A look back at the Mud Run and what's next on my race calendar.

* Not having run for five days before the race, I think I did okay for myself. I felt good, felt strong and actually felt a lot stronger towards the end. I destroyed those hills, and trust me, those hills are daunting. I remember feeling good going up those hills a year ago but I think I handled them better this year. Still, I would have liked to have seen what I could have done with a full week of training and a better starting position. That just makes me hunger for 2011 even more.


* I'm always amazed at what role muscles play in running. Now, I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to have bulging biceps, triceps and shoulders, but that doesn't always translate into strength for running. Somewhere during the long trek uphill, I passed a few guys who were ripped and had muscles galore. They were walking and looked like they were having a rough go at it. Of course, I'm not saying I'm better than them - heck, I could use some of their motivation to get my butt to do some bench press - but this just goes to show the Mud Run and distance running is more than just muscles.

* I didn't rinse after the race. Kinda gross maybe, but there was a long line of people and I chose instead to spend more time with Tahoegirl and her hubby. The mud was caked on to my legs but I took a nice shower with soap once I got home. But my racing companions rinsed off and said there were people using shampoo and conditioner in the showers. Ugh. The showers there are meant to really just rinse you off, not to double as a beauty salon. But that's just my opinion. If I had long locks, perhaps I would feel different. Doubt it, but perhaps...

* The pictures were up super quick, but not all of them. In previous years it took a week or so to get the pictures up but there were shots of both Saturday and Sunday up by Sunday night. I might post some more pictures in a separate post so keep an eye out for that. I have thus far found only one shot of me - but several of my racing buddies. The pictures I'm waiting for are the shots from us getting out of the river. I actually posed for a picture there, so I'm hoping it came out and I don't look like a tool in it.

* Will I run this race again in 2011? Damn straight I will.

* So what's my next race? Well, now that the Mud Run is out of the way, I am setting my sights on my next race, which is the San Francisco Marathon. What do I do now in terms of training for it? Well, I think that could (and probably will) be a separate post but in short I will get back to running (heel/Achilles issue notwithstanding) here soon. I'm planning for 13-15 on Sunday and then 20 on the 20th, with 22 coming up just two weeks after that. So lots of mileage planned for the next 6-8 weeks before a bit of rest.