Surprise sources of protein, Tina Turner, and herbal awards

Ahhhh - recovery weeks!  It is good to be lazy and have no guilt attached!!  After the 50k last weekend, I had a few aches and pains that I wanted to rehab before this weekends trail run, so I decided to take the entire week off to allow my body to heal completely. And, to be completely honest, it's HOT!  And after Big Butts, I needed a mental as well as physical break from running in the heat.  I was able to spend the week looking forward to the Q50 Full Moon Trail Race in Mandeville that I would be running with friends.

I have been looking forward to running a Q50 race for quite some time now, I just haven't found one to fit into my schedule.  I was also eager to meet the Q50 RD, Cesar Torres, in person.  We had spoken on the phone a few times, and communicated via email, and I was always impressed by his passion for the sport, as well as his warm personality.

This particular race was a team event.  You had to run the 5 miles with a partner.  You had to stay together the entire time, and finish within an arms distance of each other.  It would also be run at night - hence the "Full Moon" part.  The race start was at 8:45 p.m. -  usually when I am finally settling down for the evening, not when I am turning on my headlamp and applying bug spray.  I have run through the night before during my 100 milers, but that is usually after running 60 or more miles, so it is a nice, steady pace.  This would be a  fairly short race, so we would be running as fast as possible in the dark, on trails. I love new experiences like this!!

85 teams lined up for the race.

The one thing that was familiar about this race was the company.  Many of my closest buddies came out for this one, making it even better.

Bobbi and Brad finishing

Eric and Christina

Kody and Denise

Liz and Maria

Randy and me 

Being a trail race, and a night time one to boot, there were some interesting characters.

Mr Incredible is Lafayette's own Jonathan Kastner.
The very happy guy on the right is the RD, Cesar Torres.

All in all this was a GREAT race.  We all got a little free protein to help us with the run along the lines of the bugs we swallowed along the way.  (Lots of bugs at night - bugs are attracted to light - we were all wearing headlamps, therefore inviting the bugs to fly right in front of our faces.  Good thing I had water with me to help wash them down :).

Two things that stand out in my mind about this race (more than all of the other things, that is) - first, getting high fives from Cesar before the race.  He cranked up "Simply the Best" by Tina Turner and promised if he didn't high five every runner before the song was over, we would all get our money back.  He had ALOT of energy, so he made it with plenty of time to spare.  Also, the "bling" was a rosemary plant rather than a medal that would collect dust.  So, last weekend I got a huge coffee mug for my 50k, and this weekend I got a plant.  THAT is why I love these races!!

Cesar doing his thing before the race.
Truly a great guy.

So, my easy week is over, and it is time to get serious about this running thing again.  Looking at my schedule today, I see that this week I have 4 runs - 6 miles, 12 miles, 6 miles, and 16 miles for a total of 40.  The 16 miler will be on the trails, but all the others will be on the roads.  I flipped through my schedule until the end of the year, and here is my weekly mileage through December to give you an idea what I am looking forward to:  40,40,51,51,39,50,50,39,64,64,36,62,0 (recovery from CR), 25, 62, 6 (recovery from Warda),  33,48,33,64,64.  That gets me through December, then January is my highest mileage month of the year.

Well, I have procrastinated as long as possible.  I didn't run this morning, so I have a 6 miler to do.  Waiting an extra hour or so will not drop the temps that much, so it is time to fill my handheld, choose a playlist and hit the asphalt. The faster I run, the less of a chance of my shoes melting, right??

Run Happy!

Edie

Oh yeah, eventually I will get around to my pacer post.  Remember, this is an endurance sport, so you will just have to work on your patience :).