Running

May started a lot how April ended. I could run a little bit, but it still hurt, especially if I went farther than 2-3 miles. I had resigned myself to at least hiking the first 25 miles miles of the Quad Rock 50 mile race I had signed up for back in January. I whipped myself into decent hiking shape.

Then the rain came, flooded everything, and postponed the race from mid-May to mid-June. This was pretty good news, at least for me.

Then in the middle of the month, without warning, something happened. My knee pain had been gradually improving with physical therapy from Rocky Mountain Rossiter, but it suddenly just disappeared. I was running pain-free for the first time in months. I cautiously ramped up my mileage, not really believing what I was feeling, knowing in the back of my mind that the next step would bring doom. But it never did. By the end of the month I did a 20 mile run with 5,000 feet of ascent.

Am I ready to run the most challenging 50 mile race I’ve ever done? Well, yes and no. I don’t have the fitness to race hard, so I’m not even going to try. I think I do have the fitness to complete the race (which would be quite an achievement by itself), so that’s what I’m shooting for. I plan to take it pretty slow, but stay ahead of the time cutoffs. It’s going to be brutally hot, which is going to slow things down even more. I may not make it, but I believe I can.

Month	Workouts	Total Dist	Avg Dist	Total Ascent	Avg Ascent
January	27	274.15 miles	10.15 miles	34486.2 feet	1277.27 feet
February	10	86.31 miles	8.63 miles	12141.1 feet	1214.11 feet
March	12	57.27 miles	4.77 miles	12320.9 feet	1026.74 feet
April	12	96.01 miles	8. miles	14028.9 feet	1169.07 feet
May	17	128.92 miles	7.58 miles	19814.3 feet	1165.55 feet
Total	78	642.66 miles	8.24 miles	92791.3 feet	1189.63 feet