Day One

Very happy to have the very first day of the 350 out of the way. Today was definitely a day filled with lots of trepidation for things other than running the first 50ish miles of the 350. My hotel was located about 35 miles from the start of the event which facilitated a very early wake-up call. As I would be speaking at the Gold Beach High School to the entire student body about eating properly, exercising, and chasing your dreams, my run also had to finish at a certain time in order to allow me to head to the school and not get a tardy notice.

Starting promptly at 7:15 I would try to get the first 25 miles in in four hours which was on the cusp of way too fast for this endeavor. But hitting 25.1 in 4:03:06 allowed me to eat a meatball sub, drink some chocolate milk, and then get to the assembly right on time. After that it was back to my hotel, a lovely condo at the Pacific Reef Resort, for a quick RnR before heading out again.

The weather had been absolutely bliss for the first run of the day. Given the amount and force of rain this area has received, a monsoon would have been a let up in intensity. Instead it was mostly overcast, cool, and wonderful. I ran even faster than my time tells because of repeated bathroom breaks and stops to take in the wonderful scenery. I did not do the walking up the major hills that I thought I might. Probably should have.

The second run of the day started in weather that Coastal Oregonians haven't seen in probably six months. Temps in the 50, bright sunshine and just beauty everywhere. I didn't realize how warm it was until I did my first check-in and I was drenched in sweat.  By about 9 miles in I realized it had been far too long since I had taken in significant calories and the day might not be as fun. I sent my crew for a double cheeseburger and completely devoured that.

Before long I was running sub-8 minute miles.  When we got to mile 20 or so, I looked ahead at the fading sunlight and saw that construction was still going on along the hill I was about to climb. I felt that given just 8 miles earlier I had been bereft of energy and here was some semi-dangerous running that this would be a perfect place to call it a day.

Not a pad pace at the end, especially given the mountain I had to climb at the beginning. Tomorrow is actually even a longer day non-running-wise due to logistics so if I get in 50 miles I will be shocked. Now it is time for food and bed.

Starting weight: 184.5
Ending weight: 177.7
Total miles: 48ish