Getting in a Few Loops at the GAC Fat Ass

Had a really great time and a great run today down in Ipswich, Massachusetts at the GAC Fat Ass 50K. Headed down with Stephen and Mindy, where we also met up with some other Trail Monsters including Ian, Emma, Ryan T. (who wins cool points for thinking my joke was at least somewhat funny), Danielle, Jim and Shauna. Also great to see a lot of other folks there including Ryan P. and John.

I more or less stuck with my plan of running two loops (each loop is 10k), but did tack on an extra mile at the end after letting Emma talk me into it. Physically, I felt stronger than anticipated and was very happy with how it went. The PF... well, it did flare up a bit there towards the end, but whatever. I iced it afterwards and that helped to calm it down some. Some days are simply going to be better than others.

Trail conditions were actually pretty fun. It was variable, that's for sure. Snow coated all the way, but sometimes packed down nicely, sometimes sheer ice, and sometimes deeper snow. Good workout for sure. The screw shoes I wore gave good traction on those icy sections. Great piece of equipment, and big thanks to Ian who got me started in making and wearing them last year.

Thanks again everyone for the great company! I had a blast. And if any GAC members happen to read this, thanks again for putting on yet another great event.

Worth noting that the pace below is based on the course, which was measured with a wheel. I adjusted the pace based on that distance, as the Garmin came up with 12.2, when it should have been 12.4. Sportstracks might correct that, but that program is on my PC laptop which is currently infected with a virus and I'm not using it until I reformat the hard drive. Long live Macintosh. I also did not calculate the breaks into the pace, which featured one of several minutes after the first loop.

Ran 13.4 miles @ 9:35/mile pace.
AHR/MHR - 154/175
Trails, coated with snow and ice. Conditions varied.
Moderately hilly.
Lower teens to start, lower 20s to end. Sunny.
Long pants, fleece jacket, long sleeved shirt, short sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves.