A bit nervous, a bit excited

The weather in Pittsfield is shaping up to be perfect for the race this week. Well, perfect for my taste. Highs in the mid 50's, low's in the upper 30's. A bit cloudy and a chance of rain. That's kinda how I like it.

I really just want to get there and get settled. (I'd also like to know if my box-o-crap I mailed myself has arrived or not!) I'm meeting Greg in Boston tomorrow afternoon. We're heading up to Pittsfield on Thursday morning. The race starts at 6pm Thursday night. Erin is flying to NYC on Wed then heading to Pittsfield, with a friend from NYC, on Fri night.

Starting at 6pm on Thursday is going to be nice, since I won't hit that 70-mile-I-hate-myself-and-running-and-never-want-to-run-again wall at 3am, I'll hit it at 3pm, when the sun is still up.

Here's my plan:

I'm hoping to have 100 behind me by 10pm on Friday. That's a 28-hour 100. Leaving me 44 hours to cover the next 100.

I want to keep moving until midnight or so on Friday. So, ideally I want to pass out with 120 miles behind me. Worst case I finish 110 before sleeping.

After 6-8 hours of sleep I'll go for another 50-60, hopefully finishing by midnight on Saturday. That leaves me 30-40 to finish by Sunday at 6pm.

So, another 6-8 hours of sleep, get the rest done, and head to beantown.

Simple, right? Right.

I'll probably post updates to facebook and e-mail the Trail Nerds and Trail Hawks. I doubt I'll update the blog until I'm back.

McNaughton 200 Coming Up

So, McNaughton is right around the corner.

I'm not sure if I should be pissed about this or not: when I signed up the race description called for 1,000 feet of elevation gain per 10-mile loop. I continually asked for a course profile but nobody ever had one. So, I go to the race website today and I see this:

The race website now says: "Each loop has 2400 vertical".

Whatever, I'm in it to have fun and it's going to be fun. I just would have liked to know that when I signed up.

Brooks

My favorite shoes in the whole world are the Brooks Defyance. I'm currently rotating through my 15th, 16th and 17th pair of these comfy little critters. I've ran all kinds of terrain with absolutely no foot pain in them. It was almost like a shoe designed specifically for me.

So, I came across these two videos made by Brooks while reading Donald's blog: Running and Rambling. He does a lot of product reviews and he's excellent at it. Well worth adding to your RSS feed.

Both videos are worth the few minutes.

Dreams:



Life:

My new BFF

...Is a treadmill. The weather in KC since Xmas has not been conducive to lots of outside training. I've done a few Saturday or Sunday runs, and the Wednesday night beginners run...but nothing regular.

Instead, I've been giving all my running love to a treadmill. It's a love-hate relationship. I think once the snow melts I'll take it out back and deal with it Office Space style.

I did run my fastest 10K ever last night - 49:17. This included copious amounts of incline and no decline. 3 min flat, 3 min at incline, rinse, repeat. Increase speed by .2 mph every 6 minutes. I was running a sub-7 during my last segment (ave pace: 7:57). For me, that is fast. My legs were really sore last night.

I've had to be creative with the workouts. I can't seem to stomach more than an hour on the treadmill, so I've been breaking it up into 5-mile segments. Twice a day so far. Three times a day shortly. I figure a back-to-back 15 mile day on a treadmill is great mental training.

One goal I haven't achieved before Rocky is getting my weight down. I'm down to 200. Which is down, but not anywhere near the 190 I was shooting for. Clydesdale division, anyone?

Holy Geez

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. What in the world have I been doing? Well, in short: school and being sick.

I skipped Dude, Where's the Trail because I had an immunology test the next day. I didn't feel real ready for it on the Saturday before the race and I didn't want to be stressed during the run thinking "I should be studying..." so, I figured it'd be best to just not do the race. Sigh.

After that, I spent most of my time getting ready for finals, dealing with the cold weather, and getting sick enough to take 7 days off of running. :( I added a bit of bike/elliptical work during that time, but nothing as vigorous as usual.

I feel like I still have a good base - as evidenced by my quick 8 mile run around SMP on Saturday after helping a buddy move all morning. So, I'll tweak my training a bit and keep working towards that sub-24 goal at Rocky.

Oh, and I'll post more.

Dealing With Pain - Something from the Ultra List

Subscribing to the ultra list is asking for a barrage of e-mails, some only marginally related to ultra running, some not related at all. It is a guarantee of a good Friday joke, an occasional rant about Dean Karnazes and lots of discussion about salt tablets - over and over and over.

Like with anything in life, there's occasionally a truffle hidden in all of that crap. Okay, more than occasionally. I actually really like the list. I just had to train myself to ignore the drivel. I know some of the folks on the list from races and would love to meet many more of them - mostly to tell them their jokes are bad.

A little while ago someone posted a question about dealing with pain in an ultra. The basic premise was: how do you manage the pain you eventually encounter during the late miles of a run. There was much discussion. One of the posts came from "Laz" (aka: Gary Cantrell) of The Barkley (more here). I asked and he allowed me to post it.

i dont know that it becomes easier, so much as you simply adapt.
as you extend your boundaries, distances get easier.
50 miles makes 50 k easier.
100 k makes 50 miles easier.
100 miles makes 100 k easier.
and the first time you are excited to have "only" 100 miles left,
nothing is the same any more.

i look back on my earlier ultras,
and some of the reasons i felt i had to slow down... or drop out,
and i am amazed that i gave in so easily
when i later discovered how much more i could survive.

you learn to take the pain
wall it off in a corner of your mind
and just keep moving.
it doesnt matter if you are having a good day, or a bad day.
the only difference in the two is your time.
you dont think about quitting
you dont think about finishing.
you just keep moving.
because that is what you do.
that is who you are.

it is a useful skill,
knowing how to simply endure.
it is the ultimate reward for running ultras.

i think some people come by it naturally.
but everyone can acquire the skill.
if i can, anyone can.
no one is less inherently tough than me.

This is resonating with me because of my upcoming 200-miler. I will run 100 miles and then think "wow, that was nice, only 100 left". Seriously? I'm really having a hard time fitting that into my brain.

A Speedy Start to the Cold Season

Winter gave the KC area a little peak at what's under the trenchcoat today with a subtle mix of cold temps, rain, sleet and some snow. Nothing sticking, but close enough for me to be excited.

I have an immunology test today, and, as is standard, I went for a run as a study break. It's a fantastic way to let the brain relax and get the endorphins going. I brought home a disaster of a performance on a virology test a few weeks ago - 90% of which I blame on not running before the exam.

I took another break today to read Gary Henry's excellent (as is standard) Ozark Trail 100 race report. Go read it but promise yourself in advance that you won't go sign up for the nearest 100 after you're done. It's that good.

My goal today was a quick 5-miler on paved trails. I have somewhat tired legs from an aggressive 5-miler I ran yesterday. I know I'll pay for this someday at the pearly gates but yesterday's run was a treadmill run. I know, I know. I did it at a 8:45 pace yesterday. I wanted to stay close to that today while including some hills. I've been encouraged by Jeremiah, in order to encourage some weight loss, to incorporate some speed work as a means to drop a few pounds. So, that's what I set out for.

There was a very light drizzle as I started and the temp, according to my car, was a nipply 37 degrees. This translated into perfect running weather for me. My pace dropped quickly from a subtle 9 min/mile to a blistering 7 min/mile which I was able to hold for almost a mile and a half - a knightly accomplishment for me.

I churned out the entire 5 miles at an average just over 8 min/mile. Way better than I wanted. That definitely put me in a good mood for my exam tonight.

I'm down to about 200 lbs, meaning the past few weeks of running has paid off with a steady weight decline. I tend to plateau after losing 5-10 lbs then drop again. We'll see how that goes over these next few weeks. Remember, my Rocky goal is a pudgy 190. 10 to go with 11 weeks left.