Pushed it at the Poto

Taken from Runner's World: Potawatomi Trail
Pinckney, MichiganThis 17.5-mile mostly single-track loop in the Pinckney State Recreation Area, 20 minutes northwest of Ann Arbor, twists and turns around kettle lakes and bogs and undulates between lush forested lowlands and along the high crests of glacial-formed ridges. Known locally as the "Poto," the hard-packed dirt trail has plenty of technical terrain features, including several creek crossings, steep climbs and descents, and many sections with gnarly roots. Not surprisingly, the Potawatomi plays host to some of the best trail races in the Midwest, ranging from 5 miles to a full marathon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday morning my dad, his friend Dave and myself headed out to Pinckney, MI to run the Poto.  My dad and I are training for DWD Ultra 50K and Dave is part of the 100 mile relay team.  We need to get in as many training runs as possible out on these butt kicking trails.  We have less than 4 weeks until the event. Time to really get cracking here!

It turned out to be a perfect morning to run.  It was cool, light breeze with some sun and clouds.  My dad wasn't feeling 100% so he was unsure how long he would last.  Well, I think he discovered the best remedy for a cold.  Run for close to 3 hours and 40 minutes!  Yep.  We ran the trails for just over 3.5 hours.  It was awesome!  I felt great almost the entire time, other than being stung/bit by something in the ear.  We all got a bit tired towards the end, but that is to be expected when running the terrain we were on and for that length of time.  Afterwards we walked over to Silver Lake to soak our legs.  Taking a dip in a cool lake after a sweaty run is so refreshing! 

This coming weekend we are changing up the terrain and heading to flatter trails.  After having 3 weekends in a row of killer hills, I could use the break.  We are going to run in Toledo at Oak Openings.  It will be nice to have the softer ground under foot, yet still be able to run a faster pace.


I am taking 2 days off from running (took Sunday off and will take Monday off too).  My legs are sore so I'd rather make sure they recover before pushing it.  I've got a two-a-day lined up for Tuesday and Wednesday, easy 6-8 mile run Thursday, yoga Friday, long run/trail run Saturday and strength training/cross training on Sunday.  I have tried to follow a specific training program, but lately I've been "winging" it.  It's sort of difficult to find a training program to prepare you for 6.5 - 7 grueling hours of mud, hills, rocks, roots, water, etc...  I am getting really excited for this event though.  I am ready to take on the challenge and earn the right to wear a DWD shirt!