What to do?

Well, with ITB still a bit "iffy", fighting a cold all week and no single run longer than about 12 miles in over 2 months, what to do? Hmm, how about running a 50K? It wasn't exactly the plan I had when I responded to Catra's post about the Fremont "Fat Ass" 50K. Given where I with my recovery and lack of training, I was thinking of just doing part of the distance, maybe around 15 miles or so depending how I felt. However, I once I get out there, it's hard not to have the mindset to finish. Besides, the cool, cloudy day with a bit of rain at the start was perfect ultra weather. It was also a great bunch of people and I got the opportunity to meet a lot of local ultra runners. I could feel my IT band for the last half of the race and my hammies were pretty tight as well, but over all I actually felt much better than expected. Given the almost completely flat course along trails that I am very familiar with, I was pretty much guaranteed a PR even if I took it real easy. I did both coming in at 5:14 without pushing so hard that I can't function today. In fact, I feel good and am definitely charged to start my ultra season. I'm going to try to layout my general plan and pick races leading up to Miwok this week.
As for the 50K, there is a plan to make this an official race next year. This was a sort of "preview" run to illicit feedback on the course from runners. It is definitely a good course for anyone interested in a 50K PR or transitioning from a road marathon. Personally it is a bit too flat and has much more pavement than I would prefer. If you are interested in the course, maps of the three parks can be found at the East Bay Regional Park District website. We started in the Quarry Lakes where we did a small bit before heading out on the Alameda Creek Trail to the the trails beginning in Niles. We then turned around and took the Creek Trail all the way down to Ardenwood where we crossed over to the paved side and then did a run around the Coyote Hills which is really the only section where you might loose the trail (and the only section with any elevation change). The route still probably has a little ironing out to do and approvals will need to be taken care of given it is three separate parks, but look for this race coming sometime next year.