ALL THE HAY. IT'S IN THE BARN. Three weeks before TNF 50k I paused at this point during my last training run on the course knowing that this was what I'd be seeing with 2.8 miles of downhill left to run...which probably wouldn't be as fun as it sounds come race day when I'd already have 29 miles on my legs. You reach a point where the downhill hurts just as bad as the up. Walking hurts just as bad as running. You get to a point where pain is just a fact, so I stood here to visualize mile 29.2, how I would feel, and what it would take to push myself down this trail to the finish line. That was Sunday. By Thursday I was sick and spent the next week on the couch. Then it was Thanksgiving plus why not throw in a bunch of other things going on, so the three weeks before the race became sort of an extreme taper where I was either not feeling well enough to think about the race or too busy. Maybe a blessing in disguise...the taper crazies stayed away, mostly. Not rea