Pit Bull

Every now and then one gets to challenge things difficult enough to adopt their own name. Such an opportunity was afforded this weekend while running with the Todds Road Stumblers ( http://www.toddsroadstumblers.com ).

It was time to run 15 miles, Chicago isn't far away and the miles have to increase. The route is affectionately referred to as "Pit Bull" by the members. It features an exceedingly steep hilly section for about 4 miles on Jones Nursery Road, which is followed by about a mile of very steep grade to come back up from an elevation very near the Kentucky River.

I went out and ran a portion of the route last thursday just to get an idea of what I was running up against. 9 miles in the hills with bad rest and too much sugar during the day. I figured Saturday morning with good sleep and better nutrition would be a breeze. Even better, it was supposed to be overcast and cooler than normal.

Saturday morning at 6:30 am, 4 people began the run. After 4 miles, the pack had spread, and I was chasing a Frenchman with a 3:07 marathon under his belt (great idea, moron). But I kept him in sight all through Jones Nursery and chased him up Pit Bull. The issue though, was the sun. It came out. And it was hot. Coupled with the heat was the rain of the three previous days. Thus it was ridiculously humid too. The Frenchman ran 18 miles and made it look easy. I hobbled in broken after 15+. Great day.

Pit Bull is no puppy. He is a dog, and that's Mr. Dog to you...