Miles and Pools in my Basement

This weekend was alright. Had a nice 14 miler at Bear Creek on Saturday, took Sunday off from running and planted the garden with Adrienne, and then got in 20 on Monday. The 20 was a nice loop. Mt. Falcon parking lot, Morrison, up the highway to Lair O' the Bear, up to Parmalee Gulch Rd., climb up to Mt. Falcon, and then down the hill to finish up. Lots of up, and a long down at the end. I felt good and all that I felt this morning were my knees. I think they just need to get used to the pounding for that distance. I had a nice 5.5 miler at lunch today and will take it easy for the rest of the day.

On another note, our basement flooded last night! Damn! As far as I can tell, the water came up from under the foundation, and found whatever cracks it could between the foundation and the walls to come up into our house :( We are so close to finishing up our house and this is such a bummer! If insurance does not cover it, I will have to tear out the drywall in the room downstairs, and all the wood flooring that we installed. I am rather depressed about the whole situation! Well, that is part of owning an old house, I guess?!

Ugh!!!

Finch

A New Challenge?

So, I am still a bit bummed about 9 Trails, but I know it is not happening, and I have to consider what I want to focus on. I have a hard time getting amped about running 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, etc... I know I can run well, but not fast enough to be pleased with the sacrifice it takes to get there. Talking with Adrienne and others, it seems I can go fast, but a bit slower than many of the elite and pro racers. This lack of desire to run for second will most likely change as I continue to get older and slower, but it has not yet changed. So, what's the answer?

A New Challenge!

I am curious how I will do over 50 miles. Once upon a time I ran 30 at about 6:10 pace. I would not have made it one more mile, but I did not have food or water on that run. I crawled into my bed and slept for 14 hours. It seems that I am genetically predisposed to handle a good pace for a long long distance, but I am not sure my body will hold up to the miles. I think it is time to find out! I am going to build from now until August and get my miles up up up! Then I will jump into a 50k (I am thinking about doing the 50k championships in San Francisco). After that, if I am healthy, racing well, and not back on the mile train :), I will enter The North Face 50 Mile Championship race in San Francisco in December. I will race throughout this time, but focus on the miles, and training that will support fat burning and energy conservation over that distance.

I had a nice run today with Peter Vail, and we were discussing the difference in a 50k and a 50 mile race. It is clear in the results that they are far from the same thing (much much slower)!, but I think a new challenge is in order, and it is something that feels a bit over my head. There are few things in life that I love more than running! I am looking forward to slowing the pace down, and running a lot more. I think Adrienne is in as well! I believe she will handle the distance better than I will, and it will be a fun challenge to embark upon together.

Finch

Bummer!

9 Trails is cancelled for this year :( I completely understand! Due to the fires in Santa Barbara, the trails are wrecked and they are going to have some serious errosion issues this Winter. Hopefully the trail crews can set up some structure to help prevent some of this. Two years and no 9 Trails is a bit of a bummer, but it forces me to find something else to look forward to. I do not know what that will be yet, but I will find some race that is way over my head.

Enjoying the miles lately. Took a bit of a break last week because we completely redid our yard. Tore out over 30 tons of stuff and put in new sod after grading both the back and front yards. It was a lot of work. I am currently building a walk-in closet in our master bedroom, and should have that done this weekend. I will get in a long run this weekend and I have a couple of nice runs with Peter Vail and Steve Cavalli today and tomorrow.

What to race?

Finch

Very Nice!

The running has been going great. The leg seems much stronger after an easy week, and I am now dealing with tird legs. It is interesting how fast you can get used to miles, but it does not mean that the legs will not be heavy. Last week was a nice week with three days in a row with 14, 16, and 13. That was a good amount of miles considering what I have been doing, and most of them were under 6:30 pace. So, I am trying to take it easier on the normal runs, but my HR is very low cruising around 6:45. I will have to see if my legs can handle that pace, and then go from there. I have been enjoying the miles, and am looking forward to getting used to the hot weather. It was about 80 out today when I was running, and it felt HOT. It takes a few runs to get used to the heat. The key right now is to not let the speed work slip away. That is the difference maker in my running, and what makes me smooth and fast. So, this week has been two 7 milers so far, and I have been feeling a bit heavy. I am sure it is from the long week last week, but I felt better today than yesterday. It is a busy week, and will be difficult to get in 2x days, but we will see. Guinness has his first hunt test this weekend, and he is being a bit weird in the field right now. So, we will see how he competes :)

Finch

Enjoying the Miles

I have learned many lessons through my time running, and that does not appear to be stopping any time soon. I think I bumped my miles too quickly. My soleus started cramping on runs and it was difficult to run. It was fine until about 6-8 miles in, and it would just say, "enough is enough." So, I backed off the miles for a week logging somewhere around 35, and am upped it 10-15 the following week. I decided to run twice a day, most days, and get in runs ranging from 5-8 miles each run. This allows me to keep up speed a bit better and get in great miles that will pay off later!!! I think the main problem is accepting the altitue. I can run around 6:15 -6:30 pace right now and (last time I checked) be running around 145HR. That is a very easy, reasonable effort, but it does not seem that my muscles recover as well as I would hope. So, I can go 5-6 miles at lunch now, run 5:45-6:00 pace and hold a more honest effort while not needing as much recovery. I don't yet know if it equates to cheating the system, but I'll take it! The bummer for me is that I HAVE to slow down on the long runs. I love getting out there and just going how I feel. 6min pace, 6:30 pace, whatever. Now, if I am going over 10 or so, it seems I need to slow it down a bit and just get the distance in the legs. This is a bummer!!! I can run 20 right now at that pace and feel like I was just out for a casual jaunt. The hope is that I will continue to get stronger and the pace can come down for the longer runs.

Adrienne is training well and will be upping her long run here in a couple weeks. It is nice that we have a lot of time before our long race, and I think it will benefit her body to be on this longer slower training schedule. She is enjoying the running and we have already been on some fun adventures together. Crossing Bear Creek on the 3 creek run in the middle of run-off season can get a bit crazy!!! :)

I feel it is easier to take the lessons I have learned in running and apply them to other people's schedules. That is probably where pride comes into the equation for me. I have learned that lesson quite a few times, it just never sticks :/

Finch