Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Laying Down The Gauntlet on the River Trail

Well, since Andy Martin has a broken leg and can barely play "Pickle Ball" at the moment, I figured it was time to throw down again on the River Trail.  My last time on it I kind of bonked in the heat, no GUs, etc.  
Sean has been proud as a little peacock around the store so it was time to bring out the big guns.  No more clunky road shoes for the trail.  I busted out a shoe that would give me a little more pep.  Bring on the Brooks Racer ST.  I had a bottle, a cool day, and some Hammer Gel to fuel me along the way.  I decided to take it out reasonably hard, hopefully get to Benham Falls pretty quickly to gain a cushion and then just bring it home.
It was Memorial Day Weekend so I underestimated the the amount of people on the trail.  I probably came into contact with at least 50 people on the trail.  Bikers, walkers, sitters, I saw it all.  Everyone seemed very nice and gave me the right of way.... I guess some bow legged, slow guy who looks like he is racing is enough incentive to just let this crazy guy go through.  I got to Dillon Falls in just over 30 minutes and Benham Falls in 54 minutes.  However, I probably should have run in the shoes ONCE before I heading out for 16 or so miles.  I started getting a sharp, blister like pain on the bottom of my foot.  However, Sean's snug little mug stayed ingrained in my head and that was motivation enough to keep going as strong as I could.  My downhills were a little weak but I felt good on the flats and uphills.  
As I hit "Aspen" junction, I knew I had it in the bag and let myself mellow out my stride a little bit.  I finally hit the finish, giant crowd, and and elaborate finish line (oops, sorry I need to wake up from dreaming) in 1:48:02.  
To be honest, I think I can run it a little quicker as I never pushed excessively hard after the first few miles but I'm retiring.  I haven't enjoyed the beauty of the river trail as much as I should .  Or maybe I am just saying that because Jeff Caba and Andy Martin are licking their chops to beat up on an old ultra guy and make me look really bad.  
Regardless, and true to form, I came home from dinner last night with one message on my cell phone.
"Hey Rod, I have a new challenge.  Double out and back to Benham Fall and back in under four hours."--- Sean Meissner.
Oh man.......

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was a little confused as to why Rod was typing a blog at 7am this morning but now I get it... Andy Martin's coming for the record.

I wonder what time Andy would get if he ran it with a broken foot...

-Queen Bien

Fleet Feet Bend said...

Seriously, I have my own wife ripping on me. That's low....
Old Man Bien

saschasdad said...

Katie, I'm your biggest fan!

darkcloud said...

Maybe you and Sean can relay the course against Andy and see what happens. BTW, a double out and back, come on Sean, that is a Catra move right there. Why not just keep going until you hit 100.

Andy Martin said...

With one crutch and my walking boot, I just hit 1:47:35. OK, only joking...enjoy it while you can!

JCaba said...

Since Rod will never post it, I might as well...1:45:58 on 8/7/08. That time should stick for a good week or so. Martin's rehab is unfortunately coming along faster than I had hoped. I'm sure he will take the time down soon. There is definitely room for improvement. A pretty gnarly side stitch limited me the last 3 miles or so. I'm sure I could think of other excuses too. Anyhow, I'll enjoy the course record for now.