26+10 version 2, day 2

RUN 6 miles in 1:20 at Castlewood

Yeah, as you can see this run didn't go according to plan. I was planning on 10 miles. And it didn't happen.

After yesterday's run my feet hurt, my knees felt wobbly, but none of my muscles hurt. None of that muscle burn I expected after all that calf-work and hill-climbing yesterday. So while I was optimistic about being able to run, I had some doubts. 

TH decided to stay home and rest. She had the right idea. 

My energy just wasn't there. I wanted to run, but not 100%. I think I wanted the number more. I wanted the "10". Heck even my Garmin wasn't into it--it ran out of battery before I even started. 

So I drove out to Castlewood and tested out the new Cascadia 8's. The trail had re-frozen so it was a terribly rough frozen-footprint run that banged on my already sore feet. So I slowed down. I walked. I lost interested. 

Brekkie was a little too heavy (more sweet potato and eggs with coconut oil) and wasn't sitting well. [On that note, food didn't sit well all day, dinner isn't sitting well right now either...]. I was climbing, descending, cornering, everything was going well but my heart just wasn't in it. 

And when I hit just under 4 miles after an hour, my heart really sank. I didn't need another slog. This put me at 8 HOURS of being on my feets in just 24 hours. And my feets hurt. Was this worth it? 

But I wanted to finish. But I wanted to stop. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to stop.

So I set 6 miles as a reasonable goal, hit 5.99, and stopped. 

The rest of the day was a mixed bag. I'm awake but groggy. I'm moving but like an old person. My feets still hurt and wearing shoes tomorrow could make for a long day.

But how am I doing otherwise? I'm happy next week is a rest week. I'm happy with the effort I put into today. I tried. I went 1.5 miles further than I wanted to. 

So go me! Another long week. A total of 52.5 miles running (11hrs), 18 miles indoor biking. Ugh, I'm babbling.  

26+10 version 2, day 1

RUN 26.3 miles in 7:02 at L&C
Ave pace 16:03m/m, ave HR 122bpm, 2100 ft elevation.

There's so much to say about this run, I'm not sure I'll get it all here especially given my current mental state.

My goals were simple: try running in compression socks and eat in the last 20 mins to prevent the fade-out. And of course, don't get injured.

Thursday we had a snow storm that dropped 4-5" on the trails then capped it off with sleet. That snow was still intact at the Mound where TH and I started the run. We made it a half mile out before changing our minds. 26 miles of stomping through the snow crust just wasn't a good idea. She suggested L&C, a winner idea. The trails there looked open and broken in.

So the last 25 miles were in that trail system. First a loop on Lewis with a 5 mile out-n-back on Katy, then a loop on Clark, then another out-n-back by myself for the mileage.

We were moving slow with the snow and at first I took that as a good thing--it would limit the pace and force us to "be good" about keeping the HR low. But in reality it wore us out fast, even though we moved slower. The Clark was in good condition, but the KT had just two narrow tire tracks from a vehicle, and the Lewis only had one other set of prints. Since we did the first 14.5 miles at the Mound, Lewis, and KT, a vast majority of those first 14 were rough going.

Punch-stomp along we went, wearing down fast. By the time we started mile 15, TH was getting quiet and falling back. I was happy to wait, but worried I was dragging her along. Our pace started averaging 19m/m, my HR dropped to 105-110 bpm. We hit 19.7 and she had to leave. We were 5.5 hrs into the day, putting us around 1:30pm already!

She was done on the trails and was going to finish at home, but I was set on finishing here. I took off for an out-n-back on the better-groomed Clark for the last three. I pushed the effort on these last miles to see just what I had left in the tank. My pace bumped up to 14-16m/m, but the effort to maintain that was not sustainable, as my HR topped out in the high 120s/low 130s.

One of my goals was nutrition and here's  the result:
Brekkie was a large sweet potato, two poached eggs, and a few T of coconut butter/oil
In run was 2 gels, sport beans, a powerbar, and a 2xdate/2xcashews/2xmanges devil bar recipe, and ~2 servings of the EFS left over from last week.
Hydration--one camelback and one water bottle. That's IT!!!!

My nutrition was slow to start. Those big brekkies leave me unhungry for a few hours. I'm not sure if that's good or not? Probably not, probably better to focus on the in-run instead. I also ate some snax Friday light in prep for the run, I don't think I need to do that either. But whatever works.

My mental focus came and went with the sugar. That's one thing I HATE about the gel/sugar based nutrition--there needs to be a steady line of it for it to work. Also, the devil bars might be too heavy for these long runs, that or I need to eat less of them. By the last 5 miles I was feeling a wee bit gassy. But as for my goal, I ate the sport beans at mile 23 and another gel at 24.3. They helped, but I need to be more steady about it. Eat more early in the run. So I need to cut back on the big brekkie.

If a runner farts in the woods, and no one is around to hear it...

My feet got wet in the snow but were OK. My soles ached afterwards and the persistent blister on the medial area on the ball of my left foot came back. The Cascadia 5's are great, but I can't help but wonder what new shoes and fresh cushion could do for me.

Everything is comfy, everything is buzzing along, everything is falling into place.

10 in FoPa

RUN: 10.2 miles in 1:35, no HR data

Compared to yesterday's run, the 10 miles was 6 minutes shorter. The goal here was to push more than yesterday. Goal accomplished.

I was quickly dropped off the back of the group but I knew that would happen. Speed work for me these days is anything under 9!  I worked for a steady, upbeat, solid run.

My deltoids were tired and sore by mile 5.5, was I shrugging or sagging or slouching? Dunno. They didn't hurt the last 5 miles though. I've been working on my form to the benefit of my trapezius. Keep working on it I guess.

The last 3.4 miles went easier than I thought, sometimes when I stop at the VC for break and water I slow down, unable to get back up to steam. Not today. I felt fresh, upright, tall, proud. Good form.

When I got back to the truck, I walked it out to the tune of Lightning Flashes. There's a big snowstorm on the way later this morning, so everyone is excited/nervous about it. I had thought about doing a two-a-day today to make up for the lost Tuesday run, but fearing the weather would mess that up I ran the distance this morning.

My knees are getting sore, not really the joint itself but the skin and tissues on the lateral surfaces. It's a fatigue pain, just keep working on it!

10 in TGP

RUN 10 miles in 1:39, ave HR 129 bpm

Like last week, I paused every mile for a sip of water. I ran to the YMCA, refilled the bottles, ran to 5 miles and turned for home.

Unremarkable otherwise. I started this blog so that someday I could look back and say "I remember that day!" so I should do that here.

This is the run in which I waved to Dan in the pool. My "nipples" froze on the fuel belt. It was 21F, sunny, and gorgeous. In TGP I passed a black dog resting on its walk holding a big stick in it's mouth.

Bike instead of run

BIKE 18 miles in just over an hour, indoors

I just wanted a little more time to rest. That and it was cold outside ;)

26+10 version 1 day 2

RUN (what else, right?) 10.2 miles in 1:40

Did this on Grant's trail, a flaaaaat boring rail-to-trail type of setting with surprising trails off to the side and some gravel/grass edges to save the feets.

I've done some of my 18+ mile long runs on GT, so I know it's a mental test. I chose it for a group run but I was the group today. Good enough, I just need to run, but wow I can get negative when I'm alone!

The first 4 miles were on the trail, mile 5 and 6  were wandering in Clydesdale Park, then back home again. Those first miles were on the slight downhill; I didn't notice the effect in the legs, just in my head. The 2 miles of wandery trail were a great reward, they were really rough single-track with branches to push aside and washed-out roots. Reward!

I kept a steady pace as per goal, and didn't fade out until about mile 8 when I started fighting the urge to count. I didn't watch the Garmin, I'm much better at that now, and my body didn't want to quit. I didn't walk or die out, I just became acutely aware of how much this was hurting. My knees, my feets, my legs ached. But it's done!

Stoopidly I brought no water or food with me for this run! Where's "mom?", she would have made be bring some. I had it in my head that this was "only 10 miles I'll be done so fast". I didn't need them terribly, but I should have had them so I didn't fade out at the end.

And hoo boy did I have to pee at mile 5-6. And the bathrooms are still Closed For The Season, but I did find the biggest porta-pottie I've ever used--one of the handicap ones. Ahhhh...... :)

I passed the Clydesdales early on and used them as a run form inspiration. Head up, chest out, rhythmic feet, nice knee lift, no knee extension, smooth easy and proud running. :)

26+10 version 1 day 1

RUN 26.4 miles in 6 hrs, me and TH in the Babs

The 6 hrs was "run" time, the "actual" time was closer to 6:20 which include bathroom stops, water stops, etc.

We were joined by IT for the first 2hrs and it set the pace and tone--we just wandered. Left here, right there, up the hill, whatever. My original (and too complicated) plan was to leave Babs and head towards Gfelder. I wasn't too keen about running 10  miles along roads, then TH pointed out the double whammy of running on pavement. Wham-bam, out with that plan. Close enough.

So on TH's suggestion we decided to loop the park to simulate looping in the races. She's already done a practice run like that and I'm still psyched up over it since I haven't. While in the end we didn't do loops in Babs, this was in the end a really great run!

Problems & Solutions, Before & After:
1. My stoopid shoe laces kept coming untied. I finally put in the bungees. They've been coming untied since Glacial in October. Something about the material or thickness, I was blaming water for making them swollen or slick but the real fault lie with the fact that I needed to change them. While bungees may not work for mud, they worked awesome for this run. Didn't even notice them.

2. Food! On the last two 24 milers I was zonked by mile 22. I needed to EAT MOAR, and A LOT MOAR. So I broke down and bought gels and beans. The salesguy at BRR kinda half laughed/eyerolled when I said I hated those things while I had a pile of them on the counter. So my pack was packed for this run like this: 3 gels, a powerbar, 2 servings of devil bars (dates and nuts), raisins, cashews, 2 servings of plantain chips, and a 400 calories EFS flask left over from the free samples at CdA. It was too cold for the powerbar, woulda ripped out a filling or chipped a tooth. The raisins and devil bars were D-lish but maybe too much fiber for the run? The EFS was so sweet my face puckered and my throat burned at first but it was good and I wanted more after another hour. In comparison to previous long runs, this was a lot of carbs. But that's what I needed! And it WORKED! Mile 20 came, went, mile 23 did the same, mile 25...and DONE. (I didn't eat any of the gels or nuts or chips). When we finished instead of that zombie duuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh mental state I was awake, zippy, and clearheaded. No more stoopids like before. Bingo, we have a Solution!

3. I'm good for ignoring the garmin, distance, and mileage for a few hours but after a while I just need to look. For this run I set the Garmin to laps, so I could only see that current mile. I kept joking that I had no idea where or when we were (TH just laughed/eyerolled...I get that a lot...) and it wasn't until Mile 19.7 at 4hr 20mins that I finally looked!! I felt GREAT for mile 20!  So maybe for the races I'll have the Garmin but not easily visible. It was nice to just be lost.

4. Setting the Garmin--speaking of which I need to program in nutrition alarms if I'm going to ignore it. Without the cues of x miles, I might go too long without eating? Even if I'm ignoring the Garmin in the race, I'll still have an idea of where I am since it's loops...hmmm..

5. In previous long runs we were walking the uphills but for the most part running a lot. For this run we really dialed it back. On the last 24's it took about 5hrs, maybe just over. This time we hit 24 around 5:20-5:30. When combined with the improved nutrition, this was a great feeling pace. I could have gone all day it seemed, at least at first.

6. The fade--I've been thinking about the fade. In the previous 24-milers, I faded at 22 miles. Today I faded at 25. Funny how I fade just before we're done...is that a mental thing? If I didn't know how far we'd traveled, would I still fade? See #3 above. Or, is it that when I know we're almost done I dial back the nutrition, figuring I don't need a gel for the last mile? So to test on the next 26-er, eating at mile 25 to see what happens.

7. My gear is spot on--no rubs, blisters, binds. All good. Except my shoes, the bottoms of my feet hurt by mile 26! I went trail shoe shopping Thursday but they didn't have my size ready. I was starting to blow off the idea of  new shoes until TH reported that when she put new trail shoes on she was able to notice that her current cascadias were shot, and that's why her feet hurt too. So, back to the running store! The cascadia line is up to 8, mine are a 5! So while they dont' have a terrible huge number of miles on them, it's probably time to replace. After this run, those shoes are at 261 miles since October 2011.

8. I did notice that my calves were lightly fluid-heavy at the end. So I might try running with compression next. I have the black compression socks, test 'em!

9. Long run funny--We were wandering the trails with IT, he asked if we had bread crumbs to find our way back. I said no, I just have coconut flakes. OK well I thought it was funny!

10. TH is a great run partner :) She's methodical and although she calls herself The Mom of our little pair, she's got a lot of inner strength and resolve. She doesn't seem to fall prey to whims like I do. I didn't run with her at Glacial because of my injury (I needed to run my race super careful) and that race wasn't as fun as it could have been. So I've been thinking that these next races we'll pace together.

11. Oh and finally, I'm still an outdoor pee-panZ.