Tussey Mountainback Discovery Series, week 2

Last night was not a race, just an organized run. But it was the longest continuous run I'd ever attempted: 7.8 miles. The course covered Legs 2 & 3 of the Tussey MountainBack, which are almost totally downhill. My goal was to (a) finish without the aid of Search and Rescue, and (b) get in around 8-minute-mile pace (around 62 minutes).

I was totally relaxed the whole time, the running and my breath was easy, and I was using long strides. I was try to keep a steady but quick pace, and except for one or two short stretches, I felt like I did that. I started about 5 minutes ahead of Morgan, the Ultra-runner. She and her companion passed me about two miles in, but not really going that much faster than me. In fact, I kept pace with them for probably another mile or so before they started pulling away. But then again, she and the guy she was with were not working too hard, either: they were conversing almost normally, which I could not have done. (I was working to the point where I could converse, but with some difficulty.)

I was truely surprised when I came upon the entrance to the park: I figured I had another 10 minutes to go. I ran the 7.8 miles in 57:21, for a blistering (for me) pace of 7:21 per mile.

Next week should be much more difficult. It's Leg 4, which is 6.2 miles of climbing. I ran this course the other direction back in May, and it was no picnic then.