THIS is how a 50K run can be considered "fun!"

(Haliburton 25K, 2006)
During my run today, I kept thinking about my upcoming 50K trail race in September. Of all the places to do a 50K "trail" race I've picked the most difficult in my opinion.

To help ease the pressure, though, I've decided not to focus my attention on how long it takes me to finish. Instead, my thoughts are going to be on crossing the finish line with two other amazing runners who are also going to be doing their first 50K trail race on this day.

Even though I was running on the sidewalks today, I was picturing myself running through the trails and the many different hill climbs there will be. During a trail race, most of the the runners will walk up the hill and then start running the downhill part. There's no point in burning yourself out going up some really steep hills, especially when you know that you will be running for over 5 hours.

Now that I have committed myself to the race, I'm going to develop a plan that gives me the best chance to finish it.

Tomorrow I will be running 20K and I will probably do 2 long runs of 20K or more each week until the end of August.
I love running early in the morning, so 6:00 AM is when I'll likely start.

One of the most effective training methods for doing a 50K trail race is increasing endurance. These longer runs, especially if I can do them in the trails (Seaton or Rouge) will go a long way to prepare me for the Haliburton Forest.