The past week has been brutal in relation to training for this fifty mile race. The three biggest factors are heat, humidity and distance. As I am now six weeks from race day the long runs on the weekends are getting longer and longer. For example the past two Saturdays have been twenty-six miles, (you know a marathon no big deal) and Sunday was ten miles. Last Saturday I woke up at five-thirty and on the road by six. I did not even think to check the temperature or the humidity. Around mile ten a little bit of intestinal cramping started in and by mile twelve nausea hit as well. Right before the turn around at mile thirteen I realized I could not safely finish the run. So I called Brian and asked him to come get me. He finally got to rescue his damsel in distress. I felt horrible the rest of the day and discovered the humidity was well in the eighties. On Sunday I took one look at the weather and said forget it and went to the Arnold Recreation Center to run. I decided I would rather run in circles for two and a half hours than feel like I did the day before.

This Saturday I got up at five thirty and the humidity was at eight five percent so I did what any normal crazy person would do, I got in my car and drove to the rec center. I then proceeded to run the first twelve and a half miles around Arnold and the last thirteen and a half in circles inside. I don’t think I could have safely ran the entire twenty-six miles outside yesterday either. This morning I got up at five thirty and ran ten outside while it was still “cool”.

I have now ran twice with the camelback. The first run was a true mole disaster. I was up at the crack of dawn on fourth of July for a ten-mile run. No matter how hard I sucked or bit on the mouthpiece I could not get any fluid to come out. I knew it was going to be hotter than blazes and I needed to get on the road so I kept the camel back on and bought a drink at the five-mile mark like always. In the past I tried the running belt with the four water bottles and couldn’t stand it. It would twist and turn while I was running and annoyed me to the point, I took it off during a long run and picked it up on my way back. The camelback was awesome. It didn’t move and it wasn’t annoying. Plus it has a pocket in the back where I can put stuff like gels, phone charger, chapstick, you name it. Although it was awesome running with it, I still had the I can’t drink out of it issue. So I get home and watch you tube videos and I still cannot get anything to suck up the straw. So I text my buddy Liz and she says maybe I have a defective mouthpiece. The next day I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and when I told her she said only you.

So running in this kind of weather has made my pace horrible, to the point I am paranoid I won’t even meet my own personal goal for the run. I have to constantly repeat you are in this to finish it, not in it to win it. I remind myself if it takes fourteen hours, it takes fourteen hours (my goal is under twelve). That regardless of time, I only know one other person who has done fifty miles. Time really is irrelevant. I will get the finisher belt buckle no matter what the time I finish, as long as it is under sixteen hours and I don’t drop dead. In it to finish it, in it to finish it.

Mole Moral~ When drinking from a camelback, always bite on the end closest to your mouth and farthest from where the straw starts.