Murphy attempt falls a bit short........

All went mostly ok this morning, I got to Murphy a little after 8, fueled up and headed out.

I had decided to run the old mountain bike section as the last 2 or 3 times I have run in Murphy, I had run on the horse trails. They are a bit open, a little boring and not that interesting, plus I figured there would horses this morning. I have not run the old mountain bike area in years, something about getting run over by a mountain bike had discouraged me. They opened a new mountain bike area so this area was fair game for running, I remember it being a bit hilly.

I quickly discovered that my memory was wrong, it isn't a bit hilly it is hilly, up and down. I just saw that Les is having a 25/50k here in November, that should be a blast and it may be harder than Afton, depending on where he has the course going. My plan was to run multiple loops so I could again use my car as my aid station. I wasn't sure how long a loop would be but I figured that 3 loops would get me close to 20 miles with a few extra side trips to check out spur trails that looked interesting. The first loop went pretty good, the legs didn't feel too bad and I pretty much ran it in hard, my Nano said 6.5 miles, it isn't always right but it's usually within a half mile or so. I refueled and headed back out, my plan was to reverse the loop so I could get a better feel for the course. My legs were starting to feel the effects of the day before and the hills so during this loop I pretty much decided to run only 4 hours give or take.

As it turned out that was a good decision as on the last leg heading back, my legs were hurting and I was having some chafing issues. Note to self, use more body glide in key areas. So I ended up running just 3 hours and 45 minutes, probably about 17 miles.

I did learn a couple of things, I need to work on fueling and hydration. When I started this morning I felt bloated from the day before. That is pretty normal for me for a day or two after a marathon or long run. So if I do try back to back marathons, that is going to be at best bothersome and maybe a problem. I wasn't sure if I needed more electrolytes or not so I took a few extra on today's run and it didn't seem to hurt, matter of fact, I did use the restroom a few times. I also ate some Clif Shot blocks, they were ok, I ate them because I had them. I thought after I ate them that I wish I had packed a Peanut butter sandwich. When I got done I was hungry. I also need to be in better shape to do back to back and it would be better if they were on trails. I think if I had tried this on pavement, my legs would be really hurting.

All in all, not a bad weekend of running, a few lessons learned and a re-acquaintance with Murphy. What a great place to run................