Hanover weather

Sunday, May 29, 2011

5 miles: The coming sauna

I did the 5 mile "free" run today to Starbucks. However, the free run over the summer includes a hand-held water bottle (0.6 liters, 1 endurolyte). It was a sunny 83 degrees with 59% humidity. It felt like I was running in a sauna. Sadly this is nothing compared to what is coming this summer. Oh, the south.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

5.4 miles, Weather whiplash


Today I ran a slow 5.4 miles. It was a sunny 82 degrees with 52% humidity. I took in 1 liter of water and 0 calories. I took it slow because of the heat and my legs were a bit tired from yesterday's run.

Sunday: 5 miles.

Friday, May 27, 2011

21 miles: Follow the yellow flower road

Today I ran 21 miles. It was a much better run pace wise than the 17 on Wednesday. It was overcast and 69 degrees with 64% humidity at the end of the run. I took in about 600 calories, 3.6 liters of water and 2 endurolytes.

The plan was to run a mid-distance run today of 5-12 miles. However, here is where the summer plan of not really having a plan helped. I noticed the high forecast for today was only for the lower 70's and overcast but the next 7 days were scheduled for a high of around 90. So I scrapped the mid-distance run in favor of a long run. Next week, I'll run fewer miles if it is that hot. It might be a good thing I don't live in a cold climate. I might run to much (if that's possible).

Up next: Sat 5-8 miles, Sun: 5 miles.


Thursday, May 26, 2011

Fall marathon double dip

I've come up with a plan for the fall which will give me something to works towards this summer and is a bit of a challenge. I'm going to do two marathons this fall about 5 weeks apart. There is a new marathon in Chattanooga called the 7 Bridges Marathon on Oct 16. It runs over the bridges crossing the Chattanooga river. I'm also going to do the Philly marathon again; it's on Nov 20th.

The plan is to use the Chattanooga marathon as more of a training run for the philly marathon. I am not going to push my pace in the Chattanooga marathon and risk being too sore to recover and train again for the next marathon. The basic plan for the 5 weeks in between will be:

Oct 16: Chattanooga marathon
Oct 17-23: recover with 2 or 3 short runs
Oct 24-30: a few medium distance runs 5-15 miles
Oct 31-Nov 6: at least one 17-20 mile run and a few other runs of any distance
Nov 7-13: at least one 20 mile run and a few other runs of any distance
Nov 12- Nov 19: taper, with 2 or 3 short runs
Nov 20: Philly Marathon

After that: rest and plan for the Strolling Jim 41.2 miler in 2012.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

17.4 miles: The bonk


Today I went 17.4 miles. It was 86 degrees with 53% humidity at the end of the run. I took in about 4 liters of water and 3 endurolytes. I was doing fine until about mile 12 or 13 when I just ran out of energy. I hit a wall. The last 4 miles or so were a combination of running and walking with more walking than running (at least time wise).

A number of factors likely played into the bonk. 1) This was my first real run in the heat for this year. 2) I only had 90 calories during the run when normally I might have 300-400 for a run of this length. 3) Last night's sleep was worse than the normal bad. 4) I might not be 100% muscle recovered from the Strolling Jim.

Up next: Friday- A mid-distance run (5-12 miles)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Summer plan

The basic summer plan is not to have one. The weather is too much of a factor. In the winter I can plan a twenty mile run and just run it no matter what. In the summer if I have a 20 miler planned and it's in the 90's and humid it makes the run not fun. I run for fun so I plan to avoid not having fun.

Instead I will use rough guidelines for my running:
1) Sunday do the five mile Starbucks run. This is a standard run and works well with the family schedule.
2) Run at least two long 20-30 mile runs a month.
3) The warmer it is the faster and shorter my runs will be. The cooler the weather, the longer and slower the runs will be.
4) All runs should be at least 5 miles.
5) If it's super hot for a week or two I'll work on running 5 miles faster. If it's rather cool (for the summer) for a week or two I'll do a few 15-30 mile runs.

The goal is to come out of the summer and still have no problems doing a 20 mile long run and to pick up the overall pace of my runs with the aim of improving my marathon time.

5 mile plague run

I ran five miles today; the Starbucks run. Whatever pollen affects me was out in full force today as my eyes were itching and I was sneezing like mad. Plus the Cicadas are really affecting my running route now. A few of them landed on me today and I'm sure I crunched many. They are really loud.

Up next: Monday and Tuesday off to rest the ankle. Wednesday A longer run depending on how well the ankle feels and the weather.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

2.5 miles + Fiddlin Fish 5K + 2.5 miles= 8.1 miles


Today I ran downtown (2.5 miles), ran the Fiddlin Fish 5k and then ran home (2.5 miles). I had no plans to run it fast. The basic idea was to run about a 10 minute per mile pace which still would be fastest I've run in a long time considering my training for the 41.2 mile Strolling Jim.

I think my time was about 27:10 (I'll adjust that once the results are posted). This is an 8:44 pace. I think I started at a 10 minute pace but just kept getting faster as I figured out I was still feeling good. I'm sure each mile was faster than the last.

I crossed the finish line and took a water bottle and kept on going and just ran home. It was a small event as far as the number of people there. I'd consider doing it again next year.

Friday, May 20, 2011

5.2 miles


Today I basically did the Starbuck run with just a little bit extra mainly to get some shade in the park. Return of the heat was not fun, can't wait for the fall. The heel was ok, not great but not bad.

Tomorrow: The plan is to run into town and then do the 5k.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

zero miles: all dressed up but going nowhere

Yesterday I got in my running gear and headed out the door for a mid distance run (5-14 or so). However my right ankle was hurting a bit. This is the same problem I was having right before the Strolling Jim but didn't hurt during that 41.2 mile run. I made the call that running was not the thing to do so I turned around a went home. I rested it yesterday and today. I'll run 5 tomorrow and about 6-9 or Saturday (including the 5k).

The basic plan is to keep running fewer miles (more like half-marathon training) if the ankle keeps hurting at the same level. If it's still hurting mid June I'll take two weeks off. I will of course stop before that if it gets worse after each run.

It could all just be about breaking in the new shoes. I wore the new pair for a few of my last runs before Strolling Jim but wore my old pair for the run.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

10.3 miles


Today I ran 10.3 miles (0.6 liters of water, zero calories). It was a good run with an average pace. It felt like nothing at all. I can tell I'm in good running shape from training for the ultra. It's time to work a bit on picking up the pace. If I had tried to sprint 10 miles it would have felt like something of course.

Up next: 5 to ? mile run tomorrow, depends how well my work goes and how much time I have.

Friday, May 13, 2011

7.3 miles plus 41.2 to the 5k


Today I had planned to run 5 miles but could not resist running more. It was hard not to run even more but I know it's probably not best right now so I did limit it to 7.3 miles. I'm also breaking in new shoes.

Anyway, I signed up for a 5K on the 18th of May (next weekend) in our town. My son's school is helping sponsoring this run and asked parents to sign up. So I'll run it. I have NO plans to go for a 5 k personal record (I don't know what that would be anyway). I'm just going to run it and have fun. I may pull an Ultramarathon man move and run to and back so I get in more of a run. My interest level in trying to run 3.1 miles as fast as possible is zero.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

5 hot miles (Wednesday)

I did the Starbucks and back downtown run. I'm still a bit sore in my quads but there are no real hills (or even fake hills) so that didn't impact me at all. I did take my iphone in case my kids' daycare called but I didn't time the run. I just took it easy.

Up next: Friday will be a repeat of this run.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Strolling Jim Race and postrace report





(This is part two of the Strolling Jim report. Start with the overview and prerace if you want to read this in order.)

Race morning was probably as easy as it could be. The parking lot was right across the street from the tent where we had to pick up our timing chip and the starting line was just on the other side of the railroad tracks. All of this was right in the square of Wartrace (photo above taken about 20 minutes before the start).

I made small talk with a few people while we were waiting for the race to start. Everyone was great. I overheard one older guy (yellow shirt on the right of the above photo) saying he had run this thing many times and the guy I was standing with said this older guy was a good steady runner pace wise. So the race director blew the Conch shell and we were off. I didn't actually see this conch shell because I lined up near the back. The light, skinny, fast runners were lined up near the start. I'm anything but light, skinny or fast so I lined up near the back. I fall without a problem into Clydesdale category of runners.

Just about everything I know about ultra running I have learned from listening to the 100mileUltraRunning podcast. This guy finished in the top half of the all people that finished the grand slam of ultrarunning. The grandslam is finishing 4 specific 100 mile races in just a few months. He would be the first to say he is not a guru of ultra running but that makes him one. Anyway, the two big things I picked up from him are it is important to have a plan and not to waste time in/at aid stations. I combined this into a singular plan of just to keep moving. It sounds simple but there are other plans. Walk and run at a set interval, resting at aid stations, etc. However, I picked the plan of moving forward.

So the pack of runners started out of town. It's uphill out of town. It's not an official hill (those are marked as such) but it was a hill. The old timer said fairly loudly that there were plenty of hills to run on the course but this was not one of them. So I didn't. This guy had run the course plenty of times and it seemed smart to listen to him. I walked that first hill out of town. I think it was a really smart idea, there were plenty of hills to run later on.

I've heard a big part of Ultra running is mental or even that the metal part is harder than the physical part. I think what they mean by the start of the race you are as fit as you are and that can't change (not including getting sick). However, how you deal with the metal aspect can change and so that is a bigger part once the race starts. The advice I did pick up from others that morning and at the start was not to think about how far we had to go. Don't think about it. So I tried not to and for the most part that worked. I broke the run up into 2-2.5 mile sections. Water was put out along the course about every 2.5 miles so it was easy just to think about running to the next water drop (below).


The other mental game I played was to pretend the run didn't start until mile 10. I had done three 30 mile training runs so I knew if I could really just start at mile ten I would be fine. I thought of the first 10 miles as just a warm up and didn't worry about pace at all. I was just trying to get to mile 10 feeling as good as possible. This worked because at mile ten I felt like I could start a 30 mile training run.

Food/water/aid stations:
I took my running pack with two bottles. Since I knew from the prerace directions there would be plenty of water I started without water in the bottles (why carry extra weight). I took the pack because I wanted extra socks with me and gels. A big fear was blisters. I changed my socks three times (so I wore four pairs overall). I changed them anytime I started to feel even the slightest hint of a problem. It may have been overkill but I didn't get any blisters so I'll take it.

I've read it's nearly impossible to eat more calories than your burn during ultras so I had a plan to have a gel at every 2-3 miles. For the most part I sticked to that plan. Near the end I stopped taking as many because I didn't want to risk feeling sick. I'm not sure exactly how many gels I had but it was around 14 (all Hammer gels). The aid stations also had food and I took a few handful of pretzels and about 10 fig newtons (a classic ultra food). I took hammer gels with caffeine (around mile 30 and 36). I used Trail Slammer's advice at the aid stations. I grabbed the food and ate it on the move instead of standing around to eat it.

This was the first race I did where I used drop bags. You could have up to three bags (one moved from the first to the last aid station after you past the first one). I used 3 of the 4 drop locations. I used them mainly just to see how it works and if it would work. I didn't put anything in them I couldn't live without (I took that stuff in my pack). However, I put a few extra gels and socks in the packs and extra sunscreen and anti-chafing stick.

I had plenty of water on the course. I probably had about 0.8 liters every 2.5 miles on average, sometime a bit more but less near the end. I took in about 8 endurolytes during the race.

Course:
The course was very hilly. I could not have run hills around here that matched the hills on the course. I think there were only 4 official hills but there were many more (marked with, "this is not a hill'). If you came across a sign on the road saying "this IS a hill" then you knew you were in for it.


This downhill (above) was marked quad killer. It was. The only place I am still sore 3 days later is my quads. I don't have hills like this one to run down around here. My quads were killed.

It was a very pretty course (see two below). I ran by myself but played leap-frog with a few others for at least 36 miles, mainly a group of two and later three girls from Florida that were using a set walk-run plan. They really must of had fun will the hills being from flatland. I was wearing a blue shirt and had a red pack. They gave me the nickname of Superman along the course (my favorite superhero by the way).



I felt good during the entire race. I never really struggled. It's possible I should have run faster but my main goal was to finish, I didn't really care what my time was and didn't worry about it.
The weather turned out to be great. I will always take cooler if I can but the forecast for tomorrow here in middle TN is for the lower 90s. I feel very lucky the race day weather was in the lower 70's and mainly overcast. A run in the upper 80's or lower 90's with sun easily could have added an hour or more to my time.

Around mile 30 I realized I had a good shot at beating my 10 hour goal even without pushing the pace, I just had to keep the same pace or not fall off the current pace too much. Around mile 36 I made the choice to pick it up. I had the energy to do so and the hills, even the not real hills, were over and so I did my best to push the pace but not push it so far as to fall apart. I ran the last five at a good marathon pace for me. I thought about "sprinting" the last few hundreds yards but didn't. The time saved would not have been worth the possible soreness from sprinting at that point. Plus I was not near a time point (hour or half hour) and had no time to beat. So instead of sprinting near the end I took out my iphone (while moving) and took a picture of the finish line while still running.


Post race:
There was a post race meal if you wanted it. I had some but didn't really feel hungry at that point. It was nice just to sit under the tent and chat with a few other runners. I left for home about a half-hour after crossing the finish line.

Post race plan:
I do have an interest now in trying a 50 mile run (no current interest in a 100). However, I think the plan for this next year will be improving my marathon time at the Philly Marathon this fall and then doing the Strolling Jim again next year and improving my time (assuming the weather is about the same). If I train again for the Strolling Jim the only thing I would do different is go out of my way to get in more hills (both up and down).

Up next: I plan to run/walk five miles Wednesday and Friday but otherwise take off. Starting next Wednesday I'll develop a plan to work on my marathon speed for the fall.

Monday, May 9, 2011

41.2 Mile (Strolling Jim 2011: May 7th): Overview and prerace.




Quick overview:

I finished the Strolling Jim for 2011. This 40 mile race is actually 41.2 miles. My time was 9:09:29. The winner this year was Leah Thorvilson in a time of 4:44:49, this was the 4th fastest finish ever for a male or female. She destroyed the female record by over 30 mins. It was a good weather day for TN in May. It was in the lower 70's with decent cloud cover. Today, just 2 days later the high is forecast for the mid 80's.

It was a great run and I felt fairly good at the end (nowhere near dead). I had three progressively harder goals. 1) Finish. 2) Finish in under 11 hours. 3) Finish it under 10 hours. So I blew away my goal and finished in under 10 hours by about 50 minutes. I knew at mile 10 I could finish because I felt like I could start a 30 mile training run at that point. I knew at the marathon distance I could finish in under 11 hours and knew at mile 30 I could finish under 10. I kicked the last 5 miles because the hilly course flatted out and I had the energy to do so. Plus somehow I had picked up the nickname of Superman during the race and I figured Superman would kick* it at the end. (*kicking it at the end of an Ultra is relative term meaning a good marathon pace.)

Longer prerace report below (feel free to stop here. This is more of a training log for me below).

Taper: I was getting annoyed and worried about my taper. Tapers for the marathons are fairly well researched and there are plenty of programs to follow. There are no plans for how to taper for a 41 mile run so I was making it up based on my experience. I was worried I had tapered too much. The general rule is it is better to show up slightly over rested than over trained. So that is what I was telling myself but it didn't mean I wasn't worried. I somewhat felt out of shape (for this). However, clearly it did not hurt me as my overall pace was almost 35 seconds faster per mile than even my fastest 30 mile training run despite running another 11 miles. So I guess I will still taper for ultras.




Afternoon/Night before:

I went to the tent to pick up by bib number (66) and race t-shirt (back above). The back of the shirt has a warning about the dogs on the course. This warning is real as I have heard/read stories of people being bitten during the run. It worried me a bit because mean dogs seem to have a taste for going after me. However, I wasn't too worried because I knew I would be near the back of the pack and they would have likely gone after the people ahead of me already. The other possibility was by the time I got to them they would be really annoyed. It turned out not to be a problem at least for me and as far as I know. A few mean looking dogs did bark but stayed on their yards. The pictures below are the type of dogs that end up on the course. They just wanted to join in the fun. I heard later both of these dogs ran with others too.




I drove the course the afternoon before. There was an official course tour but I didn't make it in time. It was probably better I went by myself anyway because I had to figure out which way to go. The course was well marked (Below: the full mark here was "running fools"). This course tour turned out to be worth it because I saw the lack of porta potties on the course was not going to be a problem (very rural, many natural places) and had learned I would not need the course map. However, it scared me because it took a long time even in a car and I saw the hills. As I was headed to the course tour I was thinking 10 hours was a good goal. After the course tour, I was thinking 11 and wondered what I got myself into.

The night before I stayed in a hotel. The race was close to home (1 hr 15 mins) but with a four year old at home that isn't a great sleeper, a hotel was my best chance for a good night sleep. So when my wife suggested I stay at a hotel to get a good night sleep, I took it. It turned out to be a great idea as I got about 7 hours of good solid sleep (way more than normal). For breakfast I had two cups of coffee (like normal) and two bagels about an hour before the race started.

This is the smallest official event I have ever done (5k, 5 miles, Marathon). There were 112 finishers (I'm not sure how many started but it was less than 130 for sure). So it was easy to find parking and get to the starting area (all right there in the square of the small town of Wartrace, TN).

Next post (coming tomorrow) will be the race report.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

5 miles (last run)


Today I did the last run before the Ultra. I quick 5 miles. I was thinking of doing another 3 tomorrow but my ankle is still a bit sore so I'll skip it. It doesn't worry me, it might still be a bit sore Saturday but it's not likely to impact me at all.

Weather forecast for Saturday: Mid 70's, sunny, chance of t-storms.


3 treadmill miles (Tuesday)

Another quick 3 on the treadmill yesterday.

Monday, May 2, 2011

3 quick treadmill miles

Today was a bit of a crazy day. I got in three treadmill miles in the late afternoon. I will get some more treadmill miles tomorrow.