"Not going for PR - just finish." Famous last words.
My left ankle has been the bane of my existence ever since it happened in late May. I lost out on a lot of miles in running/cycling and leg days. My only reassurance was the 20 miler I got in a few weeks beforehand. Should be good, right? I couldn't NOT run this race. This was THE race. The one that got me started in ultra running. Message with Chris (yes, I have his permission to use this!) Bib pick up, first year. 4 years ago, I was preparing for my 3rd official (4th unofficial) marathon and one that would get me qualified for marathon maniacs when I joked about running the 50K distance instead. I had just finished reading Dean Karanzes RUN! and the idea of running an ultra myself seemed insane. Few people egged me on and said I was more than ready for my first ultra to which I laughed and laughed. This was considered a tough trail course. The website bragged on about how tough this was and having had zero experience on trails, I wasn't even sure about running th...