a run, an architectural gem, and dessert

I hadn't planned on posting any sort of report on Saturday's North Fork 50 Miler, but it was notable for a few reasons:

1. It was my last really long training run before Leadville, which is now less than five weeks away.

2. At the end of the race my car thermometer said 94. That's 15 to 20 degrees warmer than my warmest run this year. I also realized that it was at least 100 degrees warmer than my coldest run of the year (at least with the wind chill accounted for, a few pre-dawn runs in January dipped well below zero). Anyways, it was scorching. At times I pretended I was back in North Carolina; I thought I might be able to fool my body into thinking it was acclimated to such conditions. For the most part, I think it worked. I didn't feel great on the course, but I blamed my tired legs on all the miles and climbing I've done in the last few weeks rather than the hot weather.

3. The condition of the course was incredible. It was 100% trails, and 99.9% was finely crushed dirt. With 7,200 feet of climb, it was a very challenging course, but my feet didn't have to endure the pounding on rocks they typically suffer in an ultra.

4. The aid-station support was second-to-none. It was on par with the Bull Run Run in Virginia, which is legendary for its great aid-stations. I've seen and eaten a wide variety of items at different races, but one aid-station at this race had bacon. Yep. Crisp, delicious bacon. My eyes lit up when they asked, "Would you like some bacon?" Of course I would, and I did. Twice. And then around mile 40 on my third and final trip past this particular aid station they offered me hash browns. It was a dream come true. They loaded up a cup of hash browns for me, dowsed it with salt, and I happily went on my way. And then at the next aid station they had popsicles. I felt pampered. The volunteers at all the aid stations were super friendly and helpful. Once the heat of the day settled in, all the aid stations had ice so I loaded up my hat at each stop (and would then run with a numb head for a good five to ten minutes).

5. My 9:38:44 actually won my age group. Like I said, I didn't feel great and I was suffering on the course, but I gather that most people suffered worse as there were many DNF's (Did Not Finish). This goes to show, however, that bacon is clearly the fuel of champions.

6. On the drive to the race, which was about an hour-and-a-half away, I thought I was hallucinating when I passed a sign that said "Coney Island" with an arrow pointing to the right. A few hundred feet later I passed the Coney Island, which I had only seen on the Food Network and I think on an old PBS special on the hot dog. It was a thrilling sight. I thought about stopping on the way home from the race but I was in a rush to get back and relieve Adrienne from solo parenting duties, and quite frankly, there was no way I could have stomached a hot dog just then. So now that I knew where the Coney Island was located, how long did it take to make a trip there? Less than 24 hours. We visited friends in Denver yesterday and we took the scenic route back to Breckenridge so we could stop for hot dogs. Clearly, the building itself is an architectural wonder. Although it's called Coney Island, it is not a Coney Island in the Detroit sense of the word. Nonetheless, the hot dogs were good, June loved her cheeseburger, and June and Jolee both made friends with the baby squirrels hanging out in the courtyard next to the restaurant.

And then to finish off the day, we stopped for ice cream in Fairplay. June and Jolee deserved the treat, they were both traveling superstars throughout the day.

June’s friend Luke and his family happened to be there too…