Hagg Lake Part III: That’s deep man!

[Part three of a four part series on Coach Joe’s experiences at the Hagg Lake 50K Ultra-marathon, For part II, click here. To start at the beginning, click here.]

I hope that we learn things from everything we do. My first Ultra was an astonishing experience in many ways. For one thing, I’m sure there will be other ultras around the corner for me. Just doing something for the first time does not necessarily mean that you’ll do it again. But there are things that you do, things that give you a certain feeling, that you just know that you’ll want to do them again. This was one of those experiences for me.

In that spirit, I present to you my top ten things that I learned while running in the mud at Hagg Lake in a rain-storm.

1) The expression “that was deep man” has another meaning: it can also refer to stepping in mud up to your calf.

2) Just when you think you can’t get any wetter, I promise you that you can.

3) I can actually eat two hot dogs, a bowl of chicken soup and a hamburger within an hour without getting sick.

4) Although they say that black is a slimming color, white is slimming color too, but only after you’ve run an Ultra marathon.

5) If you think that the weather is really, really bad, it can always get worse.

6) Dry shoes feel great in the middle a soaking wet run, even if they are only going to be dry for 5 minutes.

7) Falling in the mud is sort of fun when you’re 50 yards from the finish of a race (and no one sees you because you’re in the trees).

8 ) If you never consider quitting an option, it won’t even cross your mind.

9) Running downhill is still easier than running uphill after 30 miles or so.

10) Sore lasts for a few days, but no one can take away your memories of a grand adventure.

Part IV: two trail shoes go head-to-head

Coach Joe