Lean Horse Post-mortem

Well, it's been over a week since Lean Horse (seems like ages ago already) and the recovery is going fairly smoothly. Of course, I expected to be a total wreck afterward and the first couple of days I was pretty sore, especially my feet. But by the third day my legs actually felt pretty damn good...much better than they did after I ran Boston (the downhills absolutely obliterated my quads). My feet were another story...they were pretty tender still, mostly from blisters but I also had some swelling in my left foot and still, a week and a half later, there's some loss of sensation in the toes on my left foot. Apparently, this is somewhat normal and probably due to a pinched nerve that will eventually get better. My friend Ryan has the same issue and, in my mind, if it occurs to two or more people, that means it's not a cause for concern (kinda like how if you notice something weird on your left arm and then check your right arm and see that the weirdness is there too, it must be okay). Perfectly logical to me. Certainly not something to waste a $25 co-pay on to go see a doctor about.

I've run four times now since the race. First one was an easy 4 last Thursday. The next day we jetted off to southern California for a family vacation to Disneyland. I didn't run at all Saturday or Sunday, but I did walk at least 500 miles, I swear to God. Well, give or take. I shoulda gotten a buckle for that too. I did run once while we were in California, a 6 miler with my friend Jeff, who until we met up for the run had been an internet friend only. It was good to finally meet him in person after communicating for a few years in various running forums and on facebook. He took me past Angels Stadium and the Honda Center (where the Ducks play) and then along the Santa Ana River trail. Apparently, the definition of "river" is a little different in SoCal than it is in South Dakota. Around here, our rivers generally have water in them. And aren't made of concrete. In any case, since we got back to SoDak on Tuesday, I've run a 7 miler yesterday and then 8.3 this morning. So far, so good, which is good because the next race in the Black Hills Trails Series is coming up on Sunday, the 8.4 mile Thunder Run. I have no idea how my legs will respond to a hard effort on trails, but I'm gonna find out (probably the hard way).

One more note from Lean Horse, after the race it was pointed out to me that my time might be the fastest ever run by a South Dakotan in the Lean Horse 100. I did some checking and, sure enough, it was. There were only 6 finishers from South Dakota in the first 5 years of the event and there were 8 South Dakotans who finished this year. My 20:21 puts me atop that list, but I'm guessing it's a record that won't last long as more and more locals really get into this ultra thing.