KRR Fat Ass

Marc and Deb always do an amazing job of making the KRR events so much fun you don't want to leave. The events are as much (more?) about the party afterward as about the run. The KRR Fat Ass was held last Saturday, Jan. 20, starting at 8 am, though a few opted for an early start. The course is a 7.1 mile trail around Lake Mingo in Kennekuk County Park. There is also a "Baby Ass" event which follows the 3.2-mile "Howl at the Moon" loop. To complete the Fat Ass, one runs 4 laps of Lake Mingo. One can also opt for the Large Ass (3 laps), the Average Ass (2), the Small Ass (1), or -- of course -- the Baby Ass. The event is pretty casual with no times recorded and each runner keeping track of their own mileage. The honor system prevails. 137 runners did at least the Baby Ass, with 13 doing the "Large Ass" and 4 finishing the Fat Ass.

We didn't see any precipitation, but it had been snowing around twice a week for the past few weeks and rarely getting above freezing. The result was a snow-covered trail that got packed down pretty quickly, making it very runnable but tougher than usual (bumpier, slicker and looser). The temps soared into the mid 30s Fahrenheit, gradually melting the snow in a few select spots that became very muddy by noontime. Fun stuff!

Because of the snow I wore my Inov8 212s for warmth instead of the Vibrams. I was kind of bummed to not get in some "barefoot" training, which I've missed a lot over the winter. The Inov8 is a very good shoe, but we'll see whether I'll be ready for the barefoot division at Clinton Lake next month.

Lately I've been training my body to run without external sources of fuel for increasingly long periods of time. The idea is to train the body to burn fat efficiently and to conserve glycogen. I drink water for hydration and take S-caps for electrolytes. I managed to wait until 3 hours into the run to gel up at the Fat Ass, which might be a minimal-nutrition PR. Since beginning this approach to nutrition, I've usually taken gel at around 2:20 into the run.

It is said that in the midwest whenever a few people gather in the same place it turns into a potluck. The KRR Fat Ass is no exception. Someone brought a chili that had squash in it and was some of the best chili I've ever eaten.

I'm really gonna miss running with this group. I can only hope that wherever I end up there will be a group of runners this friendly and fun to be around.