Life of an Age-Grouper

For what seemed like an eternity, race morning had finally arrived.  My Spring race season was about to begin at the Caumsett 50k located in Lloyd Harbor, New York. The Caumsett 50K is an odd race. Why the USATF would chose to hold a National Championship race in March, on Long Island is beyond me? They could not have selected a warmer, more easily accessible location? Besides the location and timing, this race was broken down into 3 categories; 50k Champs, 50k and 25k.  The total number of runners was around 375 people on a relatively flat and looped 5k course. Caumsett provided me with opportunities. The opportunity to celebrate the fitness I had accumulated over the Winter. The opportunity to dial in my nutrition and hydration during race conditions. The opportunity to learn about and grow from, finding my ultra. Being my first ultra distance race I had only one true goal and that was to do the race fully self-supported in preparation for the Traprock 50k in April....

February was an interesting month of training. The first two weeks started off as planned with the focus on climbing. Despite the relatively short distances covered the stress of climbing was certainly taxing ( nearly 25,000 ft. ) The resulting accumulation of fatigue and subsequent need for recovery was perfectly timed with a week off from work.  I took full advantage of the recovery week; hydrating, fueling, resting, sleeping and spending time with Meliss and Noah.  As the fatigue dissipated and the rejuvenation commenced an ironic phrase kept popping into my head, "there is a delicate balance between peak fitness and absolute disaster."  I welcomed the snappiness in my legs as the week came to end. I wasn't however very hospitable to the emergence of a cold. The ensuing cold sucked the life out of me for nearly a week which resulted in a less then ideal lead into the Caumsett 50K. "There is a delicate balance between peak fitness and absolute disaster." ...