Monday: short juant from pulse. things started out slow but ok, then i had some gi issues and general cramping. apparently a cream sauce is unnacceptable pre run nutrition.
Tuesday: pre-rehab warm up run. things were a bit sluggish to start and loosened up a bit (once i turned around and started running downhill, so not sure how much was gravity working for me vs. against me, but i'll take it. 2 miles ~ 19 minutes
Wednesday: short juant from Intuit. legs still feel the distance from last weekend. still need some time to shake out the weekends heaviness. tried to throw in a higher effort at the end. nothing spectacular.
Thursday: Newark explorations: after a bit of a struggle to motivate, it was good to get out. legs still heavy and slow turning over. planned on running 6 - 8, then got lost along the way and wound up wandering around and coming up just short of 12. an extremely flat and comfortable run. a little nutrition would have made things a little more pleasant. all in all a good day.
Friday: Coyote Hills exploration: a very windy day made for some slow starting. made my way over to coyote hills and felt like a kid, i was excited to find this little gem and found myself running through the trails finding hills to climb and stopping to take in the views. the wind was blowing pretty good, so much so that i was running at an angle to keep from being blown off the paths. i wanted to explore all the trails, but due to time constraints was forced to return sooner then i want. i will definitely return here and hopefully find the same level of excitement and enthusiasm.
Saturday: nice little section from robinson flat to foresthills on the western states trail. a great trail, some nice climbs up to devils thumb (some right achilles tension during this section and tight calves). ~700 calories and 70oz of water, a very cool day good for running. some very fun downhill sections. a little slow on the climbs later in the day. legs got a bit stiff. incredible views and a fun course, some rocky sections, but for the most part pretty much dirt and some nice leave/pine needle coverage making for a soft footing. the kid in the candy store experience continues.
Sunday: nice little jaunt on the stretch from foresthill to ruck-a-chucky river crossing and climb out to driver flats. legs a little stiff and slow to get going, and of course never fully came around. the trail was marvelous, a lot of downhill and 2 little climbs. some great views of the river. some minor toghtness and discomfort in my right achilles. perhaps will need to lighten up on the running for a bit. i'll have to see how the next run goes.
Retrospective: a good bit of mileage with a nice bit of climbing on the western states course and some fun explorations outside mountain view. a new bit of excitement and ambition seems to have been breathed into my running. hopefully this carries through the next several weeks. though i've had a bit of achilles tenderness towards the end of the week, perhaps it's time to start tapering??
Summary
Total Time: 16:53
Run Time: 15:43
Other: 1:10
Distance: 84
TSS: 636
Climbing: 8885
Sunday, May 27, 2012
WS100: Foresthill to Ruck-a-Chucky
Sunday May 27, 2011: legs took about 5 minutes to loosen up and come around, then felt pretty good except on any extended climbs. fortunately there were only 2 climbs of any substantial distance. I was able to jog pretty much through the majority of the day. the descents were a great opportunity to let my legs turn over and loosen things up. the views along the river were quite nice. not a lot of internal dialogue these days, perhaps i'm too busy taking in the scenery.
I did run into one of the ladies from yesterday's run (I believe Kristen) she was helping out at the aid station for the training run. we chatted briefly before i was on my way again. much of the day was spent on single track weaving amongst the trees and following the river. i was spit out on a fire road for the last couple miles with a bit of a climb before dropping down to ruck-a-chucky campground.
Mike drove down to the campground and we went down by the river and relaxed by the water for a bit. i sat in the river briefly, it was a quite cold.
after about 30 minutes of sitting around in the stream it was time to motivate. as i was taking a photo of river crossing, Mike called me over. apparently he'd almost stepped upon a rattlesnake on his way to the bathroom.
It was a rather mellow little fellow i got a couple good shots of as the snake moved across the cement and started to work it's way back into the cover.
the combination of 30 minutes of sitting around and dipping in the cold water breathed some life into my legs and i was able to jog up much of the climb to drivers flat road.
another lovely day on the trails, had 2 moments during which i was questioning why i was out here, the quickly passed and i was soon back to enjoying the scenery and serenity. all in all a good day with a decent bit of energy.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
WS100: Robinson's Flat to Foresthill
Saturday May 26, 2011: got out to robinson's flat early friday morning, some light snow was falling and it was a bit chilly. slept a bit waiting for the sun and motivation to come about.
The morning started out a bit chilly, some now was falling, and there was a bit of snow cover on the ground. i started with a heavy long sleeve shirt and t-shirt had 3 bonk breakers (of the blueberry variety) for breakfast. then started off in the direction of the western states trail (as indicated by the sign). it did not look like the right direction. i'd heard another group of people starting out shortly after i headed out, so decided to head back and see which way they were heading.
I spoke briefly to their driver, he said they were about 1 minute ahead, heading straight over the mountain to hit up the trail.
I started running in the direction he indicated, and quickly came across some tracks in the snow and proceeded to follow them. Shortly before coming over the summit, I caught up with the 7, a couple that have completed the western states numerous times, and 5 others. there was Bill, Wayne, Tony, Molly, Kristen, Kelly, 1 other lady (maybe kathy?) and her dog bolt.
we stuck together for the early parts, and made a detour to Bill's property for some water refills. Bill and Wayne had lots of information on the course and were happy to share it. all in all a great group of people and i thoroughly enjoyed the company and the course. some incredibly scenic views and an all in all enjoyable experience.
As the day progressed, Wayne, Kathy (?) and bolt slowed in pace and separated. We continued on and Bill and Tony kept pointing out different views and where particular aid stations where along the course. I was having a blast taking in all the views and enjoying the new trails. i was enjoying the entire run. After coming out of el dorado creek i caught a toe and went down pretty good from the abdomen. that's going to set me back a bit. i laid there for a good 30 seconds wallowing in the discomfort before getting up and slowly getting back to the task at hand.
i continued on fairly well into michigan bluff and took another break had some water and some snacks offered by Tony and Bill. Coming out of michigan bluff i felt a bit of the day catching up to me, i was able to climb up most of the fire roads out of michigan bluff, i significantly slowed my pace on the descent and subsequent climb up bath road.
i opted to finish it up in foresthills, though Tony, Bill, Kristen, and Molly where going to continue on to drivers flat (about another 20 miles). i was more interested in eating some solid food and saving the next sections for another day or perhaps 2.
The morning started out a bit chilly, some now was falling, and there was a bit of snow cover on the ground. i started with a heavy long sleeve shirt and t-shirt had 3 bonk breakers (of the blueberry variety) for breakfast. then started off in the direction of the western states trail (as indicated by the sign). it did not look like the right direction. i'd heard another group of people starting out shortly after i headed out, so decided to head back and see which way they were heading.
I spoke briefly to their driver, he said they were about 1 minute ahead, heading straight over the mountain to hit up the trail.
I started running in the direction he indicated, and quickly came across some tracks in the snow and proceeded to follow them. Shortly before coming over the summit, I caught up with the 7, a couple that have completed the western states numerous times, and 5 others. there was Bill, Wayne, Tony, Molly, Kristen, Kelly, 1 other lady (maybe kathy?) and her dog bolt.
we stuck together for the early parts, and made a detour to Bill's property for some water refills. Bill and Wayne had lots of information on the course and were happy to share it. all in all a great group of people and i thoroughly enjoyed the company and the course. some incredibly scenic views and an all in all enjoyable experience.
As the day progressed, Wayne, Kathy (?) and bolt slowed in pace and separated. We continued on and Bill and Tony kept pointing out different views and where particular aid stations where along the course. I was having a blast taking in all the views and enjoying the new trails. i was enjoying the entire run. After coming out of el dorado creek i caught a toe and went down pretty good from the abdomen. that's going to set me back a bit. i laid there for a good 30 seconds wallowing in the discomfort before getting up and slowly getting back to the task at hand.
i continued on fairly well into michigan bluff and took another break had some water and some snacks offered by Tony and Bill. Coming out of michigan bluff i felt a bit of the day catching up to me, i was able to climb up most of the fire roads out of michigan bluff, i significantly slowed my pace on the descent and subsequent climb up bath road.
i opted to finish it up in foresthills, though Tony, Bill, Kristen, and Molly where going to continue on to drivers flat (about another 20 miles). i was more interested in eating some solid food and saving the next sections for another day or perhaps 2.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
20120520 week in review
Monday: Black Mountain Carmel Mountain Loop: yep, just as expected an incredibly slow trek through a typically easy run. Nothing fantastic to write about except i'm a bit sore, my abdomen is a bit twingy and i've found a new pain in my right foot, a pretty good call to run and it will all fix itself, i'm prescribing to the increased blood flow improves healing now the crux of this is to get enough activity and range of motion to increase blood flow but not too much that the injury is exacerbated. i walk the line: hopefully i stay on the correct side
Tuesday: Pre-Rehab Warmup: another sleepy morning, rolled out of bed just in time to squeeze in a short warm up run prior to pt. abdomen feels better, still a little twingy with faster efforts, and foot is off and on, i'm on the mend. 1 hour of rehab followed by: Post Rehab run a slow jog back from rehab. definitely feeling the remnants of saturday's efforts.
Tunnels exploration: when you are tired and suffering from running, it's time to run more? nice little trail run, things are definitely mending, feeling better, still have a little way to go before i'm back to running normally. a couple misteps caused shooting pain in the abdomen, but it's manageable, and seems to be improving - increased blood flow
Wednesday: Gillespie Loop: almost missed runnin today. after some internal dialogue, i managed to slip out the door a little late in the evening for what was to be a short easy jaunt. once i got out the door my stride felt easy and fluid and i was running well, so i stretched things out a bit and extended the loop, had a great run with an easy stride and a back to normal pace. no residual soreness or tiredness from saturday, felt fresh and springy hte entire run. sweet, a couple more days of easier running and i'll go for a long run. very glad i mustered the ambition and got out the door for this one. see running really does cure what ails you, even if running is what ails you
Thursday: Run to rehab: didn't feel as springy as last night, came out of the gates a little slow, which is to be expected after last nights performance. legs a little heavy on the climb, but this still seems to be going better then the last time i climbed this route. abdomen is a little more twingy then i want, likely from last nights effort so i'll be going a bit slow on it. 1 hour of rehab followed by: Run Home: feeling a bit flat, though things are moving ok. more running is more fun:) working with shorter stride to ease strain on the abdomen/hip flexor. did some work for it during rehab today and have some homework for it. the primary goal is increased blood flow.
Friday: Black Mountain Carmel Valley loop: base run, legs are feeling much better, abdomen still has some discomfort, but is improving. still keeping the running pretty lax as far as pace goes. i started this run hoping to keep every mile under 8min pace, and got a bit nervous a couple times, so wound up pressing a bit more then i expected, though i never really pressed things too much. this may be a personal best on this route, very pleased with today's run. just need to let the abdomen heal and get in some good long runs and climbing in the next couple weeks.
Saturday: Cowles: nice run, had to cut it a bit short ran the entire way up cowles mountain. legs felt really good coming down to the navajo side. due to time constraints i opted to come back on the road. things slowed a little bit after mile 15 or so. all in all a good day with successful climbs. 5 gels 2 water bottles
Otay explorations: Sometimes i do the double. a nice little exploratory run out off otay lakes to the south side by the skydiving place. some good little climbs (a bit of walking up them this time) and a rocky bit on the way back, then continued on to pulse. legs felt suprisingly good towards the end. 5 gels in 2 water bottles.
Sunday: swallow loop: nice little jog enjoying the heat of the day. nothing spectacular about this legs felt suprisingly ok just cruising along at a nice pedestrian like pace. was able to jog the entire thing some nice little climbs thrown in for fun. around 6 miles a couple of 15/16 year olds provided some mood lightening cat calling and other suggestive ideas.
stonewall run: another opportunity for a little bit of vertical. my legs felt suprisingly ok on the climbs, the descent was a little slow and uncertain due to the footing and brush covering the trail. had a decent run up through 4 - 4.5 miles then this week started catching up to me, and perhaps a little of the heat. a good close to a good week.
In Review
Summary:
Total Time: 17:09
Run Time: 15:09
Other: 2:00
Distance: 96.4
TSS: 848
climbing: 7461'
Tuesday: Pre-Rehab Warmup: another sleepy morning, rolled out of bed just in time to squeeze in a short warm up run prior to pt. abdomen feels better, still a little twingy with faster efforts, and foot is off and on, i'm on the mend. 1 hour of rehab followed by: Post Rehab run a slow jog back from rehab. definitely feeling the remnants of saturday's efforts.
Tunnels exploration: when you are tired and suffering from running, it's time to run more? nice little trail run, things are definitely mending, feeling better, still have a little way to go before i'm back to running normally. a couple misteps caused shooting pain in the abdomen, but it's manageable, and seems to be improving - increased blood flow
Wednesday: Gillespie Loop: almost missed runnin today. after some internal dialogue, i managed to slip out the door a little late in the evening for what was to be a short easy jaunt. once i got out the door my stride felt easy and fluid and i was running well, so i stretched things out a bit and extended the loop, had a great run with an easy stride and a back to normal pace. no residual soreness or tiredness from saturday, felt fresh and springy hte entire run. sweet, a couple more days of easier running and i'll go for a long run. very glad i mustered the ambition and got out the door for this one. see running really does cure what ails you, even if running is what ails you
Thursday: Run to rehab: didn't feel as springy as last night, came out of the gates a little slow, which is to be expected after last nights performance. legs a little heavy on the climb, but this still seems to be going better then the last time i climbed this route. abdomen is a little more twingy then i want, likely from last nights effort so i'll be going a bit slow on it. 1 hour of rehab followed by: Run Home: feeling a bit flat, though things are moving ok. more running is more fun:) working with shorter stride to ease strain on the abdomen/hip flexor. did some work for it during rehab today and have some homework for it. the primary goal is increased blood flow.
Friday: Black Mountain Carmel Valley loop: base run, legs are feeling much better, abdomen still has some discomfort, but is improving. still keeping the running pretty lax as far as pace goes. i started this run hoping to keep every mile under 8min pace, and got a bit nervous a couple times, so wound up pressing a bit more then i expected, though i never really pressed things too much. this may be a personal best on this route, very pleased with today's run. just need to let the abdomen heal and get in some good long runs and climbing in the next couple weeks.
Saturday: Cowles: nice run, had to cut it a bit short ran the entire way up cowles mountain. legs felt really good coming down to the navajo side. due to time constraints i opted to come back on the road. things slowed a little bit after mile 15 or so. all in all a good day with successful climbs. 5 gels 2 water bottles
Otay explorations: Sometimes i do the double. a nice little exploratory run out off otay lakes to the south side by the skydiving place. some good little climbs (a bit of walking up them this time) and a rocky bit on the way back, then continued on to pulse. legs felt suprisingly good towards the end. 5 gels in 2 water bottles.
Sunday: swallow loop: nice little jog enjoying the heat of the day. nothing spectacular about this legs felt suprisingly ok just cruising along at a nice pedestrian like pace. was able to jog the entire thing some nice little climbs thrown in for fun. around 6 miles a couple of 15/16 year olds provided some mood lightening cat calling and other suggestive ideas.
stonewall run: another opportunity for a little bit of vertical. my legs felt suprisingly ok on the climbs, the descent was a little slow and uncertain due to the footing and brush covering the trail. had a decent run up through 4 - 4.5 miles then this week started catching up to me, and perhaps a little of the heat. a good close to a good week.
In Review
Summary:
Total Time: 17:09
Run Time: 15:09
Other: 2:00
Distance: 96.4
TSS: 848
climbing: 7461'
PCT 50 Race review 2of2 - unanswered questions
I would find myself walking most of the climb up from aid station 4, bringing back fond memories of the noble canyon 50k which i've done a couple times, and have always found myself walking this very section under a toasty sun. aah the memories
once i got to the top i forced an effort at a slow jog, and was able to do this for a bit, until the course turned even slightly upward, which would slow me to a walk. i bounced things about in my head for a while and decided it was time to start jogging, and pretty much do what i could to maintain that. about this time, my water bottle ran dry, lovely, at least there is some shade offered through this section into "uncle tom's cabin" - at least that's what i thought the aid station was called.
mmm, not sure how they pulled that off, i'll have to talk to Kariem about that and see what he thinks, he's got a good sense of humor and a thick skin, so it would make for a good conversation. i moved over to the side to allow several runners come by, this was getting to be a regular occurrence, the entire time i'm running through my options, when i get to the aid station i need to get ice water in my bottle, 3 gels of the mild flavor, none of that green apple stuff, it's too sweet, keep moving forward, jog when i can, walk when i need to, enjoy the shade and the views.
i'm not very good at enjoying much during these runs, more of a once it starts, why am i not done yet, i have how far to go? perhaps it's time to start enjoying the views or something about this excursion, especially if it is going to be dragging out.
and then there it was, a sign for uncle Tom's cabin, except it was actually uncle Todd's cabin, i guess my mind is a bit off. ok, into aid station, i'm going to lay down put my legs up and let things come around. a plan is just a list of things that don't get done.
i did get water and a bunch of ice in my water bottle, a couple gels in the bottle, and a couple in my pockets, fruit, a COOKIE, and i sat down in a chair, things must be really bad. a towel dipped in cold water wrapped around my neck, time to get rid of some of this heat, just need to cool down and try to recharge.
the next section is roughly 5 miles and i believe mostly shaded, so i should be able to cover the ground in a little over an hour, then get to recharging again. again a couple people passed me, i had some tough sections, and managed to keep moving, repeating that dropping isn't an option, and about 1 mile before i got into the aid station i decided that the conversations where over, no more mention of dropping, i needed to put it completely out of my head, no more conversations about it, it doesn't exist.
at the 7th aid station i had my bottle filled with water and ice, 2 more gels in the water bottle, and stuffed my face with as much fruit as my stomach would handle. sat again in a chair, and chatted with Dean for a bit about what he's been up to. he quipped back that i need to get going and "catch mike" i slowly raised myself out of the chair and started on the way.
it was a slow progression and was about to get slower. i managed to jog along for 1 - 2 miles of the 7 to the next aid station, then things went really south. each step i took would send pain through all my joints from the hips down. did i mention it was hot? i proceeded to walk run as much as i could and would smile and wave at those that came up behind and passed me.
this continued through to the 8th and final aid station at which i had some chocolate milk, cola, fruit, crackers a couple gels and laid down for about 20 minutes. after which i drug myself up off the ground and proceeded on my way through the final leg.
i was ready to be done, and decided i was going to jog as much of it as i could bear, it would be worth finishing a little earlier and being done with this dreadful day. i continued through like this for much of the remaining 6 miles. with about 1 mile to go, i heard a familiar voice.
turns out Dave Tanner was out helping pace in John. with about 1 mile to go, we chatted for a bit, and john continued on his way. Dave opted to stick back and help drag me through into the finish line. this made that last bit that much more tolerable, thank you much Dave.
within about 1/2 mile of the finish, we caught up to Bethany, Timothy Ray's fiance. Tim did this race last year, it was the last race he would ever run, 2 days after finishing, he had a massive heart attack and died. This year's PCT 50 was in honor of him. Bethany and I had been going back and forth since mile 23. I asked if she would mind if i crossed the finish line with her, she agreed, so i did what i could to keep up with her the last bit, and we crossed together.
i could see and hear the emotion overwhelming her, she had come to experience what it was about ultra's that captured Tim's attention, during her journey, she learned a lot, not only about him and ultra's, but about herself. I wish her the best of everything.
three major things happened today:
once i got to the top i forced an effort at a slow jog, and was able to do this for a bit, until the course turned even slightly upward, which would slow me to a walk. i bounced things about in my head for a while and decided it was time to start jogging, and pretty much do what i could to maintain that. about this time, my water bottle ran dry, lovely, at least there is some shade offered through this section into "uncle tom's cabin" - at least that's what i thought the aid station was called.
mmm, not sure how they pulled that off, i'll have to talk to Kariem about that and see what he thinks, he's got a good sense of humor and a thick skin, so it would make for a good conversation. i moved over to the side to allow several runners come by, this was getting to be a regular occurrence, the entire time i'm running through my options, when i get to the aid station i need to get ice water in my bottle, 3 gels of the mild flavor, none of that green apple stuff, it's too sweet, keep moving forward, jog when i can, walk when i need to, enjoy the shade and the views.
i'm not very good at enjoying much during these runs, more of a once it starts, why am i not done yet, i have how far to go? perhaps it's time to start enjoying the views or something about this excursion, especially if it is going to be dragging out.
and then there it was, a sign for uncle Tom's cabin, except it was actually uncle Todd's cabin, i guess my mind is a bit off. ok, into aid station, i'm going to lay down put my legs up and let things come around. a plan is just a list of things that don't get done.
i did get water and a bunch of ice in my water bottle, a couple gels in the bottle, and a couple in my pockets, fruit, a COOKIE, and i sat down in a chair, things must be really bad. a towel dipped in cold water wrapped around my neck, time to get rid of some of this heat, just need to cool down and try to recharge.
the next section is roughly 5 miles and i believe mostly shaded, so i should be able to cover the ground in a little over an hour, then get to recharging again. again a couple people passed me, i had some tough sections, and managed to keep moving, repeating that dropping isn't an option, and about 1 mile before i got into the aid station i decided that the conversations where over, no more mention of dropping, i needed to put it completely out of my head, no more conversations about it, it doesn't exist.
at the 7th aid station i had my bottle filled with water and ice, 2 more gels in the water bottle, and stuffed my face with as much fruit as my stomach would handle. sat again in a chair, and chatted with Dean for a bit about what he's been up to. he quipped back that i need to get going and "catch mike" i slowly raised myself out of the chair and started on the way.
it was a slow progression and was about to get slower. i managed to jog along for 1 - 2 miles of the 7 to the next aid station, then things went really south. each step i took would send pain through all my joints from the hips down. did i mention it was hot? i proceeded to walk run as much as i could and would smile and wave at those that came up behind and passed me.
this continued through to the 8th and final aid station at which i had some chocolate milk, cola, fruit, crackers a couple gels and laid down for about 20 minutes. after which i drug myself up off the ground and proceeded on my way through the final leg.
i was ready to be done, and decided i was going to jog as much of it as i could bear, it would be worth finishing a little earlier and being done with this dreadful day. i continued through like this for much of the remaining 6 miles. with about 1 mile to go, i heard a familiar voice.
turns out Dave Tanner was out helping pace in John. with about 1 mile to go, we chatted for a bit, and john continued on his way. Dave opted to stick back and help drag me through into the finish line. this made that last bit that much more tolerable, thank you much Dave.
within about 1/2 mile of the finish, we caught up to Bethany, Timothy Ray's fiance. Tim did this race last year, it was the last race he would ever run, 2 days after finishing, he had a massive heart attack and died. This year's PCT 50 was in honor of him. Bethany and I had been going back and forth since mile 23. I asked if she would mind if i crossed the finish line with her, she agreed, so i did what i could to keep up with her the last bit, and we crossed together.
i could see and hear the emotion overwhelming her, she had come to experience what it was about ultra's that captured Tim's attention, during her journey, she learned a lot, not only about him and ultra's, but about herself. I wish her the best of everything.
three major things happened today:
- i persevered through much more adversity and many more reasons to drop then in most of the 10 previous DNFs i've accumlated
- i saw kariem graciously accept the fact that he was pulled from the course after missing a cut-off, the irony that kariem, whom, i found so much strength and motivation to continue through the day, and now he shows me how to graciously accept things, even if they don't line up with the plan
- i saw so much raw emotion in Bethany, untrained and injured continuing on through sheer will.
i still hear ken chlouber's words ringing in my ears: "you are stronger then you think you are. you can do more then you think you can". for the better part of a year this has been my question, i wake nights with this ringing in my ears. there is doubt, am i? i'll be back in august with a decisive answer.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
20120513 week summary
Monday: decent run from pulse in new balance 110. i do not like these shoes will.i.am not on a trail not on a track not with a tail not with a hack i do not like these shoes will.i.am
the run itself was a good run felt pretty comfortable on the climbs but pretty unstable on the descents so i took them slowly. a little tired in the legs.
Tuesday: finally managed to motivate and run to rehab from home: good little run to rehab up swallow. felt a little sluggish on the climb but was able to maintain the entire bit at a slow but steady jog. some minor roaming tenderness in the right achilles and general tired in the legs. a good start to a good week.
rehab: SESSION 16: ~1:10 hour range of motion and some single leg lunges for strengthening and flexibility without slider. did some lunges backwards, sideways and forward angled.
i'm noticing a little more stability and a big improvement in range of motion, my ankles actually can actually dorsiflex (though be it only slightly)
run back from rehab. legs felt extremely sluggish coming out of the gates and loosened up slightly. nice tired legs. 1 or 2 more days and then it's time to clear things our for saturday.
Wednesday: i have some serious issues to work through. as i was unable to sleep tonight, i decided it would be good to get out and enjoy some night air and get in some climbing. run went very well up to mile 8ish, then i had a bit of a coughing fit which caused acute pain on the right side of my lower abdomen/groin junction which nearly brought me to my knees. i coughed up some thick phlegm substance which i couldn't investigate (and probably would not have investigated even if it was light) due to the dark. i continued on the run and finished up.
after i got home i had a couple more coughing fits that dislodged some more thick mucuousy goodness, these had confirmed dark brown colorations. very exciting, and the acute abdomen pain is hanging out for close to a week now. not sure what it is, just sure it needs to go away.
Thursday: it was difficult to get out of bed this morning. i've been pretty void of sleep the last 2 nights, and it's starting to weigh heavily. the run started out slow, and i was ready to call it good with 4, then i found a small hill which i could go up, and had so much fun i decided to climb it twice. my legs never really showed up, but they never really fully revolted either, i'm calling it a good thing and saying my lazy speed is increasing.
Friday: yep, that sleep deprivation continues, i'm severely low on sleep for 3 days now. the good news is i've got a lot of work queued up for tonight, and another 50 tomorrow. yep, that has definite potential for some serious detonation. back to todays run. i was hurting pretty severly, far slower then usual on this course, and seriously considered cutting it short, but i think i slept through the turn off that would have released me from the suffering. the climbs were definitely slow, and the descents weren't much better. i had a brief stint on a flat section where i was able to put in a decent pace with focused effort. all in all today was a mental toughness day, just keep plugging along.
Saturday: another 50 in the books. not just any 50. this was by no means a challenging 50, it was a respectable course with a good bit of climbing, but not as challenging as my day indicates. I had serious issues for much of the race, that abdominal pain, still there, and forced a slightly slower pace, as well as some shooting pain that double me over on the trail a couple times (i'll give it another week to heal and then re-evaluate). all in all this was the most mentally challenging day i've had in a long time. the main thing that kept me going was the demons i carry around with me from last year. that combined with Kariem's dedicatoin and unwillingness to quite helped me dig deep and keep moving despite the amount of physical and mental discomfort i was experiencing. after a very long and grueling day, i did finish, in so doing, i've made incredible progress and learned a lot about what's really inside.
Sunday: DAY OFF - there is too much pain and discomfort to even remotely consider running, i'm sitting this one out
In review: this was a difficult week there was nothing spectacular about it. It was mentally and physically taxing, the numbers may not be too impressive, but i know deep down this is one of the toughest weeks i've had. saturday's 50 proved to be my most challenging endeavor, not because the course was so challenging, i've done tougher courses, it's just the way the day played out, nothing went horribly wrong, but many things went just a little awry, and they all added up to force me to dig very deep and really ask how much i was dedicated to finishing. in the past i've dropped with much less reason than i had on saturday, but on saturday there was a little something extra which i uncovered, and drew upon to continue going forward when i really wanted nothing more then to curl up lay down and be done with the entire ordeal. perhaps i am finding that fire which burned so brightly many years ago. or maybe just maybe i'm building a new fire
SUMMARY
Total Time: 20:02
Run Time: 18:52
Other: 1:10
Distance: 92.3
TSS: 715
climbing: 9846'
the run itself was a good run felt pretty comfortable on the climbs but pretty unstable on the descents so i took them slowly. a little tired in the legs.
Tuesday: finally managed to motivate and run to rehab from home: good little run to rehab up swallow. felt a little sluggish on the climb but was able to maintain the entire bit at a slow but steady jog. some minor roaming tenderness in the right achilles and general tired in the legs. a good start to a good week.
rehab: SESSION 16: ~1:10 hour range of motion and some single leg lunges for strengthening and flexibility without slider. did some lunges backwards, sideways and forward angled.
i'm noticing a little more stability and a big improvement in range of motion, my ankles actually can actually dorsiflex (though be it only slightly)
run back from rehab. legs felt extremely sluggish coming out of the gates and loosened up slightly. nice tired legs. 1 or 2 more days and then it's time to clear things our for saturday.
Wednesday: i have some serious issues to work through. as i was unable to sleep tonight, i decided it would be good to get out and enjoy some night air and get in some climbing. run went very well up to mile 8ish, then i had a bit of a coughing fit which caused acute pain on the right side of my lower abdomen/groin junction which nearly brought me to my knees. i coughed up some thick phlegm substance which i couldn't investigate (and probably would not have investigated even if it was light) due to the dark. i continued on the run and finished up.
after i got home i had a couple more coughing fits that dislodged some more thick mucuousy goodness, these had confirmed dark brown colorations. very exciting, and the acute abdomen pain is hanging out for close to a week now. not sure what it is, just sure it needs to go away.
Thursday: it was difficult to get out of bed this morning. i've been pretty void of sleep the last 2 nights, and it's starting to weigh heavily. the run started out slow, and i was ready to call it good with 4, then i found a small hill which i could go up, and had so much fun i decided to climb it twice. my legs never really showed up, but they never really fully revolted either, i'm calling it a good thing and saying my lazy speed is increasing.
Friday: yep, that sleep deprivation continues, i'm severely low on sleep for 3 days now. the good news is i've got a lot of work queued up for tonight, and another 50 tomorrow. yep, that has definite potential for some serious detonation. back to todays run. i was hurting pretty severly, far slower then usual on this course, and seriously considered cutting it short, but i think i slept through the turn off that would have released me from the suffering. the climbs were definitely slow, and the descents weren't much better. i had a brief stint on a flat section where i was able to put in a decent pace with focused effort. all in all today was a mental toughness day, just keep plugging along.
Saturday: another 50 in the books. not just any 50. this was by no means a challenging 50, it was a respectable course with a good bit of climbing, but not as challenging as my day indicates. I had serious issues for much of the race, that abdominal pain, still there, and forced a slightly slower pace, as well as some shooting pain that double me over on the trail a couple times (i'll give it another week to heal and then re-evaluate). all in all this was the most mentally challenging day i've had in a long time. the main thing that kept me going was the demons i carry around with me from last year. that combined with Kariem's dedicatoin and unwillingness to quite helped me dig deep and keep moving despite the amount of physical and mental discomfort i was experiencing. after a very long and grueling day, i did finish, in so doing, i've made incredible progress and learned a lot about what's really inside.
Sunday: DAY OFF - there is too much pain and discomfort to even remotely consider running, i'm sitting this one out
In review: this was a difficult week there was nothing spectacular about it. It was mentally and physically taxing, the numbers may not be too impressive, but i know deep down this is one of the toughest weeks i've had. saturday's 50 proved to be my most challenging endeavor, not because the course was so challenging, i've done tougher courses, it's just the way the day played out, nothing went horribly wrong, but many things went just a little awry, and they all added up to force me to dig very deep and really ask how much i was dedicated to finishing. in the past i've dropped with much less reason than i had on saturday, but on saturday there was a little something extra which i uncovered, and drew upon to continue going forward when i really wanted nothing more then to curl up lay down and be done with the entire ordeal. perhaps i am finding that fire which burned so brightly many years ago. or maybe just maybe i'm building a new fire
SUMMARY
Total Time: 20:02
Run Time: 18:52
Other: 1:10
Distance: 92.3
TSS: 715
climbing: 9846'
PCT 50 Race review 1of2 - nuckle dragging to the nth degree
May 12 PCT 50 1 of 2
Where to start. lets just say there is a lot of learning that happened today. probably more learning today then i have had in any other adventure thus far. this is also the toughest day i have experienced. i'm very happy to say i endured more during the PCT 50 then i have in any other endeavor to date.
If you are interested in run details you can skip the pre-story
Pre-story
the week leading up to the run was busier then usual, and full of a series of oversights on my part and a very limited amount of sleep.
I hoped to get back from mountain view early enough thursday so i could stop by my house pick up my running shorts, nutrition, and my nathan hydration pack. Except i managed to book a late flight, so i would have landed at 11pm. Instead I wound up leaving dinner earlier then i wanted and rushing to the airport, to find out my flight was delayed 45 minutes. fits the theme so far.
We actually took off slightly before 11, and landed slightly after midnight. After a bit of internal debate i opted to save a little time and maximize my sleep I opted to go to Intuit and sleep on the floor. I figured it would be dark enough and quiet, i could wake up and i'd already be at work, this should save me close to 1 hour of driving and shift it to sleeping. very solid reasoning. so off to Intuit. Problem 1 now i don't have the running shorts i prefer for this distance, i don't have my hydration pack, and i don't have nutrition.
the good news is i'll be going by the shop to do some receiving friday night, so i can grab some nutrition, and i've got a hand holder for a water bottle, just missing the shorts. perhaps there are some at the shop that i like.
receiving went later then i anticipated, and i didn't get out of Pulse until a little after 9. There were no shorts with liners, and we didn't have enough tri shorts in my size for me to get a pair for the run, so i grabbed some lube in hopes it would suffice.
i was planning to meet up with Victor and some others doing the race at a campground 5 miles from the run start. I stopped by burger king grabbed some dinner and headed out towards the campground. I was too short sighted to stop by my house and get the things that would have helped improve the experience, and i paid in spades.
i got to the campsite, laid out my sleeping bag and went to sleep, almost 6 hours until scheduled wake up.
MORNING Befor the RUN
On friday I was told i must have done something to piss off the gods and was likely to wind up next to a screaming toddler on my next flight. if only that had been the outcome, though i should probably be careful as there is still time for that to happen.
I got up and laid there for a bit, too tired to muster any significant movement, when i finally did get up, i got dressed put on lots of lube, put on my trusty brooks pure connect instead i opted to run in my merrell trail gloves, a far different shoe then the cushy brooks i've been doing most training in. Victor and Victoria emerged from the tent, Victor made some oatmeal which i was happy to help out with, and we headed to the run start.
We got there about 10 minutes before the start, chatted with Mike (i got some sunblock, and a good thing i did) then ran down to get our numbers.
THE RUN
and the fun begins. I started out with my water bottle full of water and 3 scoops of interphase (carbopro's recovery drink). i kept the pace pretty easy as this is the first time i'd be covering more than 10 miles in a 0 differential shoe. i'd been doing most of my running and all of my long runs in the brooks pure connect, a 4mm differential, and given my history with achilles problems, didn't want to risk an injury (i know it doesn't make sense, but this is how my mind works). after the first 2 miles of climbing on rocky single track, i had some tightness in my right achilles, and needed to take a pit stop.
i followed a side trail off the course a little bit and took care of everything. While i was there a group of runners came by, including Neil and Victor, Neil remarking "that's the last time i follow victor". i chuckled and finished up, then made my way back to the course and proceeded to climb. i had roughly 10 miles of pretty steady climbing before the course would level out. i found myself very focused on foot placement (apparently running on a couple millimeters of hard rubber sole over rocky singletrack will do wonders for my awareness, at least of where i put my feet). At the first aid station i refilled my water bottle and added 3 gels to it, grabbed some orange slices and 1/4 chocolate chip muffin and was on my way again.
I fell in with a group that was running pretty steady so i just stayed there and did what i could to find footholds around the rocks. i continued like this to the 2nd aid station, around 13 miles in, my pace never rising much above pedestrian, and i was quit ok with this. again i grabbed some fruit, refilled my water bottle and added 3gels to the water bottle, then i put 2 gels in my pockets just in case.
about 1/2 way between the 2nd and 3rd aid stations. i started having difficulties, i caught my right foot on a rock and stumbled, in the act of trying to catch myself, i got a shooting pain in my right abdomen, same place i started having this issue about a week ago, this definitely put a stagger in my step, there was some signs of discomfort from the beginning, which increased as i tried to go faster, so i was keeping things at an easy pace for 3 big reasons: the abdomen, my achilles questions, and the 0 differential no padding shoes.
i wound up kicking several more rocks on the way to the 3rd aid station, after each i walked for a bit to let the discomfort subside, then i'd ease back into a lazy jog and continue on. the "good news" is that by the fact that i was wearing traditional running shorts, which offer no protection for my thighs against chafing started to catch up with me, this distracted me from the other things going on.
at the 3rd aid station (mile 17.5 ish - in 3.5 hours, it's going to be a long day) i once again refilled my water bottle, added 3 gels to the mixture, ate some solids and put a gel in my pocket, then back on my way. just keep your head down and keep covering the miles. kariem (he opted for the early start, 5am instead of 6am) should be up ahead and you will catch him shortly, once that happens, you can just hang with him and finish the run together. as runners would pass me, i'd stay with them and tell myself just hold on until you get to kariem, then you can settle back in. of course i managed to catch my footing on a couple rocks and experience the shooting pain several more times.
the most notable was coming through a slight downhill, it had been a while since the last time i caught a toe, and i was feeling ok, so had been holding a nice little effort. all of a sudden, bam, i caught my toe on a small tree root, was able to bring my right foot forward in time to catch me, and have the stabbing pain shoot through my abdomen and i came crumbling to the ground. i laid there briefly and ran a mental assessment. as i was picking myself up, another runner came by and asked if i was ok, she commented how she had fallen several times already, i smiled: "yep, just gotta be more careful with my feet".
a couple miles after this, i saw Kariem up ahead, amazing, almost 23 miles to catch him, we chatted for a bit, and stayed together into aid station #4 (about 1/2 mile). This would also be aid station #5. once again, fruit, refill water bottle, and i added 3 gels. kariem had some aquaphor a substance very much like vaseline, which i liberally applied to my thighs.
i took my card (we were required to drop this playing card in a bucket at the turn around, and started back into the run. i actually felt pretty good, so was jogging along, i was seeing people on their way back (actually i saw the lead runner pass me at my mile 20, his mile 30). several other pulse runners came through. Mike passed me about 1/2 mile from the turn around, as poorly as things were going for me, i'd expected he would have been much further ahead, guess his day was less then stellar as well. we laughed at each other's suffering and carried on.
i was still feeling pretty good, and started doing some math, i hit the turn around around 5:20 into the run, i can still save this and have a decent showing, just need to keep slow and steady on the return trip. i jogged pretty much this entire section, some little climbing both on the way out and back to the aid station. back into the aid station, a liberal coating of vaseline, drink a couple cups of water eat fruit, refill water bottle, and this time i added 4 gels, as the 3 was still relatively flavorless, except this time the gel was a different flavor, that would get me shortly. Back out onto the course, and after about 1 mile, things slowed yet again. there was a nice long climb exposed which lasted a couple miles and really put a good hurting on me. at this point i started revisiting history, not typically a good thing:
san diego 100 - legitimate drop
silverman 2009 - illegitimate drop
catalina 50 - legitimate drop - apparently i did not write about this one
headlands 50 - ??legitimate?? drop - this is questoinable
leadville 100 - illegitimate drop - this will be resolved in august
Virigil Crest 100 - ??legitimate drop?? - maybe
Aravaipa 100 - legitimate drop
Rocky Road 100 - ??illegitimate?? drop - my head was elsewhere on this one
these rattled around in my head for the remaining 6 hours on the course. the discomfort as i was experiencing paled in comparison with the questions above. these questions need answers, and i need to persevere to uncover them. mental assessment, i'm tired, my legs aren't working very well,
it seems i'm really dragging this one out, i'll pick up the last 20 miles in a couple days.
Where to start. lets just say there is a lot of learning that happened today. probably more learning today then i have had in any other adventure thus far. this is also the toughest day i have experienced. i'm very happy to say i endured more during the PCT 50 then i have in any other endeavor to date.
If you are interested in run details you can skip the pre-story
Pre-story
the week leading up to the run was busier then usual, and full of a series of oversights on my part and a very limited amount of sleep.
I hoped to get back from mountain view early enough thursday so i could stop by my house pick up my running shorts, nutrition, and my nathan hydration pack. Except i managed to book a late flight, so i would have landed at 11pm. Instead I wound up leaving dinner earlier then i wanted and rushing to the airport, to find out my flight was delayed 45 minutes. fits the theme so far.
We actually took off slightly before 11, and landed slightly after midnight. After a bit of internal debate i opted to save a little time and maximize my sleep I opted to go to Intuit and sleep on the floor. I figured it would be dark enough and quiet, i could wake up and i'd already be at work, this should save me close to 1 hour of driving and shift it to sleeping. very solid reasoning. so off to Intuit. Problem 1 now i don't have the running shorts i prefer for this distance, i don't have my hydration pack, and i don't have nutrition.
the good news is i'll be going by the shop to do some receiving friday night, so i can grab some nutrition, and i've got a hand holder for a water bottle, just missing the shorts. perhaps there are some at the shop that i like.
receiving went later then i anticipated, and i didn't get out of Pulse until a little after 9. There were no shorts with liners, and we didn't have enough tri shorts in my size for me to get a pair for the run, so i grabbed some lube in hopes it would suffice.
i was planning to meet up with Victor and some others doing the race at a campground 5 miles from the run start. I stopped by burger king grabbed some dinner and headed out towards the campground. I was too short sighted to stop by my house and get the things that would have helped improve the experience, and i paid in spades.
i got to the campsite, laid out my sleeping bag and went to sleep, almost 6 hours until scheduled wake up.
MORNING Befor the RUN
On friday I was told i must have done something to piss off the gods and was likely to wind up next to a screaming toddler on my next flight. if only that had been the outcome, though i should probably be careful as there is still time for that to happen.
I got up and laid there for a bit, too tired to muster any significant movement, when i finally did get up, i got dressed put on lots of lube, put on my trusty brooks pure connect instead i opted to run in my merrell trail gloves, a far different shoe then the cushy brooks i've been doing most training in. Victor and Victoria emerged from the tent, Victor made some oatmeal which i was happy to help out with, and we headed to the run start.
We got there about 10 minutes before the start, chatted with Mike (i got some sunblock, and a good thing i did) then ran down to get our numbers.
THE RUN
and the fun begins. I started out with my water bottle full of water and 3 scoops of interphase (carbopro's recovery drink). i kept the pace pretty easy as this is the first time i'd be covering more than 10 miles in a 0 differential shoe. i'd been doing most of my running and all of my long runs in the brooks pure connect, a 4mm differential, and given my history with achilles problems, didn't want to risk an injury (i know it doesn't make sense, but this is how my mind works). after the first 2 miles of climbing on rocky single track, i had some tightness in my right achilles, and needed to take a pit stop.
i followed a side trail off the course a little bit and took care of everything. While i was there a group of runners came by, including Neil and Victor, Neil remarking "that's the last time i follow victor". i chuckled and finished up, then made my way back to the course and proceeded to climb. i had roughly 10 miles of pretty steady climbing before the course would level out. i found myself very focused on foot placement (apparently running on a couple millimeters of hard rubber sole over rocky singletrack will do wonders for my awareness, at least of where i put my feet). At the first aid station i refilled my water bottle and added 3 gels to it, grabbed some orange slices and 1/4 chocolate chip muffin and was on my way again.
I fell in with a group that was running pretty steady so i just stayed there and did what i could to find footholds around the rocks. i continued like this to the 2nd aid station, around 13 miles in, my pace never rising much above pedestrian, and i was quit ok with this. again i grabbed some fruit, refilled my water bottle and added 3gels to the water bottle, then i put 2 gels in my pockets just in case.
about 1/2 way between the 2nd and 3rd aid stations. i started having difficulties, i caught my right foot on a rock and stumbled, in the act of trying to catch myself, i got a shooting pain in my right abdomen, same place i started having this issue about a week ago, this definitely put a stagger in my step, there was some signs of discomfort from the beginning, which increased as i tried to go faster, so i was keeping things at an easy pace for 3 big reasons: the abdomen, my achilles questions, and the 0 differential no padding shoes.
i wound up kicking several more rocks on the way to the 3rd aid station, after each i walked for a bit to let the discomfort subside, then i'd ease back into a lazy jog and continue on. the "good news" is that by the fact that i was wearing traditional running shorts, which offer no protection for my thighs against chafing started to catch up with me, this distracted me from the other things going on.
at the 3rd aid station (mile 17.5 ish - in 3.5 hours, it's going to be a long day) i once again refilled my water bottle, added 3 gels to the mixture, ate some solids and put a gel in my pocket, then back on my way. just keep your head down and keep covering the miles. kariem (he opted for the early start, 5am instead of 6am) should be up ahead and you will catch him shortly, once that happens, you can just hang with him and finish the run together. as runners would pass me, i'd stay with them and tell myself just hold on until you get to kariem, then you can settle back in. of course i managed to catch my footing on a couple rocks and experience the shooting pain several more times.
the most notable was coming through a slight downhill, it had been a while since the last time i caught a toe, and i was feeling ok, so had been holding a nice little effort. all of a sudden, bam, i caught my toe on a small tree root, was able to bring my right foot forward in time to catch me, and have the stabbing pain shoot through my abdomen and i came crumbling to the ground. i laid there briefly and ran a mental assessment. as i was picking myself up, another runner came by and asked if i was ok, she commented how she had fallen several times already, i smiled: "yep, just gotta be more careful with my feet".
a couple miles after this, i saw Kariem up ahead, amazing, almost 23 miles to catch him, we chatted for a bit, and stayed together into aid station #4 (about 1/2 mile). This would also be aid station #5. once again, fruit, refill water bottle, and i added 3 gels. kariem had some aquaphor a substance very much like vaseline, which i liberally applied to my thighs.
i took my card (we were required to drop this playing card in a bucket at the turn around, and started back into the run. i actually felt pretty good, so was jogging along, i was seeing people on their way back (actually i saw the lead runner pass me at my mile 20, his mile 30). several other pulse runners came through. Mike passed me about 1/2 mile from the turn around, as poorly as things were going for me, i'd expected he would have been much further ahead, guess his day was less then stellar as well. we laughed at each other's suffering and carried on.
i was still feeling pretty good, and started doing some math, i hit the turn around around 5:20 into the run, i can still save this and have a decent showing, just need to keep slow and steady on the return trip. i jogged pretty much this entire section, some little climbing both on the way out and back to the aid station. back into the aid station, a liberal coating of vaseline, drink a couple cups of water eat fruit, refill water bottle, and this time i added 4 gels, as the 3 was still relatively flavorless, except this time the gel was a different flavor, that would get me shortly. Back out onto the course, and after about 1 mile, things slowed yet again. there was a nice long climb exposed which lasted a couple miles and really put a good hurting on me. at this point i started revisiting history, not typically a good thing:
san diego 100 - legitimate drop
silverman 2009 - illegitimate drop
catalina 50 - legitimate drop - apparently i did not write about this one
headlands 50 - ??legitimate?? drop - this is questoinable
leadville 100 - illegitimate drop - this will be resolved in august
Virigil Crest 100 - ??legitimate drop?? - maybe
Aravaipa 100 - legitimate drop
Rocky Road 100 - ??illegitimate?? drop - my head was elsewhere on this one
these rattled around in my head for the remaining 6 hours on the course. the discomfort as i was experiencing paled in comparison with the questions above. these questions need answers, and i need to persevere to uncover them. mental assessment, i'm tired, my legs aren't working very well,
it seems i'm really dragging this one out, i'll pick up the last 20 miles in a couple days.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
20120506 week in review
Monday: managed to get out for a bit of a run along the strand, not much vertical, but a nice effort with a negative split. mental note, the strand is a good shakeout run, but not highly motivating to get out there for. there just isn't the scenery i look forward to
Tuesday: managed to crawl out of bed shortly before rehab and take a short warm up run into rehab. did a little more then 1 hour of stretching, range of motion and balance work, then ran a slightly out of the way return trip.
Wednesday: i managed to motivate and get out of bed a little early to squeeze in a morning run. good strong run. started out a bit heavy in the legs but this went a way pretty quickly. starting at mile 3 i happened across several runners going in the same direction which turned into rabbits. I made a conscious effort to try to keep my current pace faster than 9:00 min/mile throughout the run. legs felt pretty good. hoping to squeeze in another run today.
Thursday: it was a difficult struggle to get out of bed this morning, though i managed to make it up in time to get in a bit of a run before rehab. then i sandwiched my rehab between 2 runs. i stretched the return run a little long as i was starting to feel good. bonus run this evening to the bank to make a deposit, i managed to negative split this, and actually felt pretty good
Friday: legs are a bit heavy on this run, so it will be a recovery run. then around 5 miles it turned out to feel pretty good so i went with it for a bit and slowed again towards the end. not sure why legs feel so sluggish.
Saturday: too lazy to get out of bed in time to get in a real bit of running. i wound up motivating a bit late in the game and had to settle for a pressed flat tempo run. i do need to focus on getting more vert in. i should be accumulating 15 - 20k of vert per week. need to focus more on vert then distance or pace.
Sunday: life once again sabotaging my good intentions. had other obligations to tend to this morning which cut my run shorter then i wanted. i managed to get in a little bit of climbing - enough to have my legs asking for reprieve which i granted twice earlier on in the climb. i'll try to squeeze in some vertical this evening, instead i wound up paving the road.
Summary: a very unspectacular week. life got in the way on a couple of occasions, by this i mean i was unable to motivate sufficiently on several mornings to get out of bed and get in the running i was planning on. My ambition suffered a bit of a slump, and i didn't really find myself looking forward to getting out very much. I hope to break through the slump in the coming weeks and get back to logging some good miles. my focus will shift to climbing more than distance and hopefully i'll be able to prioritize sufficiently to push my run times up to 12 - 15 hours. i know i have it in me, and have shifted my eating habits to better support such training loads. lets see if i really want this, or if i'm just making noise.
Total Time: 10:26
Run Time: 8:01
Other: 2:25
Distance: 59.3
TSS: 570
climbing: 3575
Tuesday: managed to crawl out of bed shortly before rehab and take a short warm up run into rehab. did a little more then 1 hour of stretching, range of motion and balance work, then ran a slightly out of the way return trip.
Wednesday: i managed to motivate and get out of bed a little early to squeeze in a morning run. good strong run. started out a bit heavy in the legs but this went a way pretty quickly. starting at mile 3 i happened across several runners going in the same direction which turned into rabbits. I made a conscious effort to try to keep my current pace faster than 9:00 min/mile throughout the run. legs felt pretty good. hoping to squeeze in another run today.
Thursday: it was a difficult struggle to get out of bed this morning, though i managed to make it up in time to get in a bit of a run before rehab. then i sandwiched my rehab between 2 runs. i stretched the return run a little long as i was starting to feel good. bonus run this evening to the bank to make a deposit, i managed to negative split this, and actually felt pretty good
Friday: legs are a bit heavy on this run, so it will be a recovery run. then around 5 miles it turned out to feel pretty good so i went with it for a bit and slowed again towards the end. not sure why legs feel so sluggish.
Saturday: too lazy to get out of bed in time to get in a real bit of running. i wound up motivating a bit late in the game and had to settle for a pressed flat tempo run. i do need to focus on getting more vert in. i should be accumulating 15 - 20k of vert per week. need to focus more on vert then distance or pace.
Sunday: life once again sabotaging my good intentions. had other obligations to tend to this morning which cut my run shorter then i wanted. i managed to get in a little bit of climbing - enough to have my legs asking for reprieve which i granted twice earlier on in the climb. i'll try to squeeze in some vertical this evening, instead i wound up paving the road.
Summary: a very unspectacular week. life got in the way on a couple of occasions, by this i mean i was unable to motivate sufficiently on several mornings to get out of bed and get in the running i was planning on. My ambition suffered a bit of a slump, and i didn't really find myself looking forward to getting out very much. I hope to break through the slump in the coming weeks and get back to logging some good miles. my focus will shift to climbing more than distance and hopefully i'll be able to prioritize sufficiently to push my run times up to 12 - 15 hours. i know i have it in me, and have shifted my eating habits to better support such training loads. lets see if i really want this, or if i'm just making noise.
Total Time: 10:26
Run Time: 8:01
Other: 2:25
Distance: 59.3
TSS: 570
climbing: 3575
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Leona Divide 50 mile run
The Leona Divide 50 (mile or km) is a great event with great support and on a great course. I highly recommend you get out there and experience it yourself. Keira and her staff/volunteers put on a top notch event.
This year there was the usual fun run (i did not make this due to work constraints and traffic) and pasta dinner the Friday before the race. Then they had a showing of Unbreakable outside after the pasta dinner. I did not stay for this as i have seen the movie before and was more interested in sleep. It is a great movie, well done and very fun to watch. If you get a chance, i also recommend you check it out.
onto the race: my full intent from the beginning was to have a strong run with no achilles issues, time wasn't of any concern. I woke up finished a shake which i'd mixed up the day before and had been sipping on throughout the night. Then drove from the cottonwood campground to the race start. I grabbed some more food (a couple muffins and some slices of some chocolate desert type bread and some orange juice). then went back and sat in my car until just before race start.
i lined up a little outside and towards the back. The course climbs about 800' over the first 3 miles, i managed to keep a steady effort up and ran the entire stretch with no issues. i could feel the high mileage i'd accumulated earlier this week and early in the run. fortunately this started to fade around 9 miles. There are some rollers and 2 aid stations through mile 16, then the real climbing and tests would start. i was cruising along comfortably through this section. I had some tenderness and could feel stress on my right achilles on off camber sections which forced a bit more pronation (ankle rolling inward) on my right ankle/foot then i like. It wasn't bad so i kept going nice and steady. In my usual poor planning i managed to neglect food and water for most of the first 8 miles, and only took in 7 - 10 sips from my nathan pack of water, a cup at the aid station and 1 or 2 gels through the 1st 16 miles.
At the 2nd aid station i grabbed several gels and some solid food . . . A COOKIE, actually several cookies and a banana and washed them down with a couple cups of water. The next 10.5 miles climb around 2500'. It was this section that i struggled with. I was still going strong through mile 20 before i ran into my first tough spot. Coming out of the 3rd aid station (~mile 20) things slowed a bit, despite the fact that it was flat for most of the way between aid stations 3 and 4, i couldn't muster much of a run and actually walked far more then i hoped i would. Time to start getting calories in, every 15 minutes at least 100 calories until things start to turn around or my stomach starts to protest.
Another 4 miles of climbing and then the course drops down to the 5th aid station. I continued to pass through the aid stations quickly (i don't think i spent more then a minute at any of the aid stations except the 5th and also the 8th), trying to remember to grab food and water. At the beginning of the descent to the 5th aid station I was caught by another runner and decided to hold onto his pace. we chatted a bit into the aid station (almost 3 miles with close to 1000' of down). we mused at how fun it was going to be to turn around and come back up. This interaction was the start of breaking out of my low spot, it's always nice to get a breath of fresh air around mile 29, even if you still have 21 miles left.
At the aid station i grabbed a bunch of fruit (strawberries, pineapple, mango, and some others which seem to have slipped my mind, some m&m's and of course A COOKIE). Refilled my nathan pack and started running back up the climb. i managed to run almost the entire thing, with 2 brief walks on the way up. some minor achilles tenderness but nothing compared to runs past, so i kept plugging along. At the top of the climb, i was happy to get into some shaded area and back on singletrack. I started to feel good and was moving along nicely (also helped by the fact that the course trends down through this section). I did have to stop for 1 stop through here to take "perform my necessaries". i hopped back on the trail and was running pretty well. no issues to note, continued putting calories in, though it was starting to become a conscious effort to take the gels and chomps.
The next 2 aid stations went fairly well, then i got to the section where i get to drop down to the road crossing, usually a favorite past time of mine, though today it would prove to be a slow descent. At the aid station i grabbed several orange slices and some banana pieces drank several cups of water and refilled my nathan pack 1 more time. getting ready for the long climb up which is mostly exposed. I managed to shuffle out of the aid station and did a fair bit of shuffling up the early stages of the climb. Somewhere around 1/2 way up the shuffling was reduced to walking. this was around mile 43 and would be my final low point.
i shuffled into the final aid station, sat down in a chair drank a couple cups of water sucked down a couple gels and started off on the final 3/4 mile climb up before the almost 3 mile drop to the finish line. the climb went by slowly. I attempted to shuffle up a couple times, but was greeted with a bit more tenderness in my right achilles then i cared for so opted to walk. at the top, i started shuffling again and proceeded to slowly increase my effort and let gravity take me into the finish.
I managed to muster a decent pace on the final descent and was able to cruise down and across the finish feeling descent. I grabbed a water and sat down in the shade briefly. Just need to be able to put together another 50 and i'm good for june.
I'd hoped my achilles would have held up better during the run, but have no complaints. I was able to run 8 miles the following day and come back with a pretty good showing on monday where i felt strong, no achilles issues.
I will continue along the current path and have another check in just over 1 week out in eastern san diego county. looking forward to it.
This year there was the usual fun run (i did not make this due to work constraints and traffic) and pasta dinner the Friday before the race. Then they had a showing of Unbreakable outside after the pasta dinner. I did not stay for this as i have seen the movie before and was more interested in sleep. It is a great movie, well done and very fun to watch. If you get a chance, i also recommend you check it out.
onto the race: my full intent from the beginning was to have a strong run with no achilles issues, time wasn't of any concern. I woke up finished a shake which i'd mixed up the day before and had been sipping on throughout the night. Then drove from the cottonwood campground to the race start. I grabbed some more food (a couple muffins and some slices of some chocolate desert type bread and some orange juice). then went back and sat in my car until just before race start.
i lined up a little outside and towards the back. The course climbs about 800' over the first 3 miles, i managed to keep a steady effort up and ran the entire stretch with no issues. i could feel the high mileage i'd accumulated earlier this week and early in the run. fortunately this started to fade around 9 miles. There are some rollers and 2 aid stations through mile 16, then the real climbing and tests would start. i was cruising along comfortably through this section. I had some tenderness and could feel stress on my right achilles on off camber sections which forced a bit more pronation (ankle rolling inward) on my right ankle/foot then i like. It wasn't bad so i kept going nice and steady. In my usual poor planning i managed to neglect food and water for most of the first 8 miles, and only took in 7 - 10 sips from my nathan pack of water, a cup at the aid station and 1 or 2 gels through the 1st 16 miles.
At the 2nd aid station i grabbed several gels and some solid food . . . A COOKIE, actually several cookies and a banana and washed them down with a couple cups of water. The next 10.5 miles climb around 2500'. It was this section that i struggled with. I was still going strong through mile 20 before i ran into my first tough spot. Coming out of the 3rd aid station (~mile 20) things slowed a bit, despite the fact that it was flat for most of the way between aid stations 3 and 4, i couldn't muster much of a run and actually walked far more then i hoped i would. Time to start getting calories in, every 15 minutes at least 100 calories until things start to turn around or my stomach starts to protest.
Another 4 miles of climbing and then the course drops down to the 5th aid station. I continued to pass through the aid stations quickly (i don't think i spent more then a minute at any of the aid stations except the 5th and also the 8th), trying to remember to grab food and water. At the beginning of the descent to the 5th aid station I was caught by another runner and decided to hold onto his pace. we chatted a bit into the aid station (almost 3 miles with close to 1000' of down). we mused at how fun it was going to be to turn around and come back up. This interaction was the start of breaking out of my low spot, it's always nice to get a breath of fresh air around mile 29, even if you still have 21 miles left.
At the aid station i grabbed a bunch of fruit (strawberries, pineapple, mango, and some others which seem to have slipped my mind, some m&m's and of course A COOKIE). Refilled my nathan pack and started running back up the climb. i managed to run almost the entire thing, with 2 brief walks on the way up. some minor achilles tenderness but nothing compared to runs past, so i kept plugging along. At the top of the climb, i was happy to get into some shaded area and back on singletrack. I started to feel good and was moving along nicely (also helped by the fact that the course trends down through this section). I did have to stop for 1 stop through here to take "perform my necessaries". i hopped back on the trail and was running pretty well. no issues to note, continued putting calories in, though it was starting to become a conscious effort to take the gels and chomps.
The next 2 aid stations went fairly well, then i got to the section where i get to drop down to the road crossing, usually a favorite past time of mine, though today it would prove to be a slow descent. At the aid station i grabbed several orange slices and some banana pieces drank several cups of water and refilled my nathan pack 1 more time. getting ready for the long climb up which is mostly exposed. I managed to shuffle out of the aid station and did a fair bit of shuffling up the early stages of the climb. Somewhere around 1/2 way up the shuffling was reduced to walking. this was around mile 43 and would be my final low point.
i shuffled into the final aid station, sat down in a chair drank a couple cups of water sucked down a couple gels and started off on the final 3/4 mile climb up before the almost 3 mile drop to the finish line. the climb went by slowly. I attempted to shuffle up a couple times, but was greeted with a bit more tenderness in my right achilles then i cared for so opted to walk. at the top, i started shuffling again and proceeded to slowly increase my effort and let gravity take me into the finish.
I managed to muster a decent pace on the final descent and was able to cruise down and across the finish feeling descent. I grabbed a water and sat down in the shade briefly. Just need to be able to put together another 50 and i'm good for june.
I'd hoped my achilles would have held up better during the run, but have no complaints. I was able to run 8 miles the following day and come back with a pretty good showing on monday where i felt strong, no achilles issues.
I will continue along the current path and have another check in just over 1 week out in eastern san diego county. looking forward to it.
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