Well, this post will probably be a bit boring so I apologize in advance. I've had two solid training weeks with the new coach. The highlight of the week was, once again, the tempo run. This time he had a 5 x 1 mile at 6:20 pace on the schedule with 2 minutes rest in between. I must admit that the tempo run puts fear into me. I decided to try the run on the treadmill to keep my pace even. I managed to do 2 x 1 mile on the treadmill at 6:15 pace, but since I hadn't run on a treadmill in years I decided I needed to do the last 3 on the Y indoor track so I didn't have a nasty accident on the treadmill. I managed the last 3 in 6:15, 6:30 and 6:30. I needed 3 to 4 minutes of rest in between each one though.
I ended up with 50 running miles for the week including a 20.5 mile long run today in 3 hours. I'm awaiting next week's schedule to see what's on tap. I do have a 50k scheduled next week as part of my training to work on pacing and fueling. For those who are interested, you can check out my workouts on my sidebar under my Attackpoint log.
That's all I have. Happy Running!
"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'."
-Paul Tergat, Kenyan professional marathoner
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Quality vs. Quantity
Well, I've made a change. A good change I would say. It came to me on the 3rd day of the 4 in 4 attempt that the amount of time it takes to get out and run multiple events and reach another star level within the Maniacs just doesn't make sense. This made me question what I really wanted out of my running. What do I want? The answer is simple. I want to run to my potential.
My life is busy. Teaching takes all the mental energy I have stored in my brain. I came to the decision that I really want someone to tell me what to do and when to do it. I want someone to make a schedule for me, help me with my nutrition while on the run, make sure I am running the pace I should be rather than taking it easy all the time and also make me feel like an athlete again.
I asked a dear friend about possibilites for a good coach and she pointed me towards Paul Dewitt. I definitely knew the name so I looked him up, sent him an e-mail and before I knew it I had a coach.
It's only week one, but yesterday I felt like an athlete again. A 20 minute tempo run yielded a 5k, which is a 6:26 pace. Paul had targeted my tempo pace at 6:25 and I was a bit nervous about the workout. I had negative thoughts about my ability to run that pace for 20 minutes, but remained positive. I went out too fast the first 2 miles, but I held on. After the cool down I was spent. It felt good!
I have targeted the Pacific Rim 24 hour run as my first goal race and am excited by the possibilities.
"Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training and some are not."George Sheehan
My life is busy. Teaching takes all the mental energy I have stored in my brain. I came to the decision that I really want someone to tell me what to do and when to do it. I want someone to make a schedule for me, help me with my nutrition while on the run, make sure I am running the pace I should be rather than taking it easy all the time and also make me feel like an athlete again.
I asked a dear friend about possibilites for a good coach and she pointed me towards Paul Dewitt. I definitely knew the name so I looked him up, sent him an e-mail and before I knew it I had a coach.
It's only week one, but yesterday I felt like an athlete again. A 20 minute tempo run yielded a 5k, which is a 6:26 pace. Paul had targeted my tempo pace at 6:25 and I was a bit nervous about the workout. I had negative thoughts about my ability to run that pace for 20 minutes, but remained positive. I went out too fast the first 2 miles, but I held on. After the cool down I was spent. It felt good!
I have targeted the Pacific Rim 24 hour run as my first goal race and am excited by the possibilities.
"Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training and some are not."George Sheehan
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Bridle Trails 50k Mudfest
Another year, another 50k at Bridle Trails. The course is a 5 mile loop on mostly single track trail that is used as a trail for horses as well as runners, hikers, etc. The trail is mostly flat with a few short climbs, but runnable the entire way. There are lots of twists and turns and a nice variety of inclines, declines and completely flat.
The plan was to run with Jenny and Steve and get in a good training run. The race started at 3:10 p.m. for 50kers, which meant 2 loops in the "light" and 4 loops in the dark. We started off at a decent pace clumped in with a decent sized pack, which kept us moving. It had just started raining when the race began and the trail was fairly dry for Bridle Trails standards. We chatted along the way and came through the first loop in about 49 minutes. I used the restroom, fueled up and we were back out for loop 2 in about 52 minutes.
Loop 2 we decided to slow down a bit, but not too much. We were holding a good pace and the rain was steady. Nothing too exciting on this loop other than me and Steve decided to do it without headlamps and it did get a bit dark especially when we were in a lot of tree cover. We made it through though in about 52 minutes or so and spent about 3-5 minutes in transition.
Loop 3 was the turning point as far as the darkness and the trail changing in form a bit. The rain kept going and the trail kept getting muddier. At night the mud morphs into different forms and becomes a bit more difficult to run on. We kept the pace steady and slowed down to about 55 minutes of running time and continued with 3-5 minutes on the transitions, probably closer to 5 minutes.
Loop 4 the rain kept coming and the course kept getting muddier. The talk was at a minimum and we were all focused on our footing and making it around for another loop. Our running felt real steady and the only thing that was hurting us was our transition times, which can be blamed on me. By loop 4 I think my stomach had finally settled and I felt much better in that regard.
Loop 5 we managed to stay steady and keep the walking to a minimum. There were fewer and fewer runners each loop, but that feeling of being done was starting to fester inside me. My mental attitude was good and I never felt mentally down the entire run. I did manage to take a nice head first slide in the mud on loop 5. I was lucky that I didn't face plant and my years of baseball helped me keep good form and relive some of my childhood memories of baseball practice in the rain and the coach letting us practice our sliding. There was definitely a sense of playfulness out there being able to stomp directly through the puddles, or rivers of mud and not have my mother there yelling at me to stay clean. I can't remember if she ever did that, but you get the picture.
Loop 6 was the slowest of them all and was more of a fast walk for me. Steve was able to run and I plodded along. My legs had tightened up and it may have just been a lack of calories or tired legs. Regardless, I felt good and was happy to almost be done. We came through the finish in around 6 hours and 30 minutes. The rain never slowed down, until we left of course. This was actually one of my most pleasurable experiences at Bridle Trails. I think it was the company and the fairly consistent loops that helped out. Even though it was very wet and muddy, it was "fun." Let's do it again next year.
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." ~Buddha
The plan was to run with Jenny and Steve and get in a good training run. The race started at 3:10 p.m. for 50kers, which meant 2 loops in the "light" and 4 loops in the dark. We started off at a decent pace clumped in with a decent sized pack, which kept us moving. It had just started raining when the race began and the trail was fairly dry for Bridle Trails standards. We chatted along the way and came through the first loop in about 49 minutes. I used the restroom, fueled up and we were back out for loop 2 in about 52 minutes.
Loop 2 we decided to slow down a bit, but not too much. We were holding a good pace and the rain was steady. Nothing too exciting on this loop other than me and Steve decided to do it without headlamps and it did get a bit dark especially when we were in a lot of tree cover. We made it through though in about 52 minutes or so and spent about 3-5 minutes in transition.
Loop 3 was the turning point as far as the darkness and the trail changing in form a bit. The rain kept going and the trail kept getting muddier. At night the mud morphs into different forms and becomes a bit more difficult to run on. We kept the pace steady and slowed down to about 55 minutes of running time and continued with 3-5 minutes on the transitions, probably closer to 5 minutes.
Loop 4 the rain kept coming and the course kept getting muddier. The talk was at a minimum and we were all focused on our footing and making it around for another loop. Our running felt real steady and the only thing that was hurting us was our transition times, which can be blamed on me. By loop 4 I think my stomach had finally settled and I felt much better in that regard.
Loop 5 we managed to stay steady and keep the walking to a minimum. There were fewer and fewer runners each loop, but that feeling of being done was starting to fester inside me. My mental attitude was good and I never felt mentally down the entire run. I did manage to take a nice head first slide in the mud on loop 5. I was lucky that I didn't face plant and my years of baseball helped me keep good form and relive some of my childhood memories of baseball practice in the rain and the coach letting us practice our sliding. There was definitely a sense of playfulness out there being able to stomp directly through the puddles, or rivers of mud and not have my mother there yelling at me to stay clean. I can't remember if she ever did that, but you get the picture.
Loop 6 was the slowest of them all and was more of a fast walk for me. Steve was able to run and I plodded along. My legs had tightened up and it may have just been a lack of calories or tired legs. Regardless, I felt good and was happy to almost be done. We came through the finish in around 6 hours and 30 minutes. The rain never slowed down, until we left of course. This was actually one of my most pleasurable experiences at Bridle Trails. I think it was the company and the fairly consistent loops that helped out. Even though it was very wet and muddy, it was "fun." Let's do it again next year.
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." ~Buddha
Saturday, January 03, 2009
I'm Just a Moron
I feel the need to explain. Day three didn't last long, but it wasn't due to a physical limitation. There was already a sense of doubt about how long both days were going to take and being gone from home on the final weekend before school returns to normal started to weigh on me. Also, Tyler's (my son's) birthday is today (Saturday) and I was going to miss out on most of the activities throughout the day. You must be thinking that I'm an idiot by now and wondering why I would even plan such an event. I mean, it's not like Tyler's birthday was a big surprise. It happens the same day every year.
When the plans were made, the kids were going to a friend of the family's for an overnight visit on Friday night until late Saturday afternoon. I thought my wife would be working both those days as well. While we were down in Portland for Christmas, plans changed and Jessica's parents said they were going to come up for Tyler's birthday, which now meant that Jessica was not going to work and the kids were going to be home. They also decided to take the kids to a movie for Tyler's birthday and dinner later that evening. I thought to myself, this is going to complicate the guilt factor, but Jessica is still fine with me going for the 4 in 4.
By the end of day 2 Jessica was pretty sick and let's just say that she wasn't all that happy with me, or the circumstances mostly, well, maybe me too. I went to bed early and woke up the next morning around 4:30 a.m. with it snowing outside, but otherwise feeling pretty good. I made it up to the mountain at 6 a.m. and we started shortly after.
The first loop went well. I felt good, the snow was a bit icy in places, but the conditions were tolerable. The problem was the amount of time it took, almost 2 1/2 hours for the first loop. I remained confident outside, but inside I was feeling a bit conflicted about being out here on the mountain while the rest of the family, including my sick wife was at home. Now, obviously I'm not going to bring up this fact in normal conversation while we're running, but it plays into the decision making process and if it didn't I probably wouldn't be married still.
The second loop was going fine. The climb up was a bit difficult, but as long as I went slow things were fine. I was basically with Eric and Jess most of the way. Sometimes a little ahead or a little behind, but basically in the same vincinity. Near the end of the 2nd loop I had a mini bonk and needed to refuel. This is when I made the decision to stop after two loops. It wasn't a decision based on physical limitations, but completely based on mental limitations. As a friend said, sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I decided that the time at home was more important than this quest that I didn't even really train for or have anything invested in other than my ego. I decided to forgoe day 4 altogether.
I realize that I could have avoided this whole situation by not attempting it in the first place, or keeping it to myself rather than broadcasting it to others, but I just don't think that way. I believe in the quote that says, better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all.
I like to tell my friends what I am up to because I know they will understand and allow me to fail at times without harsh criticism or judgement. This doesn't mean that I am not up for critique, certainly, by all means, critique away. There is a blessing in my current failure. It made me rethink about what I really want out of my running and this whole idea about running 28 marathons in 6 months. This may be a goal that there is no doubt that physically I can accomplish, but the sacrifice my family will have to make is too large and not worth the payoff at the end. For now, it's back to the drawing board. I do have other thoughts that I'll save for the next post. Thanks for listening!
“There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.” Tom Krause
When the plans were made, the kids were going to a friend of the family's for an overnight visit on Friday night until late Saturday afternoon. I thought my wife would be working both those days as well. While we were down in Portland for Christmas, plans changed and Jessica's parents said they were going to come up for Tyler's birthday, which now meant that Jessica was not going to work and the kids were going to be home. They also decided to take the kids to a movie for Tyler's birthday and dinner later that evening. I thought to myself, this is going to complicate the guilt factor, but Jessica is still fine with me going for the 4 in 4.
By the end of day 2 Jessica was pretty sick and let's just say that she wasn't all that happy with me, or the circumstances mostly, well, maybe me too. I went to bed early and woke up the next morning around 4:30 a.m. with it snowing outside, but otherwise feeling pretty good. I made it up to the mountain at 6 a.m. and we started shortly after.
The first loop went well. I felt good, the snow was a bit icy in places, but the conditions were tolerable. The problem was the amount of time it took, almost 2 1/2 hours for the first loop. I remained confident outside, but inside I was feeling a bit conflicted about being out here on the mountain while the rest of the family, including my sick wife was at home. Now, obviously I'm not going to bring up this fact in normal conversation while we're running, but it plays into the decision making process and if it didn't I probably wouldn't be married still.
The second loop was going fine. The climb up was a bit difficult, but as long as I went slow things were fine. I was basically with Eric and Jess most of the way. Sometimes a little ahead or a little behind, but basically in the same vincinity. Near the end of the 2nd loop I had a mini bonk and needed to refuel. This is when I made the decision to stop after two loops. It wasn't a decision based on physical limitations, but completely based on mental limitations. As a friend said, sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I decided that the time at home was more important than this quest that I didn't even really train for or have anything invested in other than my ego. I decided to forgoe day 4 altogether.
I realize that I could have avoided this whole situation by not attempting it in the first place, or keeping it to myself rather than broadcasting it to others, but I just don't think that way. I believe in the quote that says, better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all.
I like to tell my friends what I am up to because I know they will understand and allow me to fail at times without harsh criticism or judgement. This doesn't mean that I am not up for critique, certainly, by all means, critique away. There is a blessing in my current failure. It made me rethink about what I really want out of my running and this whole idea about running 28 marathons in 6 months. This may be a goal that there is no doubt that physically I can accomplish, but the sacrifice my family will have to make is too large and not worth the payoff at the end. For now, it's back to the drawing board. I do have other thoughts that I'll save for the next post. Thanks for listening!
“There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.” Tom Krause
Thursday, January 01, 2009
The Start of the "Moronic Quadzilla"
I am definitely giving credit to what has been dubbed the "Moronic Quadzilla" to Eric. The plan is to run 4 marathons/ultras in 4 days beginning with The Last Chance Marathon on New Years Eve and ending with a 50k on what is typically the Western Washington Fat Ass course. Since the original inception of the plan, there has been at least one speed bump. The Western Washington Fat Ass 50k got cancelled due to some of the worst conditions the race directors have seen in the 16 years they have been putting on this event, which is really not an event, but that's a whole different post.
As I was thinking about the prospect of the "Moronic Quadzilla" I decided this would be a good opportunity to run 4-50k's in 4 days. Since there was no actual 50k's taking place, except for the one on New Year's Day, I decided I was going to have to run my own on New Years Eve while Eric was running the Last Chance Marathon. My wife had to work on New Years Eve, which prevented me from running the Last Chance Marathon. I decided on a 1 mile loop course in Puyallup at Bradley Lake, which consisted of about 75% trail and 25% paved trail around the quaint little lake.
Day 1 - Jamal met me at 6 a.m. to run the first 8 loops with me, primarily in the dark. It was slow going navigating the trail without tripping on roots and rocks along the way. I had to make a few pitstops to the bathroom and to the car to take a Gu and make sure to stay hydrated. After mile 6, I commented to Jamal that I was glad it wasn't raining. Literally, within a minute, the rain started and was heavy at times. Add in the cool temperatures, in the high 30's, and it made for a bit of misery to say the least.
After mile 8, Jamal took off and I ran the next 8 miles on my own. I found out that the loop course was both good and bad. It was nice being able to stop by the car and the bathroom when needed, but all the stops added quite a bit of time onto what was already looking like it might be a slow one. At the end of mile 16 Monica and Tom from the Y-runclub came to join me. It was a welcome break and nice to have someone to talk to and let a few more miles fly by before I was on my own again. Monica ran 4loops and Tom stayed for 6 and carried me through mile 22.
Once they left it became a fast walk the rest of the way. I knew I would need a walk break after running with Tom, but I didn't really expect it to last the rest of the way. I think I just got into a rhythm and the combination of tired legs, no one to run with and the rain led my motivation to stray. On the bright side, I was determined the entire way to make it to 50k and kept up a good power walk all the way to the finish.
After getting home I took an ice bath, tried to get some food in me and then went to a New Year's Eve party arriving back home and in bed a little after 1 a.m.
Day 2 - At 6:40 a.m. I met Cat, Steve and Rick to carpool to the First Call Marathon/50k. This race will actually count on my Maniac marathon stats...NICE! My plan was to run with Jenny and hopefully be able to keep pace all the way and not have to walk the last 5 miles. We started out on a bit of a slushy, snowy, slippery trail before reaching a clearing. My legs felt good and I was confident for the day ahead.
We kept a good pace stopping at the restrooms several times and to refill our bottles, but other than that we ran. We were at the back of the pack, but we were running. The course was a double out and back and after running 31 loops the previous day I was thankful for that. We made it to the turn around not far behind the others. Things felt good and I was making sure to consume more calories today. I was going to need them to keep my body moving.
We finished the first half in just under 3 hours and were blessed with some nice warm pancakes that seem to have been made just for us. Jenny gave me a Starbucks doubleshot and I was feeling good again. We headed out for the second half feeling good and keeping a good pace. Somewhere along the way we caught up to Michelle and Margarett and stayed with them for a little over a mile before heading out on our own again. The routine stayed the same, stopping at the restrooms and to refill our bottles, but we continued to run consistently. Not until the final 7.5 miles did we begin taking extra walk breaks and even then they were few and far between, well...until the last 2 miles anyways.
We caught up to Michelle and Margarett again right near the finish, they turned around before we did, and crossed the line together. I think our time was a little over 6 hours, but I am not sure exactly and it doesn't really matter anyways. Number 2 is done and in the books. Another successful ice bath and the road to recovery has begun for day 3.
Two 50k's are finished, but the final two are a different story. The 50k on Friday will be run on the Dumb Ass course and consists of 5 loops and 12,500 feet of climbing along the way. It will probably have some deep snow as well. Saturday's 50k will take place on the cancelled Western Washington Fat Ass course and breaking trail may prove to be too difficult. I'll keep you posted...
"Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can."Henry Drummond
As I was thinking about the prospect of the "Moronic Quadzilla" I decided this would be a good opportunity to run 4-50k's in 4 days. Since there was no actual 50k's taking place, except for the one on New Year's Day, I decided I was going to have to run my own on New Years Eve while Eric was running the Last Chance Marathon. My wife had to work on New Years Eve, which prevented me from running the Last Chance Marathon. I decided on a 1 mile loop course in Puyallup at Bradley Lake, which consisted of about 75% trail and 25% paved trail around the quaint little lake.
Day 1 - Jamal met me at 6 a.m. to run the first 8 loops with me, primarily in the dark. It was slow going navigating the trail without tripping on roots and rocks along the way. I had to make a few pitstops to the bathroom and to the car to take a Gu and make sure to stay hydrated. After mile 6, I commented to Jamal that I was glad it wasn't raining. Literally, within a minute, the rain started and was heavy at times. Add in the cool temperatures, in the high 30's, and it made for a bit of misery to say the least.
After mile 8, Jamal took off and I ran the next 8 miles on my own. I found out that the loop course was both good and bad. It was nice being able to stop by the car and the bathroom when needed, but all the stops added quite a bit of time onto what was already looking like it might be a slow one. At the end of mile 16 Monica and Tom from the Y-runclub came to join me. It was a welcome break and nice to have someone to talk to and let a few more miles fly by before I was on my own again. Monica ran 4loops and Tom stayed for 6 and carried me through mile 22.
Once they left it became a fast walk the rest of the way. I knew I would need a walk break after running with Tom, but I didn't really expect it to last the rest of the way. I think I just got into a rhythm and the combination of tired legs, no one to run with and the rain led my motivation to stray. On the bright side, I was determined the entire way to make it to 50k and kept up a good power walk all the way to the finish.
After getting home I took an ice bath, tried to get some food in me and then went to a New Year's Eve party arriving back home and in bed a little after 1 a.m.
Day 2 - At 6:40 a.m. I met Cat, Steve and Rick to carpool to the First Call Marathon/50k. This race will actually count on my Maniac marathon stats...NICE! My plan was to run with Jenny and hopefully be able to keep pace all the way and not have to walk the last 5 miles. We started out on a bit of a slushy, snowy, slippery trail before reaching a clearing. My legs felt good and I was confident for the day ahead.
We kept a good pace stopping at the restrooms several times and to refill our bottles, but other than that we ran. We were at the back of the pack, but we were running. The course was a double out and back and after running 31 loops the previous day I was thankful for that. We made it to the turn around not far behind the others. Things felt good and I was making sure to consume more calories today. I was going to need them to keep my body moving.
We finished the first half in just under 3 hours and were blessed with some nice warm pancakes that seem to have been made just for us. Jenny gave me a Starbucks doubleshot and I was feeling good again. We headed out for the second half feeling good and keeping a good pace. Somewhere along the way we caught up to Michelle and Margarett and stayed with them for a little over a mile before heading out on our own again. The routine stayed the same, stopping at the restrooms and to refill our bottles, but we continued to run consistently. Not until the final 7.5 miles did we begin taking extra walk breaks and even then they were few and far between, well...until the last 2 miles anyways.
We caught up to Michelle and Margarett again right near the finish, they turned around before we did, and crossed the line together. I think our time was a little over 6 hours, but I am not sure exactly and it doesn't really matter anyways. Number 2 is done and in the books. Another successful ice bath and the road to recovery has begun for day 3.
Two 50k's are finished, but the final two are a different story. The 50k on Friday will be run on the Dumb Ass course and consists of 5 loops and 12,500 feet of climbing along the way. It will probably have some deep snow as well. Saturday's 50k will take place on the cancelled Western Washington Fat Ass course and breaking trail may prove to be too difficult. I'll keep you posted...
"Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can."Henry Drummond
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