Surprised... and shoes...

As previously posted, I ran a long all-night run with Steve Quick on Friday, August 8. If you call it a planned workout, I did not post the Sunday workout. On Sunday, I went to Madison, Wisconsin, to help partially move a student. That means carrying a full room of items and two full flights of stairs. This would be a good leg workout.

On Sunday, I was surprised to find that my legs were not as sore as I expected. My feet were a little swollen as I had changed the tightness of the laces. But all in all, it was really not much of an issue. I had taken two Advil at 6 AM, and that was it for the day. I was pretty worn after 58 flights of stairs in about 3 hours plus packing and dismantling items.

To my surprise, I was less stiff this morning than I thought. I am sauntering, but I have not taken any Advil or anything to ease the pain. I feel like I could run, and I will try later. This is surprising, as I assumed I would need a day or two of rest just to recover. But let's see how the run goes later today.

Many discussions have been about the Superior 100 course section, which is more difficult. Steve and I talked about segments throughout the night, and I ranked them according to my memory. (I have now been on each section twice, so I am not an expert by any means!) Here is a rank list I have after giving this considerable thought. I will send this to the run list to see what others think if they care to chime in... It might be fun as I will place any replies on a spreadsheet, and I think what I will find, depending on the type of runner we are, there is a whole array of opinions, and no one will have the same list?

1 to 14 with 14 being the most difficult (# before mile means difficulty rank)

(5) 9.3 miles to Split Rock

(9) 10.1 miles to Beaver Bay

(1) 4.9 miles to Silver Bay

(13) 9.9 miles to Tettegouche

(8) 8.6 miles to County Road 6

(10) 7.7 miles to Finland

(11) 7.5 miles to Sonju Lake Road

(3) 4.2 miles to Crosby Manitou

(14) 9.4 miles to Sugarloaf

(2) 5.6 miles to Cramer Road

(6) 7.1 miles to Temperance

(12) 5.7 miles to Sawbill

(4) 5.5 miles to Oberg Mountain

(7) 7.1 miles to Finish

One last note: Have been many e-mails written about shoes and the need for trail shoes on the Superior Hiking Trail. I seem to be in the minority about wearing street shoes. After much thought, I realized two things. (1) My foot specialist told me that the Asiacs Nimbus shoe is an excellent running shoe for both as it has a low profile; and (2) my orthotic is rigid plastic and has little flex in my shoe, so I probably get the stability others need from the trial shoes? I never feel like my foot is twisted and turning although when I hike the trail with my softer orthotics, my feet are contorted in all directions.

So, just like ranking what is more demanding of a segment, the answer on shoes and food usually has more variables to get a clear answer.

Carry on!