It only took 2 days to fully recover from the 7 hour run. This morning I went over to the track (No school today so the track would be empty) and did my normal 150m hard 50m easy repeated until exhaustion. My legs had no stiffness or soreness, and I ran faster than I have all year. The cool weather helped, it was only 70 degrees with low humidity. The 100m sprints I did after the 150's went well, too, I had some pop in my legs which allowed me to relax and run fast.
Seeing that a 7 hour run on a hilly course did little damage, I feel I am ready to knock off a 50 mile race. But I am running a 100 miler in less than 3 weeks, so even though my fitness is reaching a good height, I don't know if it will be close to what is needed. Oh well, the time for fretting is over, I just have to show up in good shape, not injured, and then run as best I can.
I decided that I will think of the race without a time or a distance, the reason being I most likely won't make the full distance. So when I hit the 30 mile mark and my legs are starting to feel trashed, I won't be thinking I have 70 more miles to go, but rather, I will go as far as my legs will take me. This will help allay the awful images which could destroy my will at miles 55-75. There is still so much distance left, and I will be feeling a lot of pain, but instead of thinking I have 45 stinkin' more miles left, I instead can imagine that I can run one more mile, 400 more yards, or even, one more step. Instead of my will being deflated by the outlook of a dreary future, it should stay strong if it is cemented in the present.
