kit and change a couple of the items currently in there. I received tons of feedback from folks on the Ultra List, including John Vonhof, the author of Fixing Your Feet. I believe I mentioned his book before, but here it is again...his book is not only a great read for any adventure racer and ultra runner, it is also a really helpful reference. I will be changing the contents of my blister kit largely based on his input.