For anyone who’s been following the leaderboard this week, all those completions next to my name are not a result of a Webscorer meltdown or Russians hacking the platform. With my kids in daycare and my having the week off from work, I thought it’s as good a time as any to knock out an ultra on the last two courses I needed to complete a marathon or longer on each of the 10. (I’m writing this on my iPhone in an exhausted state, so please excuse the brevity and any typos.)
To keep it interesting, on Monday I decided to see how many 2.4-mile CBG loops I could manage in 6 hours. My guess was 15, or 16 if I was having a really good day. Turns out about 15 and a third as the clocked ticked over to 6:00:00. I finished #16 about 15 minutes later for 38.4 total Challenge miles. It was a decent morning to get out there, although the sun couldn’t make up its mind about whether or not to hide.
After 4-5 hours the molehills turned to mountains and I found myself walking those little hills while shuffling through the rest, using my car as an aid station between loops so I wouldn’t have to carry anything. I was in a good headspace the whole time and nothing really hurt, just normal leg fatigue. Over the last few laps I toyed with going for one more since 40 miles would look nice on Strava. However I only had enough time for one more loop OR a Chipotle burrito before picking up my kids and the burrito won in a landslide.
On Tuesday I felt good—no DOMS or other issues. I spent most of the day on chores and errands but got in a run/home of the Tortoise & Hare course at Buttermilk. I ran most of it and felt fine so I decided Tuesday night I’d go for 50k on the Waterfront 5k course the next day, finishing my personal challenge of the marathon/ultra on each course and getting it done before the weather really turned to winter. (If I waited I probably wouldn’t have another chance to do it until late December.) And I figured it would be easy to get in the car and bail early if things really got out of hand.
Wednesday morning was sunny and Stewart Park didn’t have much wind coming off the lake. The parking spot next to the Challenge sign was open so I took advantage of it and again used my car as an aid station between laps. It took all of Lap 1 to loosen up; then I cruised through the next 5 without incident. I finally started hurting near the turnaround on #7 and took a walk break while waiting for my caffeinated Tailwind to work its magic. After 3-4 minutes the caffeine kicked in and I jogged through another 2 laps before starting to fade again. Then I just hung on and slogged another 4.5 miles to finish the 50k in about 5:05 elapsed while leaving a drop or two in the tank for the Turkey Trot. The final lap was also my 200th total completion of an FLRC Challenge course.
For this run I maintained a positive headspace again and the only trouble was leg muscle fatigue. The beautiful weather brought tons of runners out to the park, including several familiar faces and some I didn’t know but who were obviously running the Challenge course as well. It was kinda weird finishing this run with a bunch of strangers around who had no idea what I was doing—like finishing a big race with no one at the finish line. It completes my project of running a continuous marathon or longer for each course, and if I can manage a Pseudo Skunk 39.3 by year’s end I guess I’ll have done an ultramarathon on every course. But I really, Really, REALLY have absolutely no desire to run so long on those roads, especially in December.*
So why run all these FLRC Challenge miles? After a horrible day, night, and day at Virgil Crest in early September, it took about a month for my body to start feeling normal again. In early October I realized I could maybe pass Karen Ingall and/or Bob Walters for the Challenge’s Most Miles competition, but I’d really have to work for it. I figured that if I met my own FLRC Challenge goals—a marathon+ on each course, 10+ completions of each course, and 100 cumulative miles with my kids in their stroller—I’d have a reasonable shot at the most miles. I’m also eying the Beast of Burden Winter 100 in late January. Running big mileage in the FLRC Challenge is good training for the flat, canal path 100. Although I’m unable to commit to that race yet due to possible family obligations, I’m still training as if I’m going to run it. I might also give the 100k Ultra Challenge another shot, but that largely depends on the weather in December.
Okay, time to rest up and replenish the calorie deficit at tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner. Too bad burritos and Sour Patch Kids aren’t customary Thanksgiving fare. If only.
*As of the time of this writing 
Well done and Happy Thanksgiving!