Grasslands Trail Marathon 2022/3/19—long run before Hachie 50

_short version

This marathon was my final long run to prepare for Hachie 50-mile in 5 weeks.

Mark Seeley and his friend Mike Czarnik joined.  We ran with Shaheen for open miles.

Shaheen hit the wall; Mark passed her and finished in 4:00:08.  I came in 23 min later.

Left foot plantar fascia lingered after 3 years.  

_TLDR version

It’s the long run 5 weeks before “B” race Hachie 50-mile.  Gorgeous cool sunny day.

A dozen guys took off at seemingly unnecessarily hard pace.  I led the chase pack, amused at how quickly they disappeared.  I offered to step aside; Shaheen said she was happy behind me.  Mike was talkative.

I dropping a gel pack.  The new race belt’s center loop appeared defective.  Shaheen took over before expectedly leaving us.  Mark dictated the pace hovering 200w.  I wondered how reliable Stryd was on such surface.  My 2 Garmins showed wildly different paces.

Mark took a potty break 200 meters before 8-mile aid station Windmill 2.  Jung came out of the tent to hug—I felt like a rock star.  Mark blew by us without washing hands.  I chose not to chase.  We had different missions.

I took my time after white loop (mile 12.8): took off T-shirt and arm sleeves; refilled bottle; ate a packaged chocolate.  I was in no rush on this beautiful day.  Mike chose to skip the stop.

Amy Clark caught me at Outback Gate aid station (mile 16.9).  Her greeting was efficient when I walked a tiny climb:

“Are u OK?” 

“Yeah” 

then she left me, clearly having no memory of my visiting ice cream shop on the photo day.

My power steadily dropped as miles added up.  I wasn’t concerned—just letting legs do their thing.  

_#’s

Official

Distance: 26.3 miles

Chip time: 4:23:32

Garmin Fenix 5+

Distance: 25.49 miles

4:23:27

Stryd: 175 watts

Garmin forerunner 630

25.42 miles

4:20:13 (with auto pause)

[shoe-less 31yo Chris Bonner ran half in 2:04:03]

_after

Amy was Hachie 50-mile’s record holder.  She gave me practical advice:

1. Start slow: "like 9:30 or slower pace"

2. Stay slow first half

3. Shoot for 9:15 pace

4. Negative split

5. Eat water melon

Shaheen advised me to ignore my age, pointing to her husband.

"He won the half, and he's 59."

Mike had man-crush on Shaheen’s husband Steve Henderson, who graciously posed with Mike for the fan photo.