Training summary for December 14 - December 20
Recap of last week:
Well I didn't succeed in all of what I wanted to do last week. I got up a bit late on Saturday so didn't get a run in before the first official meeting of the Bagel Trust. It was ok though, I got some killer bagels and rugelach. I did get out on a run later that afternoon, 6 miles on the road so not the trail run I had hoped for. So I could be mad, or I could just be happy that I got a good night sleep, good bagels with good friends, and a run in. Not too shabby.
Total Miles: 24
Week 2:
Sunday - eek, didn't get a run in. I have no excuse except for being out late on Saturday night, drinking a bit too much, and then going to a boozy brunch Sunday. I did get a heck of a lot done on Sunday, but none of it involved running shoes.
Monday - Mondays and Fridays are technically my "rest" days. But, understanding that life happens I know that sometimes I need to do runs on those days. So I pumped myself up as I left work on Monday and geared up for a longer run. I had a new podcast to tryout, Risk! and it was a great fit and something I'll add into my road run motivation set. I did a little over 8 miles and felt pretty good about myself after my lack luster weekend performance.
Tuesday - Hill Repeats. We did a little under 8 miles. I am still a lot slower than everyone else running, but I feel like I've got so much faster compared to last year. I ended up finishing the workout by myself which was ok. I forget how beautiful it is to be on top of the mountain and over look Denver and it was a nice sight to take in by myself after a hard workout. When I got back to the parking lot I was pretty happy to see that Ryan left me a Ninjabread in my car door.
Wednesday - Trivia! I didn't run I went to trivia and the Japanese Honey Bees pulled out a last minute win by rocking the Christmas Carol final category.
Thursday - eek, another missed day. I was going to run at lunch, but I've been on the struggle bus every morning and ended up rushing to get myself to work on time. Therefore I did not pack stuff to run at lunch. After work we had a stitch and bitch so I was busy cooking and hanging. No run, but it was a fun night.
Friday - I knew I had to run today. 3 days off is no good for consistency. I did a short 5 mile run in the neighborhood. Not a lot of miles, but I'm super excited by my pace. When I do my afterwork runs I just try to get the miles in and not worry too much about my pace. I went into this run wanting to take it pretty fast and I did it.
Saturday - Santa Stampede! Jill and I are running the first race in the winter distance series!!! I'm super pumped for it, we get a Santa hat you guys! It's a 10k so I'm excited to run it as fast as I can.
I'm planning on a longer run Sunday, I don't know if the weather will be cooperative to get in a trail run but that'd be my preference. I think it will be a great challenge to run the 10k hard and be tired for my Sunday long run.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Idiots out wandering around
Now that I officially put my name into the Leadville 100 Lottery I need to get some serious training in. To help keep myself more accountable than my kitchen calendar, I'm going to update the weeks training hopefully each Friday. I won't be linking these posts to social media (other than this first one) so if you're super curious about my training you'll have to come here by your self.
I have some newer posts in the queue that I'm working on, so have no fear my philosophical musing on running will reappear once I get my writing and editing on.
WEEK ONE
December 7 - 13
Sunday: I was in Minnesota for my cousins wedding. Sunday's training consisted of eating brunch, taking a nap on my sisters love seat, going out to a fat italian dinner at a place my mom called "pantaloonees", and watching A Christmas Story the Musical. Yep...successfully training for the day after Leadville. (Author's note I did run 4ish miles on Saturday so that's not too bad for vacation)
Monday: I flew into Denver at 6:50am and went straight to work. I took a nap in my car. Came home and helped my mom set up her new iphone. Fell asleep before 9pm. Hey rest is important for good racing!
Tuesday: HILL REPEATS! 8ish miles up Rooney Valley trail followed by 10 shorts (5 running hard downhill 5 running hard uphill). The weather was amazing. I felt good overall, not much knee pain on the downhill which is a bonus. I'm still way slower than everyone else, but it was nice to have people at the top to run with.
Wednesday: 4ish miles during lunch. It was a struggle, the day after hills always seems harder and lunch runs are tough for me. I had some commitments after work so I wanted to make sure I got a run in even if it was a bit shorter.
Thursday: 6miles, normal loop in the hood. Felt a lot better than Wednesday.
Friday: Today is a rest day, I've had two cups of Denver Bike Cafe coffee so I'm pretty jittery.
Saturday: My training sheet says 18miles, but I haven't built up my mileage enough for that. To avoid injury the current plan is to try and do 10-13 miles on trail and then eat a lot of cookies and drink delicious beer at the ugly sweater cookie exchange party.
I have some newer posts in the queue that I'm working on, so have no fear my philosophical musing on running will reappear once I get my writing and editing on.
Leadville 100 / 2015 Running Season Training
WEEK ONE
December 7 - 13
Sunday: I was in Minnesota for my cousins wedding. Sunday's training consisted of eating brunch, taking a nap on my sisters love seat, going out to a fat italian dinner at a place my mom called "pantaloonees", and watching A Christmas Story the Musical. Yep...successfully training for the day after Leadville. (Author's note I did run 4ish miles on Saturday so that's not too bad for vacation)
Monday: I flew into Denver at 6:50am and went straight to work. I took a nap in my car. Came home and helped my mom set up her new iphone. Fell asleep before 9pm. Hey rest is important for good racing!
Tuesday: HILL REPEATS! 8ish miles up Rooney Valley trail followed by 10 shorts (5 running hard downhill 5 running hard uphill). The weather was amazing. I felt good overall, not much knee pain on the downhill which is a bonus. I'm still way slower than everyone else, but it was nice to have people at the top to run with.
Wednesday: 4ish miles during lunch. It was a struggle, the day after hills always seems harder and lunch runs are tough for me. I had some commitments after work so I wanted to make sure I got a run in even if it was a bit shorter.
Thursday: 6miles, normal loop in the hood. Felt a lot better than Wednesday.
Friday: Today is a rest day, I've had two cups of Denver Bike Cafe coffee so I'm pretty jittery.
Saturday: My training sheet says 18miles, but I haven't built up my mileage enough for that. To avoid injury the current plan is to try and do 10-13 miles on trail and then eat a lot of cookies and drink delicious beer at the ugly sweater cookie exchange party.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Shortest Fat Season Ever
We have a joke at the end of ultimate season that once you play your final game you start "fat" season (or fat week/fat month). It's more of an acknowledgment that you get to take a break from the last several months of working hard, giving up happy hours, and waking up early on Saturday mornings, etc. The end of September was my official start of "fat season" and I indulged it for the first few days. Until I went for a run, and I got hungry for running season. Then I saw this: Leadville 100.
There isn't much time to rest in between ultimate and running season. It's helpful that ultimate season keeps me in well enough shape that I can transition into running a bit easier, but mentally it can be a challenge. I'm basically trading one time consuming hobby for another. Add on the million other fun things to do in Colorado over the winter and the off-season of ultimate can be more of a time drain than the on.
I was lucky though to have a really good run first run so the mental hurdle of starting training wasn't too tall. It did get me thinking and I'd like to revisit a topic I've covered before; how to motivate your self to train when you really just want to sit on your couch, drink a beer, and watch House Hunters International on Hulu.
There are a few things that have helped me get out on a run in the past that I'm hoping to harness over the next few months. With the lessons I learned from the 50miler last summer I know I need to put in some longer hours on the trails and it's a bit daunting to think of the training road ahead. So this post is more of a self motivator, but I hope you can find something that may aid you going forward.
Sign up for a race
A great way to start running again is to sign up for a race. It gives you an end goal in mind, a finish line for training if that's what you need. It also motivates you to run for some higher purpose than just to run. I have a couple races on my docket for next year; Salida Run Through Time Marathon, Quad Rock 25mile. In addition to those I am hoping to get another crack at the North Fork 50miler and of course there's Leadville or another 100mile race. Those are all well and good, but they seem so far away. Even Salida, which is typically in March, seems far enough away that taking training seriously right now is difficult. I am looking into race that fall somewhere in the next few months to get me out and running, but sometimes even signing up for a race isn't quite enough of a push to get out on a Tuesday night.
Incentives.
I've admitted before that podcasts are my guilty pleasure when road running. On days when I'm feeling really sluggish or unmotivated it's an incentive to catch up on episodes of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. I typically only allow myself to listen to these podcasts on runs and I've found it to be quite a good motivator. I also recently picked up some great beer from Minnesota (Bells Two Hearted and a selection of Surly) with the caveat that I put in some miles before I can truly enjoy them.
Feeling shitty
While it might sound counter productive, whenever I'm feeling bad, especially stomach stuff bad, a run usually helps. I'm sure there's some sciencey stuff behind it, but all I know is if I'm feeling bad running it out often works. It's still difficult to go out on a run, but with the potential of feeling better and being able to do more fun things because you're feeling better is a nice perk. True, sometimes you don't feel any better, but I rarely feel any worse.
Being Weird
I read a quote that was posted by Grandma's Marathon on facebook "The days when you least feel like running are usually the days you need it the most". When all else fails I will sometimes, literally, chant "you're going for a run" in my car as I drive home from work. I don't let myself think about anything else and I just repeat, outloud, that I'm going on a run. I am not sure what people in the car next to me think, but it usually gets me focused enough on running that there is no other option when I get home but to put my shoes on. Perhaps by putting it out to the universe it's harder to say no when you unlock your front door?
Truth be told I'm about 50 parts excited and 50 parts terrified for what I'm hoping to accomplish next year so I'm also trying to harness that into a motivation to run. Right now I'm up to 8miles for a long run which means I have a ways to go, but I'll get there. If anything, I've started a google doc for Leadville so hit me up if you want to join my crew and I'll put your name on the list.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Second Chances
I've been thinking a lot about second chances. You don't often get a second chance to do something better, and when you do sometimes you miss it. It's not easy to get a second chance in relationships, your career, or your athletic dreams so if you do wouldn't you take it?
Races are a special thing, unlike other sporting events, you can get a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc chance at a race. Sure, the racing field changes, the weather can be different, but there's still you and the course and if you sign up, pay the fee, win the entry lottery, you do get another chance to take on the challenge. Running allows you the unique option to come back and see if you can best your demons and make a better imprint.
In ultimate we used to talk about your "last best chance". We never knew from year to year what the team would look like, what our competition would be, and if we as individuals had hit our "ultimate peak". That year, that game, that tournament, might be your last best chance to win a national championship. Unfortunately you don't know it until it's long passed. It may be your last best chance to qualify for Boston in your age group, it might be your last best chance to run a sub 5min mile. But you can often get another chance to run a better race (not always a faster race), but a better race.
A lot of people have asked me if I'll ever do a 50 miler again. The opinions from people ranging from "probably not right?" to "you better not" (my mom). I've gotten confused looks from people when I don't give a definitive no, or when I say not this year maybe next, or when I say well I want to do a 100 miler so probably. After suffering a lot in my 50 miler, and suffering even more in the weeks after, I can't help but think about how lucky I am to be able to give it another shot.
I'm not going to be a runner who wins races, so my best is running a race well. You get a lot of last best chances to be a smarter runner, a better runner. Sometimes that means winning sometimes it doesn't. I'm lucky that I still have the physical ability to train and the economic stability to enter races and travel to the start.
There are a lot of moments in life that everyone wishes they could do better or had done better. You don't have infinite chances as a runner, but you get a lot of them if you're willing to put in the work. I feel fortunate to get the chance to do it better and would feel like a fool not to take advantage of it. Wouldn't you?
Races are a special thing, unlike other sporting events, you can get a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc chance at a race. Sure, the racing field changes, the weather can be different, but there's still you and the course and if you sign up, pay the fee, win the entry lottery, you do get another chance to take on the challenge. Running allows you the unique option to come back and see if you can best your demons and make a better imprint.
In ultimate we used to talk about your "last best chance". We never knew from year to year what the team would look like, what our competition would be, and if we as individuals had hit our "ultimate peak". That year, that game, that tournament, might be your last best chance to win a national championship. Unfortunately you don't know it until it's long passed. It may be your last best chance to qualify for Boston in your age group, it might be your last best chance to run a sub 5min mile. But you can often get another chance to run a better race (not always a faster race), but a better race.
A lot of people have asked me if I'll ever do a 50 miler again. The opinions from people ranging from "probably not right?" to "you better not" (my mom). I've gotten confused looks from people when I don't give a definitive no, or when I say not this year maybe next, or when I say well I want to do a 100 miler so probably. After suffering a lot in my 50 miler, and suffering even more in the weeks after, I can't help but think about how lucky I am to be able to give it another shot.
I'm not going to be a runner who wins races, so my best is running a race well. You get a lot of last best chances to be a smarter runner, a better runner. Sometimes that means winning sometimes it doesn't. I'm lucky that I still have the physical ability to train and the economic stability to enter races and travel to the start.
There are a lot of moments in life that everyone wishes they could do better or had done better. You don't have infinite chances as a runner, but you get a lot of them if you're willing to put in the work. I feel fortunate to get the chance to do it better and would feel like a fool not to take advantage of it. Wouldn't you?
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Most Funnest Day Ever - or the 50mile recap
A lot can happen in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. A lot can happen to your body in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. A lot can happen in your brain in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. A lot can change in a person in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds.
To avoid being overly suspenseful, I finished the 50 miler. If you haven't guessed from the sentences above, it took me 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. I've struggled with the best way to sum up my experience, it's likely little bits and pieces of it will continue to trickle out through future blog posts. For the purpose of this post I'm going to take a page from one of my favorite podcasts; This American Life.
Each blog post I choose a theme and bring you stories on that theme. Today's theme; 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds.
Act 1: The little things. Over the course of 50 miles the little things add up.
Act 2: The fight. What happens when the brain, body, and stomach get into a fight?
Act 3: I get by with a little help from my friends. It's takes a village to finish a race, and sometimes a little rolling rock.
ACT I - The Little Things
This wasn't my first race. It wasn't my first ultra. It wasn't even the first time I was faced with spending many many hours out in the hot sun on my feet having to perform athletic awesomeness. Good performance is about nutrition, hydration, mental toughness, and physical preparedness and ability. I had all of these for the race. I had my go to nutrition - Gu gels as well as countless other things in my drop bags to supplement at aid stations. I had my go to hydration - salt bills and water mixed with HEED enduralite powder which packed electolytes as well as 300cal of per serving. I had mental toughness - I've been through enough shitty training runs and races to know I could get through a lot to finish. I had trained, I had worked for this. I was ready. Then things started happening...
It started out small. I tried to pass someone on a flat section at the beginning of the course and took a fall. Nothing major, but I had scraped my knee up good and could feel some soreness in my knees and ankle.
I stuck to my one Gu an hour plan and at about mile 8/10 I was ready to down my second Gu - strawberry banana. I ripped open the package and started oozing it into my mouth and had the immediate reaction of wanting to vomit. I managed to choke the rest of it down, but it was brutal.
I made it to the mile 10.1 Homestead aid station and had Becca and Andy fill my waterbottle with HEED. It had some other HEED already in it, a different flavor, but I didn't really care much what it tasted like. I took off for Buffalo Creek aid station and my first drop bag stop.
I tried my third gu, it took my 20+ minutes to finish it, dribble by dribble into my mouth. Ugh...why did it make me want to puke?
The climb between mile 16 and mile 22 was tough, lots of walking. Lots of stomach pains. Not a lot of food/fuel.
I decided that the HEED was no longer working for me, I ran the section between mile 22 and mile 31.9 with only water and the food I managed to eat at the Rolling Creek Aid station (some watermelon, a piece of a candy bar, a part of a banana).
It was all those things, added up, that caught up to me from mile 31.9 on. The lack of fuel intake while running made it hard to find the energy to go faster. Since I was going slower, it also meant it took longer to get to aid stations where I was able to intake fuel. Can you see the pattern? I was unable to eat I know that had a huge impact on me, especially later in the race. I hadn't planned on having to come up with an alternative to fueling on the go, Gu has never given me trouble before. The HEED thing was weird too, I had done a lot of training runs with different mixtures and it always gave me confidence that I was getting in calories through hydration. Not being able to ingest the two things I've always counted on was rough and it hurt me at the end of the race. I'm sure, looking at my splits, the steep decline as soon as the lack of proper fuel kicked in was monumental.
ACT II - The fight.
Let me give you an taste of what my body, mind, and stomach were going through during the race in the form of a dialogue.
Stomach - Yeah, so I don't like what you're putting in me so if it's ok with you I'm just going to hurt here until it's gone.
Body - Well, we had an agreement Stomach. I'd put things in you and you'd turn it into energy so I could work.
Stomach - I know, but I changed my mind on what you can put in me. I want pickles right now and nothing else.
Mind - I'm trying to ask for pickles, but different words are coming out of my mouth.
Mind - oh, I got it, "Pickles, I need PICKLES". - what there are no pickles left? Oh...
Stomach - well I guess I could eat a banana and some chips, but it's pretty lame.
Body - Everything hurts a lot
Mind - well we need to keep going. This section is flat we should run
Body - nah, I've set everything on cruise control at an 18 minute mile so we're just going to do that for the rest of the race.
Mind - but the time cut-offs, we need to make the cut-offs!
Body - yep, 18 minute mile, ONE SPEED FOR EVERYTHING
Mind - I can override your system and make the legs go faster
Body - pretty sure you can't, I put a block on that, you no longer have control over your legs
Mind - I want ice, why do I keep saying salt?
Body - I have to pee
Mind - really, again?
Body - I have to pee NOW
Mind - ok, ok, go pee
Body - I forgot about the chaffing.
Mind - I don't know if I can finish
Body - well I'm just going to keep moving forward whether you tell me to or not
Mind - I don't know if I'll make the cut-offs
Body - ok we can try to go a little faster sometimes, stomach can you send me something?
Stomach - .....
Body - Stomach are you there?
Stomach - fu
Mind - There's .4miles to go, we're running
Body - fine
Stomach - fu
ACT III - I get by with a little help from my friends.
It literally took a village for me to finish this race. It took three friends and one dog to get me to and from the race. Of which I'm so thankful for. Kate, Spencer, Jimmy, and Atila can tell you what sorts of trouble they can get into for 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. The aid station people gave me food, ice, comfort, a chair. But more so they gave me something to look forward to every 4-6 miles. Knowing that I was one stop closer to actually stopping. Even if they ran out of pickles. Ryan had a beer for me at mile 46.2. At that was amazing, also because he had a chair for me to drink it in. I did drink it, only about 1/4 of it. But it was a delicious, cold Rolling Rock. Liz made sure I ate food at the aid station, even though I didn't want to. She gave me a hunk of some weird candy bar and the whole aid station cheered me on as I climbed back out and on with the race. Janice the race coordinator at the finish. Despite being the 2nd to last person to finish the race, they cheered with what I can only imagine was the same enthusiasm as when the first person crossed the finish line. And then she hugged me. Sweaty, tired, emotional wrecked me.
Erin - without whom I don't think I could finish it. I didn't know Erin until I met her at Mile 22. She joined me at mile 31.9 and spent some very intimate time with me for the next 6 hours. She went from being a friend of Liz who was interested in pacing, to someone who I couldn't live without. She put up with my brain refusing to work and freaking me out, my mood swings of optimism to crabby, and anything weird that my body was going through at any given moment which was a lot. We talked, we cheered when we saw a trail sign, we joked about obsessive compulsive tendencies like counting steps, and there was no question in my mind I wanted her to cross the finish line with me at the end.
Epilogue - Dehydration is a horrible
I thought I was in ok shape the day after the race. I had trouble eating breakfast, but I felt ok. Drank a few beers, took a nap, watched soccer. I was sore and just assumed that was that. Then I was flung into a pit of horribleness. I referred to myself as the walking dead for the next week. I was not prepared for the late onset dehydration, which Erin informed me can come on 2-3 days after a race. It was like I had the flu, without the comfort of knowing how to treat it or when it would end. I was chilled, I even have a small burn on my foot from putting a bottle of hot water on my skin to try and warm it up. I had weird fever thoughts when I tried to go to bed at night. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't speak well or articulate my thoughts, and I couldn't eat. I managed to get down a bowl of ramen type noodles thanks to Dan and Allison and a couple vitamin waters. I'm happy to report that things are much better. Everything except for the food part. I've managed to start eating some more meals, but it's sad to not be able to eat normally like I am used to and love to. It's improving, but just at a slower rate than I want.
Will I ever do it again? - Time will tell. I will say that this was an awesome race, well organized, well put on, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to attempt it.
To avoid being overly suspenseful, I finished the 50 miler. If you haven't guessed from the sentences above, it took me 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. I've struggled with the best way to sum up my experience, it's likely little bits and pieces of it will continue to trickle out through future blog posts. For the purpose of this post I'm going to take a page from one of my favorite podcasts; This American Life.
Each blog post I choose a theme and bring you stories on that theme. Today's theme; 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds.
Act 1: The little things. Over the course of 50 miles the little things add up.
Act 2: The fight. What happens when the brain, body, and stomach get into a fight?
Act 3: I get by with a little help from my friends. It's takes a village to finish a race, and sometimes a little rolling rock.
ACT I - The Little Things
This wasn't my first race. It wasn't my first ultra. It wasn't even the first time I was faced with spending many many hours out in the hot sun on my feet having to perform athletic awesomeness. Good performance is about nutrition, hydration, mental toughness, and physical preparedness and ability. I had all of these for the race. I had my go to nutrition - Gu gels as well as countless other things in my drop bags to supplement at aid stations. I had my go to hydration - salt bills and water mixed with HEED enduralite powder which packed electolytes as well as 300cal of per serving. I had mental toughness - I've been through enough shitty training runs and races to know I could get through a lot to finish. I had trained, I had worked for this. I was ready. Then things started happening...
It started out small. I tried to pass someone on a flat section at the beginning of the course and took a fall. Nothing major, but I had scraped my knee up good and could feel some soreness in my knees and ankle.
I stuck to my one Gu an hour plan and at about mile 8/10 I was ready to down my second Gu - strawberry banana. I ripped open the package and started oozing it into my mouth and had the immediate reaction of wanting to vomit. I managed to choke the rest of it down, but it was brutal.
I made it to the mile 10.1 Homestead aid station and had Becca and Andy fill my waterbottle with HEED. It had some other HEED already in it, a different flavor, but I didn't really care much what it tasted like. I took off for Buffalo Creek aid station and my first drop bag stop.
I tried my third gu, it took my 20+ minutes to finish it, dribble by dribble into my mouth. Ugh...why did it make me want to puke?
The climb between mile 16 and mile 22 was tough, lots of walking. Lots of stomach pains. Not a lot of food/fuel.
I decided that the HEED was no longer working for me, I ran the section between mile 22 and mile 31.9 with only water and the food I managed to eat at the Rolling Creek Aid station (some watermelon, a piece of a candy bar, a part of a banana).
It was all those things, added up, that caught up to me from mile 31.9 on. The lack of fuel intake while running made it hard to find the energy to go faster. Since I was going slower, it also meant it took longer to get to aid stations where I was able to intake fuel. Can you see the pattern? I was unable to eat I know that had a huge impact on me, especially later in the race. I hadn't planned on having to come up with an alternative to fueling on the go, Gu has never given me trouble before. The HEED thing was weird too, I had done a lot of training runs with different mixtures and it always gave me confidence that I was getting in calories through hydration. Not being able to ingest the two things I've always counted on was rough and it hurt me at the end of the race. I'm sure, looking at my splits, the steep decline as soon as the lack of proper fuel kicked in was monumental.
ACT II - The fight.
Let me give you an taste of what my body, mind, and stomach were going through during the race in the form of a dialogue.
Stomach - Yeah, so I don't like what you're putting in me so if it's ok with you I'm just going to hurt here until it's gone.
Body - Well, we had an agreement Stomach. I'd put things in you and you'd turn it into energy so I could work.
Stomach - I know, but I changed my mind on what you can put in me. I want pickles right now and nothing else.
Mind - I'm trying to ask for pickles, but different words are coming out of my mouth.
Mind - oh, I got it, "Pickles, I need PICKLES". - what there are no pickles left? Oh...
Stomach - well I guess I could eat a banana and some chips, but it's pretty lame.
Body - Everything hurts a lot
Mind - well we need to keep going. This section is flat we should run
Body - nah, I've set everything on cruise control at an 18 minute mile so we're just going to do that for the rest of the race.
Mind - but the time cut-offs, we need to make the cut-offs!
Body - yep, 18 minute mile, ONE SPEED FOR EVERYTHING
Mind - I can override your system and make the legs go faster
Body - pretty sure you can't, I put a block on that, you no longer have control over your legs
Mind - I want ice, why do I keep saying salt?
Body - I have to pee
Mind - really, again?
Body - I have to pee NOW
Mind - ok, ok, go pee
Body - I forgot about the chaffing.
Mind - I don't know if I can finish
Body - well I'm just going to keep moving forward whether you tell me to or not
Mind - I don't know if I'll make the cut-offs
Body - ok we can try to go a little faster sometimes, stomach can you send me something?
Stomach - .....
Body - Stomach are you there?
Stomach - fu
Mind - There's .4miles to go, we're running
Body - fine
Stomach - fu
ACT III - I get by with a little help from my friends.
It literally took a village for me to finish this race. It took three friends and one dog to get me to and from the race. Of which I'm so thankful for. Kate, Spencer, Jimmy, and Atila can tell you what sorts of trouble they can get into for 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. The aid station people gave me food, ice, comfort, a chair. But more so they gave me something to look forward to every 4-6 miles. Knowing that I was one stop closer to actually stopping. Even if they ran out of pickles. Ryan had a beer for me at mile 46.2. At that was amazing, also because he had a chair for me to drink it in. I did drink it, only about 1/4 of it. But it was a delicious, cold Rolling Rock. Liz made sure I ate food at the aid station, even though I didn't want to. She gave me a hunk of some weird candy bar and the whole aid station cheered me on as I climbed back out and on with the race. Janice the race coordinator at the finish. Despite being the 2nd to last person to finish the race, they cheered with what I can only imagine was the same enthusiasm as when the first person crossed the finish line. And then she hugged me. Sweaty, tired, emotional wrecked me.
Erin - without whom I don't think I could finish it. I didn't know Erin until I met her at Mile 22. She joined me at mile 31.9 and spent some very intimate time with me for the next 6 hours. She went from being a friend of Liz who was interested in pacing, to someone who I couldn't live without. She put up with my brain refusing to work and freaking me out, my mood swings of optimism to crabby, and anything weird that my body was going through at any given moment which was a lot. We talked, we cheered when we saw a trail sign, we joked about obsessive compulsive tendencies like counting steps, and there was no question in my mind I wanted her to cross the finish line with me at the end.
Epilogue - Dehydration is a horrible
I thought I was in ok shape the day after the race. I had trouble eating breakfast, but I felt ok. Drank a few beers, took a nap, watched soccer. I was sore and just assumed that was that. Then I was flung into a pit of horribleness. I referred to myself as the walking dead for the next week. I was not prepared for the late onset dehydration, which Erin informed me can come on 2-3 days after a race. It was like I had the flu, without the comfort of knowing how to treat it or when it would end. I was chilled, I even have a small burn on my foot from putting a bottle of hot water on my skin to try and warm it up. I had weird fever thoughts when I tried to go to bed at night. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't speak well or articulate my thoughts, and I couldn't eat. I managed to get down a bowl of ramen type noodles thanks to Dan and Allison and a couple vitamin waters. I'm happy to report that things are much better. Everything except for the food part. I've managed to start eating some more meals, but it's sad to not be able to eat normally like I am used to and love to. It's improving, but just at a slower rate than I want.
Will I ever do it again? - Time will tell. I will say that this was an awesome race, well organized, well put on, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to attempt it.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
NorthFork 50 preview
When I first started writing a couple years ago I never really thought I'd get to the day where I'd be doing final prep for my first 50miler.
It seemed like such an abstract thing that would happen in the future at some point, not something that was going to happen this Saturday at 7am. The realness of it all sunk in this past weekend as I prepared a novel length email for my friend Kate who is schlepping me to and from the race. I calculated estimated times for aid stations in case she wanted to catch me on the course and then it hit me, come Saturday I'd be actually doing it.
This past weekend was a flurry of errands. Here's what I got:
I wanted to have something to look forward to eat in my drop bags. Unfortunately it's tough when you're at an aid station and the only protein options is turkey or peanut butter. I've eaten tempeh "bacon" during ultimate tournaments before it provided the right amount of salty, chewy, protein that I needed. I figured it'd be worth a shot and I don't really need to worry about keeping it cold. I've got a couple other things on my list to get but I put a good dent on Saturday.
Unfortunately my body is rebelling against me right now and I'm trying to fight off the early stages of a cold (stuffy nose, scratchy throat etc). I purchased some zinc tablets and some throat lozenges and have been pounding those and Vitamin C, here's hoping for a full recovery before Saturday.
I went through the race website and put together all the info regarding elevation, turn by turn navigation, course map, estimated times etc. I'm going to make a pace card for myself to show me at each aid station what the estimated time should be for a 10hr race (ohhh how ambitious!) a 12hr race (the goal) and a 14hr race (the cut offs). I figured a 10hr estimation would give me some motivation or remind me to slow down a bit if I'm going to fast. Also I want to make sure I can actually spend some time in the aid stations so this give me an idea of when I need to be heading back out on the course.
Course Thoughts
I've been able to run a few sections of the course now which will be a big help. In total I've run about 38 miles of the 50mile course. There are some good climbs, but nothing compared to what you see at Quad Rock. The total elevation gain is 7,350 feet over the course of the race. Here's what it looks like:
So pretty consistent up and down with a long downhill at the end. The race is almost entirely on single track with a few "service road" type sections that don't take up too much of the course. I remember the downhills being really fast and fun and I can't wait to stretch out my legs on them. Ideally I will have run a smart enough race I'll be able to run the section between the Meadows (miles 22.3 through 31.9) and final downhill. The climb from Buffalo Creek to Homestead isn't crazy steep, but it's long and I remember feeling tired doing it during the last training run.
There's some pretty hot, exposed sections of the course due to the two large wildfires that cut through the area in the past. I've been warned by a lot of past runners that these sections are hot, long and brutal. Especially during the heat of the day. I haven't settled on exactly how I am going to handle these sections, but I have some thoughts.
Temps are looking good for the day, the high is 74 and the low is 46. There are no storms predicted, but it's Colorado so it will for sure rain/thunder/hail at some point during the race. Perhaps I'll get lucky and it will be on another part of the course, or perhaps I will get lucky and the rain will come as I run through the burn areas. I'm also packing a lot of salt pills and will be taking those often.
Additional Gear thoughts:
I am still figuring out what to wear on race day. I've really enjoyed my new patagonia shorts, their pockets are good and they have a nice back pocket which my old ones do not. I do think it would be wise not to try and shove M&Ms in the butt pocket despite their thick candy shell.
I bought some additional icebreaker shirts/tanks and will likely pack a tank in one of my drop bags but start out wearing a shirt and probably arm warmers if it is in the low 40s at the start time. I am going to pack in my camelbak or in my drop bags the following:
 |
| You paid money to run 50 miles? |
This past weekend was a flurry of errands. Here's what I got:
- 12 gels (10 Gu brand, 2 Honey Stinger fruit smoothie because they are delicious)
- 6 packs of gu chomps various flavors some with caffeine
- smokey tempeh (for protein in my drop bag)
- salmon jerky (for protein in my drop bag)
- a cheap watch (because I lost my other one)
- KT tape - I don't know if I'll use it or not, but it was on sale at Target
- gallon zipper close plastic baggies
- blister bandaid strips
- sunscreen.
I wanted to have something to look forward to eat in my drop bags. Unfortunately it's tough when you're at an aid station and the only protein options is turkey or peanut butter. I've eaten tempeh "bacon" during ultimate tournaments before it provided the right amount of salty, chewy, protein that I needed. I figured it'd be worth a shot and I don't really need to worry about keeping it cold. I've got a couple other things on my list to get but I put a good dent on Saturday.
Unfortunately my body is rebelling against me right now and I'm trying to fight off the early stages of a cold (stuffy nose, scratchy throat etc). I purchased some zinc tablets and some throat lozenges and have been pounding those and Vitamin C, here's hoping for a full recovery before Saturday.
I went through the race website and put together all the info regarding elevation, turn by turn navigation, course map, estimated times etc. I'm going to make a pace card for myself to show me at each aid station what the estimated time should be for a 10hr race (ohhh how ambitious!) a 12hr race (the goal) and a 14hr race (the cut offs). I figured a 10hr estimation would give me some motivation or remind me to slow down a bit if I'm going to fast. Also I want to make sure I can actually spend some time in the aid stations so this give me an idea of when I need to be heading back out on the course.
Course Thoughts
I've been able to run a few sections of the course now which will be a big help. In total I've run about 38 miles of the 50mile course. There are some good climbs, but nothing compared to what you see at Quad Rock. The total elevation gain is 7,350 feet over the course of the race. Here's what it looks like:
So pretty consistent up and down with a long downhill at the end. The race is almost entirely on single track with a few "service road" type sections that don't take up too much of the course. I remember the downhills being really fast and fun and I can't wait to stretch out my legs on them. Ideally I will have run a smart enough race I'll be able to run the section between the Meadows (miles 22.3 through 31.9) and final downhill. The climb from Buffalo Creek to Homestead isn't crazy steep, but it's long and I remember feeling tired doing it during the last training run.
There's some pretty hot, exposed sections of the course due to the two large wildfires that cut through the area in the past. I've been warned by a lot of past runners that these sections are hot, long and brutal. Especially during the heat of the day. I haven't settled on exactly how I am going to handle these sections, but I have some thoughts.
- A hat, I'm going to wear a hat, probably for most of the race.
- A camelbak, I never got a fancy new hydration pack, but I've been running with the trusty camelbak for awhile now and it's been fine. I thought about just doing a water bottle since the aid stations are close enough to refuel, but I'd rather have more water, maps, food then needed and the extra water can be doused on my hat and put on my head for a quick cook down.
- Bandannas, I am thinking of packing some in the drop bags to dunk in water at aid stations or put ice in if they have it to get through some hot sections.
Temps are looking good for the day, the high is 74 and the low is 46. There are no storms predicted, but it's Colorado so it will for sure rain/thunder/hail at some point during the race. Perhaps I'll get lucky and it will be on another part of the course, or perhaps I will get lucky and the rain will come as I run through the burn areas. I'm also packing a lot of salt pills and will be taking those often.
Additional Gear thoughts:
I am still figuring out what to wear on race day. I've really enjoyed my new patagonia shorts, their pockets are good and they have a nice back pocket which my old ones do not. I do think it would be wise not to try and shove M&Ms in the butt pocket despite their thick candy shell.
 |
| I think you're brain has a thick candy shell |
- a jacket
- ankle brace
- long sleeve
- extra socks
- winter hat
- gloves
- maybe pants. I highly doubt I'll need pants, but it's better to have them in a drop bag just in case.
Goals
So really, my ultimate goal for this race is to finish. It's my first 50miler and crossing the finish line will be the best thing ever. I'm sure I'll be all weird and emotional when I get to the paved path around the lake at the very end, knowing that I can stumble into the finish. Finishing will be huge, really that's the biggest and most important goal for me. I do have some secondary goals:
- Finish in 12 hrs. I think with my training this is doable. If I feel good I see no reason why I can't make this happen
- Focus on my self and not get distracted. As we'd say on Molly Brown "IRRELEVANT", I'm going to focus on me, running, food and liquids. I am not going to worry about other runners or other people on the course and just be there because ultimately it's my two legs that will do the race.
- Not throw-up. I don't like throwing up and that just sounds really unpleasant.
- Drink a beer at the last aid station - Andy Jung said he'd have a cold one waiting. Hopefully by completing this goal I won't fail at the preceding goal.
- Be proud of myself, no matter what happens I'm proud that I took on this challenge.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Getting rid of setbacks, it's ok to divert
Life is full of things that get in the way of the plan, or sometimes even things that completely blow your plan up into little pieces. Thankfully for me my most recent occurrence is the former and not the latter, but it can still be frustrating.
Against my better judgment, as the start of any good story begins, I played ultimate last week. I was at a tryout for a team called Mesteno and stupidly rolled my ankle.
I say "stupidly" because I didn't roll it doing something awesome. I did it after I stopped and went to turn around to go back in line. I have pretty loose ankles, but I felt a pop as it happened. I immediately felt pain, hobbled over to the sideline and put it up with ice. The ice in this case was an ice block and a Tecate compliments of Tower. Tower made me drink the Tecate that was on my foot later, which I was ok with.
I rested a bit and then my next stupid decision was to go out and play more. It actually felt ok. I could "feel" it, but it wasn't hurting me to do normal frisbee motions. I iced more when I got home and did the typical athelete self diagnosis of looking up "how to treat a rolled ankle" on the internet. From my research I think I have a mild sprain. There wasn't significant swelling, but there's a little bruising. So ice, arnica, and rest. I'm not going to lie, it hurt the next day, but at least it didn't really look any worse.
It's been almost a week now and I'm happy to report that things are doing better in the ankle department. I purchased a beefy ankle brace for future ultimate endeavors which, if anything, puts my mind at ease. I went on a long training run on Saturday (22miles) at the race course and it felt fine. There were little pains here and there, but nothing more than the usual. The run allowed me lots of time to think about what happened is I realized that I hate the term "setback".
I don't like the word setback. On face value it oozes negativity. Hearing setback makes me immediately think, "it's going to set you back and that's bad". In reality, training is full of things that divert you from the exact plan; weather, sickness, injury, or forgetting your shoes. When something happens that disrupts training it's too easy to focus on the negative and what happened. It's most important to focus on what you can do in the moment and in the future. On Molly Brown we talked a lot about relevance/irrelevance, or things we have control over and things we don't. Being able to separate it out and realign your focus into what you can do in that moment means you're thinking with a forward motion in mind. It's irrelevant to focus on rolling my ankle, it is relevant for me to focus on how to protect it in the future and how I can heal myself to get out and start running again. Dwelling on it as a setback only focuses on what happened. I would rather focus on what can I do next.
The word setback immediately sounds like focusing on the past, or focusing on something I cannot change. Even saying the word implies the past. I can't change that I hurt my ankle, but I can focus on what to do today and tomorrow to continue to prepare for my race. So I took a day off, I kept icing, I bought a brace, then I put socks on, laced up my shoes, and ran.
Rolling my ankle caused me to modify my training for a few days, but there are countless other things that have done that throughout the course of my running career. Saying setback means I can't move forward, but acknowledging that sometimes things disrupt your training gives you the control to keep moving forward. Therefore I don't see this as a setback, I just see it as training. Just as a thunderstorm keeping you inside for the afternoon, or a deadline at work that has to get done when you're training for a race it's all part of the package. Maybe that's why training programs are so long, because we all know that at least once or twice you're week plan is going to get thrown and you have to adapt.
*I'm less than a month out from race day!
Against my better judgment, as the start of any good story begins, I played ultimate last week. I was at a tryout for a team called Mesteno and stupidly rolled my ankle.
I say "stupidly" because I didn't roll it doing something awesome. I did it after I stopped and went to turn around to go back in line. I have pretty loose ankles, but I felt a pop as it happened. I immediately felt pain, hobbled over to the sideline and put it up with ice. The ice in this case was an ice block and a Tecate compliments of Tower. Tower made me drink the Tecate that was on my foot later, which I was ok with.
I rested a bit and then my next stupid decision was to go out and play more. It actually felt ok. I could "feel" it, but it wasn't hurting me to do normal frisbee motions. I iced more when I got home and did the typical athelete self diagnosis of looking up "how to treat a rolled ankle" on the internet. From my research I think I have a mild sprain. There wasn't significant swelling, but there's a little bruising. So ice, arnica, and rest. I'm not going to lie, it hurt the next day, but at least it didn't really look any worse.
It's been almost a week now and I'm happy to report that things are doing better in the ankle department. I purchased a beefy ankle brace for future ultimate endeavors which, if anything, puts my mind at ease. I went on a long training run on Saturday (22miles) at the race course and it felt fine. There were little pains here and there, but nothing more than the usual. The run allowed me lots of time to think about what happened is I realized that I hate the term "setback".
I don't like the word setback. On face value it oozes negativity. Hearing setback makes me immediately think, "it's going to set you back and that's bad". In reality, training is full of things that divert you from the exact plan; weather, sickness, injury, or forgetting your shoes. When something happens that disrupts training it's too easy to focus on the negative and what happened. It's most important to focus on what you can do in the moment and in the future. On Molly Brown we talked a lot about relevance/irrelevance, or things we have control over and things we don't. Being able to separate it out and realign your focus into what you can do in that moment means you're thinking with a forward motion in mind. It's irrelevant to focus on rolling my ankle, it is relevant for me to focus on how to protect it in the future and how I can heal myself to get out and start running again. Dwelling on it as a setback only focuses on what happened. I would rather focus on what can I do next.
The word setback immediately sounds like focusing on the past, or focusing on something I cannot change. Even saying the word implies the past. I can't change that I hurt my ankle, but I can focus on what to do today and tomorrow to continue to prepare for my race. So I took a day off, I kept icing, I bought a brace, then I put socks on, laced up my shoes, and ran.
Rolling my ankle caused me to modify my training for a few days, but there are countless other things that have done that throughout the course of my running career. Saying setback means I can't move forward, but acknowledging that sometimes things disrupt your training gives you the control to keep moving forward. Therefore I don't see this as a setback, I just see it as training. Just as a thunderstorm keeping you inside for the afternoon, or a deadline at work that has to get done when you're training for a race it's all part of the package. Maybe that's why training programs are so long, because we all know that at least once or twice you're week plan is going to get thrown and you have to adapt.
*I'm less than a month out from race day!
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