12 Weeks from Tomorrow

On the Sunset Trail in HSNP

Back in March I talked a bit about my intention to complete a 50k. Well, that's officially happening the first Saturday in November at the Screaming Monkey 100 - 50k!

Yayyyy!!!!

The race is a little south of Shreveport and called the Screaming Monkey because the trails go past a chimpanzee sanctuary. Yes, chimps are apes, not monkeys, but my inner nerd get over that. Also, in past years, the route used to go through the grounds of an abandoned prison. I am sorry that is no longer the case. Ghosts of former inmates would be a good motivator...

My training plan is more-or-less what I outlined in that previous post, just a little more nailed down. One really helpful surprise was in an email from the race director. He recommended a trail system near where I live with a similar terrain as the route. I'd never heard of it, and it's not on Gaia GPS (my faithful trail app), so this was a boon. I checked it out with my brother earlier this week. I was thrilled to see that it's rugged enough to be interesting, but not nearly as steep, crumbly, or ankle-breaking as many of the trails in the Ouachitas and Ozarks. 

Yesterday I went on a 4.5 hour, 14.5 mile hike around Hot Springs National Park. I ran a bit, but most tried to keep up a fast walk. I had a couple moments of reflux and fuzziness, but recovered quick enough. The low point was when I thought I was almost done, only to find my way blocked and having to backtrack. Blerg. 

Aside from a bit of stiffness, I feel good today. This is exciting! I think I'm actually going to be able to do this!!

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The trail system recommended by the race director. Worth the price of registration!