Race Report: Afton Trail Run 50k
By Trevize1138
By Trevize1138
My first test of my year without metrics is done and the tl;dr for this race is a 20 minute improvement over last year's time at 6:24 vs 6:44 in 2018. I also did roughly 20/31 of the miles unshod, ditching my trusty Luna Origens after the first 11 miles due to slipping around underfoot from humidity.
The course is a 25k loop done twice and I noticed on that first lap that tecent rains had created a few spots of mud and lots of tacky dirt and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. There was also about 3-4 miles of fairly rough gravel I wasn't looking forward to but I figured suffering through that was worth it for the rest of the tactile experience.
Curiously enough, those rough gravel spots may have allowed me to have a stronger finish than I otherwise would have. The gravel is about 1/2 way through a loop and the worst of it was this 1/2 mile switchback downhill. Once done with that it was almost all blissfully smooth surfaces and grass until the finish. People who had previously passed me as I winced down the gravel were now being reeled in and left behind.
Yesterday and today we've both been paying for those fast downhills. I'm walking backwards down stairs still and getting out of chairs is a challenge. I'm going to really focus on a proper, safe recovery time then back to it. Next test of my year without metrics is a 100k Oct 19th. Every step after the 1/2 way point of that one will be a new accomplishment for me and I don't have the free time to put in more than 45-50mpw (as near as I can tell without strict logging of miles). Don't know if I'll be doing that one unshod or in sandals yet because that depends on what kind of late October weather we get here in MN.
Thanks for reading!