The Mt. Mitchell challenge is a race I look forward to every year. It really is a reunion of runners across southeast.This year would be my second attempt to run the 40 mile challenge. Last year I ran the 40 mile challenge in 7:27:28, which for the first time running it was a good time in my book. This year would be very different.
If you keep up with this blog, you would notice that I haven’t had many entries in the last few weeks. This is due to lack of interesting events, and lack of energy to write about my small training runs here and there. Also, for the past 10 days I was down with the worst case of the flu that I can remember (I have a short term memory). Of course, I was signed up for the Mt. Mitchell Challenge, and I was running it if I felt good or not.
I arrived into Black Mountain Friday night and picked up my race packet and listed to the race briefing. It was going to be the warmest challenge ever.
The morning of the race, I felt good. I felt like I was finally better. This I had not tested at all, since I had not run a single mile in the past 10 days. Off we ran. I knew to take it slow, and before I even hit the trail, the shortness of breath started to kick in. I was not fully recovered, and started to feel the congestion in my chest. I ran even slower and started hiking uphill ever now and then. I began to ask myself the question, was this a good idea? Should I have even attempted this run? I kept trucking along all the way the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is where I made the choice to turn around and complete the marathon instead of the 40 miler. I struggled to finish. My body is telling me to recover and rest, and that is what I plan on doing.
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