Monday Workout

My quads are a bit stiff, despite the ice bath on Saturday when I got home. I did a light workout, 20 minutes of core work, then 10 minutes of stretching my legs. I have a four mile run planned for tomorrow, but that might be a bit ambitious after 31 miles on Saturday. I'm planning on walking a mile or so on the treadmill, then breaking into a slow jog on the tread. Yes, tomorrow is an inside workout-the high heat has hit home (like that??) and it's going to be really hot tomorrow.

Fall Plans

Some race plans have settled.
I am going to West Virginia on August 12, to run the North Fork Mountain Run. It's either 12 or 24 miles, just a fun out on the hils of WV.
I am on a relay team for the Akron Marathon. I have a 5K leg (on the hilly portion!!) so I have that date set, September 30. This left the other weekends in September to plan for.
I've pretty much decided on the Groundhog 50K over in Phil's hometown of Punxatawney, PA. Then I skip a weekend and run the Youngstown 50K on Sept 23. That would then leave me with the 5K Relay on September 30 and this seems pretty doable.
I was looking at the elevation chart for the Mountain Masochist-I think I need to work on my hill training more!

Random Post

This was funny, right after Matt's dream posting..but I had a running dream last night. I dreamt I was at Mohican, but we were running in the winter. I missed the bus that was going to take us to the starting line, because I was fumbling through three separate bags I had brought for my trail shoes. When I got to the spot where the bus was, it was gone! But my friend Ray, was there. He was getting ready to go get breakfast and then go to the race (he's very mellow.) So I knew Ray would get me to the starting line, so I went off and had pancake breakfast with his family.

So I am out there running today, and I realize I am dressed totally in Under Armour. I have underwear, running bra, shorts, top, all Under Armour. I think next time I am garbed in this gear I will take a pic and send to Under Armour and tell them they should make me a "real life" model of someone who wears their product. Or at least give me a free shirt or shorts out of it!

The Good The Bad and the Muddy

I thought of that title out on the trail today..I had plenty of time to think about stuff, considering I spent 8 hours 30 minutes or so out on the trails!!
The Good: I finished the race. I met old friends. I made new friends. I had a great time!
The bad: Well, actually nothing but maybe my time..more about that below. The weather was bad, but I don't consider that, because it was exactly what Ohio weather is in high summer: hot and humid.
The muddy: The trail of course! Slick, slippery mud in many parts. I almost took a nice face plant in a pool of mud but recovered in the nick of time.

This was the Buckeye Trail 50K Trail Race, run on the Buckeye Trail, in Ohio, a hiking trail which winds around the whole state of Ohio. This was the 13th running, and from the veterans, the 3rd muddiest and the 2nd hottest.

I saw lots of old friends from Mohican before the race, and starting talking to the woman who pulled her vehicle in next to me, Nancy. This was her first ultra run, and she actually has a summer cottage down by where I live!

The race starts and I spend the first 3 hours running with Ron, a Mohican runner and we had both cleared trail at Mohican a few weekends ago. After he stopped and turned back, the run wasn't so fun, it was hot and humid. I caught up with another guy, Mike, another Mohican runner I hadn't met before, and we ran together for a few hours.
This was an out and back, so I saw most of the field run past me, because I was pretty much at the very back of the pack. The conditions were getting to me (it was about 90 degrees out), and I just tried to stay hyrdated and wondered when I was ever going to get to the turnaround point! There were some nice highlights, though, a few runners stopped me on the trail and asked if I was Kimba, they had read my various posts throughout the internet on Mohican, I was feeling like a (minor) celebrity! And now I have a few more names to go with faces too!
We finally hit the turnaround, and I start feeling more chipper, knowing I'm halfway there. But I stop at the 20 mile mark, where there's a real restroom, and see that I'm pretty dehyrdated. I try to load up on fluids, but for the first time, a few miles later, I feel a cramp in my quad. This is interesting, I've never had this before! I take 2 Succeed capsules, drink a bunch of water and try and hold on til the last aid station. Here I drink a whole bottle of Heed, and get both one bottle of water and the other of Heed.
This is the last aid station, we've only got 10K to go. A guy in a green shirt is right in front of me, and I keep catching up to him as he walks alot. I finally comment that "his fast walk is about as fast as my shuffle". He tells me he is hurt, his foot is hurting, and he is walking. He was going to drop at the last aid station, but saw me and another guy go on, so he went on too. Meanwhile, I'm walking with him, and I decide to just walk the rest of the race in with him. We're already at 7.5 hours or so, so time is no longer much of an issue. So we chat and walk the rest of the way in, finishing in around 8 hours 30 minutes!

Then I notice Nancy, the newby ultra runner, vehicle, is still next to mine. What? She's still out there? I ask Vince, the RD, and yes, she's still on the course, with one other runner. I tell Vince I might go back out and find her and pace her in, and he looks at my tired little body and says he'll go try and pace in the last runners if I will watch the clock and his stuff. So I got to be ex-officio RD for a half-hour! Woohoo!
Nancy finally comes in at 9 hours 43 minutes, what a tough lady for sticking out on a very hot course for her first trail run! I hope she does more, she has guts and determination. She's happy that I waited on her, but I was already there, I wanted her to have some cheering when she came in, and I was really proud of her! I give her my contact info and head out for some food and head home.

Whew! Long day. Good run. I almost had some problems with dehyrdation but handled it. I got some blisters, in new spots! But my feet were wet after mile 4 or so, and the mud didn't help. A good endurance run, good time on my feet.

Now I have run a 50K in 15 F and 90 F. I need to find a nice 50K in temps around 50F or so!

Trail Conditions

Trail conditions for my race tomorrow:
"with the additional rain last nite and possibly more today, plan for a slippery journey. there will be spots that will suck your shoes off your feet and other places where you will slide up and down the hills. i suggest tightening your shoes a bit more, wearing high quality socks, and just trudging through the nastiness. there will be a few river crossings that you may as well just go through. it will clean off your shoes. in addition to that, finding a dry way across them although possible, will waste too much time. its only 31 miles!"

Sounds like fun!!

My Dog Rodan

Today was Rodan's last day with us. He had been going steadily downhill, not really eating, starting to lose his bowel functions, and then, pretty much going blind. He lasted about two years longer than we thought he would-he was 14. He had been going downhill healthwise since January, and we've been on a day-by-day for at least two months now.
So today was the day when his little tail was not curled high, and his breathing was bad. He knew who both Dennis and I was, and I got a little kiss from him. He went very peacefully and surrounded by Dennis and I.
Although there are two younger and spry dogs in the house with us tonight, Sandal and Tino, it's still strange and lonely without the third dog.
Danny was always my dog, my "baby", but in the last year or so, after Godzilla died, Danny started spending all his time with Dennis, who works from home, so Danny then became Dennis' 'baby' (which was also fine!) and had a little bed downstairs beside his computer. The two younger dogs were able to romp more without Rodan and he was content to hang out with the humans.
It's going to be a weird sleep tonight. Rodan has slept at the foot of my bed for 14 years. It's going to be strange to not have him there.

Badwater

Wow, what a race! Too bad the webcast was so disjointed.
The pic is David Goggins, who finished 5th overall:
...good article about Goggins below:

December 2, 2005

"Ultra Strong"
By Don Norcross
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

At a muscular 195 pounds, David Goggins doesn't have the typical physique of an ultramarathoner


You look at David Goggins and you think football player. Strong safety. David Boston-like wide receiver. Or you think body builder.

You do not think ultramarathoner.

Ultramarathoners – how shall we delicately phrase this? – look meek and mild. Scrawny and malnourished. Don Knotts runs ultras. Ultramarathoners wear Coke bottle-thick glasses, with pens and pencils stuffed into their front shirt pockets.

David Goggins follows a stern regimen to keep his well-sculpted body in shape.
From his sculpted shoulders, to his chiseled arms and chest, down to his tapered, washboard abs, there is nothing meek about Goggins.

But there he was 13 days ago, running one-mile laps in a 24-hour ultramarathon along Mission Bay's Hospitality Point, running them like a metronome, one after another in numbing succession.

When Goggins (6 feet 1, 195 pounds) showed up for the San Diego One Day prerace meeting, race director John Metz took one look at him, "And I started to worry," Metz said. "A guy with all that muscle is going to have a tough time for 24 hours."

"I could tell," Goggins said, "he didn't think I was going to finish the race."

And Goggins, 30, didn't finish. He quit. After 18 hours, 56 minutes, after 101 miles, he pulled off the road and stopped, his mission accomplished. He came there to run 100 miles, to qualify for the 2006 Badwater Ultramarathon, the 135-mile torture chamber that begins in Death Valley, in the 120-degree-plus heat of summer and climbs to Mount Whitney.

Goggins, a Navy SEAL, wants to run Badwater to raise money for the families of military lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During the San Diego One Day, he lapsed into a mantra.

"I have to get 100 miles. I have to get 100 miles."

Eight days after the event, sitting in the comfort of his Chula Vista apartment, after politely asking a visitor to remove his shoes lest the carpet get dirty, Goggins admits pride played a factor in his performance.

"I'm not one to just quit," he says. "Everyone knew I was getting into this race. I couldn't humiliate my family, myself and the SEAL team."
Goggins' wife, Aleeza, a nurse, walks to their bedroom and returns with a black T-shirt that on the back reads, "In memory of fallen brothers." There are 11 names on the shirt. All 11 died last June in Afghanistan. Goggins attended BUD/S training school with four of the deceased.

About raising money for the families, Goggins says, "It's just a gesture from me, letting the families know their husbands or daughters did not die in vain. The freedom I have to do these races is because of people like that."

People who show up for 24-hour races are typically ultramarathon vets, having run anywhere from 31-to 100-mile races. Goggins has not even run a standard road-race marathon.

He did, last February while stationed in Guam, measure a 13-mile course, then run a 26-mile, point-to-point workout. He did it with a couple buddies, in 100-degree heat, with no water or aid stations.

Mind you, Goggins wasn't completely foolish. He kept a sane, 10-minute per-mile pace. In more favorable conditions, he can run much faster. In April, he finished seventh at a half marathon in Redlands in 1 hour, 24 minutes, a 6:27 per-mile pace, remarkable for a man his size.

Goggins grew up in richly named Brazil, Ind., about 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis. In hoops-mad Indiana, he played football and basketball, averaging about 12 points a game in basketball his senior year.

"I hustled a lot, got a lot of dirty points," he says. "I was a defensive stopper."

He has been in the military for 11 years.

About pursuing the SEALs, he says, "I'm all about hard training, doing things to challenge yourself."

Goggins' workout routine reflects a man with military discipline. He awakes at 3:45 a.m. and lift weights with his wife from 4 to 5:30. In the afternoon, he swims for 30 minutes or jogs for about an hour and a half.

After dinner, if he feels his workouts were poor that day or if he's bored watching TV, he'll break into pushups or maybe head out the door for another run.

Asked if the call for a third workout happens maybe once a week, Goggins shakes his head and says, "probably four times a week."

Offers Aleeza: "He has a lot of mental discipline, more than anybody I've ever met in my life. And he never whines about anything."

Aleeza iced Goggins' ankles after his 101-mile workout two weekends ago. He has recovered nicely, well enough to run the Las Vegas Marathon this weekend.

"If you're even thinking about running a marathon two weeks later you couldn't have got beat up too bad," he says.

Goggins has compiled a list of off-beat athletic feats he wants to accomplish. Among them: the 281/2-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim.

"You know how you watch TV, see something and say, 'I would never want to do that,'" says Goggins. "I want to be that person you watch on TV and say, 'I would never want to do that.'"

Smiling at the thought of confounding strangers, Goggins adds, "It's not so much about the limelight. It's about doing what people think is impossible, then showing them it's not."

Dial in your Nutrition

The week of a race, I try to eat really well. By this I mean nutrionally well, getting in my veggies and fruits and not eating junk. I don't eat "junk food" or fast food very often, my junk food is probaly more of processed white flour items, like pretzels or crackers.
I didn't do too well yesterday, considering we ate out at the Chinese Buffet! And I could really tell later that evening.
So the rest of the week is lots of veggies, fruits, and get myself hydrated.

That's Right I have a race this weekend!

Time to focus on that. I did some laundry so I would have my shorts for the race. I've been wearing Under Armour Compression shorts and they've been great. No chafing in our hot sticky Ohio summer weather (also with liberal application of BodyGlide everywhere too). I made my OCD checklist for what needs to go with me. It must be 15 items long, but it's just the typical race stuff:
Nathan 2 bottle Hydration Pack
Body Glide
Shorts
Running bra
Singlet
Heed Packets
Succeed Caps
Bandana
Wool socks
LD trail shoes
Clif Shots
Gel packs
sweatband
ballcap
sunscreen
misc food items

This way I can check everything off as I pack my duffle bag.
Rest of week training:
Tuesday: Core workout, 4 mile run
Wednesday: No hill repeats, but a 6 mile run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Drive north, no run, rest, stretch.

It's kind of interesting as I progress as a runner where these "smaller" races involve much less fanfare about the taper. I remember training for my first marathon, and worried about when I should start a taper, and what to do.

I don't really know much about this race, except it's on the Buckeye Trail, which is a hiking trail which winds through the whole state of Ohio. It is an out and back, and there are aid stations every 5-6 miles, so I need to make sure I have enough of my own stuff to get through it (since I seem to be hungry through every ultra I have run so far!)

Busy Weekend

I got my next new hydration pack, a two bottle waist system. I tried this out Sunday morning, and I think this is what I will run with on the Buckeye Trail 50K this next Saturday. I do need to get out again with the Kelty backpack and give it another try.
I'm glad I asked my parents about how far away Brecksville was from their house..about 13 miles. That's really close to where to the 50K starts! Cool.I'll spend Friday night with the parents, getting valuable daughter-karma points, mom will feed me, we'll probaly dig up half her flower garden, but I'll be close to the race on Saturday!

We went north on Saturday, visited three wine shops, bought five cases of wine (yes, we drink alot of wine!) and had lunch with my parents. Mom and I dug up some of her flower bed which was really overgrown (many of her plants were actually from my old garden) and I did get them into a bed on Sunday. We didn't get home til 7pm Saturday night.
I slept in until 7am on Sunday-pretty unheard of! And then felt like I was behind the curve for most of the day. I finally got out for my run at 830am, but only did six miles, because I was fretting over how dirty my house was. I just hate to come home from work and have it such a mess. And the weekend is the best time for me to get it straightened out.
So I got home from the run, and took the two younger dogs out for a walk and multi-tasked and picked blackberries! We've got a great crop right now! I picked about one pint, and there's many more out there. Maybe I can get out later today.
I started house cleaning, the bathroom, kitchen, vaccuuming, mowing the lawn. Had to stop for a while since the BIL and friend stopped in on their motorcycles-great day for a ride, and the curvy road we live on is really fun on a cycle. I've organized my clothes for work for the week, and now am waiting for Dennis to finish cooking in the kitchen so I can cut up the fruit we bought yesterday. I love having my lunch prepacked for work. I've really been eating badly at work lately, snacking off the cafeteria, so I need to get back to packing all my food for work again.
I need to figure out my workouts for the week, with the 50K coming up. My arm is still bothering me. It's practically impossible to NOT use your arms. I haven't done any upper body workouts (since trail clearing one weekend ago) but it still hurts. All my core workouts have been carefully done to not stress my upper arms, but it still seems to be hurting. I might as well wait until after the 50K though, and see what else hurts after that for the doctor visit!

Inaugural Run

On my treadmill today. We had to drop off my vehicle for service and run some errands, so I thought it was time to give the new machine a try. Of course, we then had to move a TV, satellite receiver, and DVD player into the room. And then we had to run the satellite cable to that room...more time in setting up than actual running. I only ran two miles, but I think the tread is going to work out well. It didn't seem to be too noisy, or cause noise upstairs.
Now I have no excuses!

Hill Repeats in the Heat

Whee! A good workout today. I ran 5 miles on hills-just doing hill repeats, up and down. It was 88 degrees out. Luckily, this hills were pretty shaded.
My iPod mini is not holding a charge. I'm getting ready to send it to Apple to get the battery replaced, but I really wanted it for the hill run today. So I carefully charged it at work, and then, driving to my hill, thought you idiot, you forgot earphones! So I didn't get to use the iPod at all, but the run went well. I just kind of repeat in my mind advice others have given me about hills...I repeat Roy's advice on the shuffle uphill "small baby steps".. and make sure I follow Sherry's advice on the downhill "don't brake, don't try and use your legs to brake; bend your knees; feet turnover, don't slap your feet down."
I tried HEED today, in a mandarin flavor. I don't really like it. But then I don't like Gatorade or Powerade much either. I have more HEED packets to use, so I will see if I grow to like the flavor.

iPods and Trail Running

Scott Dunlap's blog has an interesting entry. He talks about iPods and trail running, and whether these should be banned from trail races.
I'm a newby when it comes to trail running, I've been doing it less than 2 years, and I haven't taken my iPod along for a trip...yet. I am usually by myself, and I want to make sure I hear animals, or horses when I am on a bridle path, or other people around me.
I can see how it could be helpful in a 100 mile race though, to get you through some rough patches.
I do wear my iPod pretty much for every road run I do. I try to keep the volume down, and I am pretty vigilant. But my roads are pretty deserted out here in the country. I may slip off the earphones whens I approach a house (also sparse here) so I can hear/see a dog that might come at me.
How do you manage your iPod use?

98 Degrees

98 Degrees out there today. Whee. Glad I bagged my original plan of running ten miles today. (This past weekend was going to be a back to back run.) I was still beat when I woke up this morning, and decided to take the day off, no run, no workout.
I did try out the new treadmill that we finally got all the parts for and assembled! I walked one mile on it, and did run a few steps to make sure everything was working and the belt seemed to be fine.
I also assembled my new tent this evening. It's a 1-2 person backpacking tent, perfect for just me. It would be cozy for two people. That would be okay for regular camping, but if I was in this tent the night before a race, the husband would be over his own tent-there's not that much room there!
We need to water the garden and get the dogs out for a romp, but we're waiting for the temperature to drop a bit-I guess down to 80 or so. ;)

Good Run Bad Run?

The best part of today's run is that it's over. 18.73 miles in 3 hours 58 minutes 59 seconds. Nope, I'm not going looking for that spare change last mile anywhere.
I got out the door at 542 am to beat the heat. It was 75 degrees F, and about 90% humidity. This was still in the form of fog as I started out on top of the ridge (this was a total road run.)
I wore the new hydration pack, I'm not sure about it. I was not used to the weight-I bought one with 100 oz capacity. It seemed like I could not strap it tight enough. I got this slosh-slosh-slosh noise. I also didn't like not knowing how much fluids I had left in it. How do you hydration pack wearers figure that out?
I had dropped the iPod mini the day before, and to my dismay, found it stuck on full volume, and I couldn't scroll with it, I could only play the songs in order. So much for listening to the latest.Get Your Geek On! podcast. I then noticed the battery power taking a dive, so I knew I would be without music for a big part of the run-argh!
I ran to our little town, Newcomerstown, on one road, and then ran back home on a different road. The run home was tough. The sun had finally came out, I was out of the fog down by the river, and the tar was already melting on the road. It's hot at 9am when the tar is already melting.
I made it home, did the ice bath, took a pseudo-nap ( you can't nap with dogs jumping on and off the bed) and then had lunch. I still feel whipped. I don't know whether it was due to the work yesterday, the heat and humidity, or the new hydration pack. This was a tough run for me today!
But even as the run was ending (as I wearily tried to make it through the last mile or so) I tried to see the positives. I remembered how I felt when I was hurt and realized how lucky I was to even be out there completing 18 miles. I was glad the first half of the run had been out of the direct sunlight. I knew the suckiness of the run didn't have anything to really do with my physical shape, I'm feeling really strong.
Oh, and just one more comment, road miles just suck. I want to be on my trails!

Trail Maintenance

The call went out on Wednesday that volunteers were badly needed to work on the trails at Mohican State Park/Forest, and a work day was planned for Saturday. I changed my long run day to Sunday, and went up to help out on the trails. I run the trails, I think they are superbly maintained, so it's time I help out with some muscle work.
We worked from 930 to 3pm, on one section, about 1 mile long, and removed fifteen downed trees. That's quite a job cutting up trees! (Note: I did not operate any chainsaws!) We also cleaned out one creekbed where the water was being diverted and running down the trail instead of in the creek.
It was a good time, good honest hard work, feels good to give something out!

Beastliest Run of the Year

That's pretty good that I made it to mid July with the toughest run of the year.
Nice hot temps at 4pm, about 90 degrees F, and the humidity so thick you could practically part the air. I went for my run from the gym, up the mile hill, then down a different side road. I did 6.7 miles instead of 8, I'm fine with that. I was soaked through with sweat.
I really have changed my attitude with the ultra running. A year ago, I wouldn't even have been out in this weather. And I didn't want to do it, but I just told myself that I was going to get out there and do it. I feel I have both relaxed my attitude yet toughened myself up with my switching to trail/ultra running. I know I enjoy running much more this year than ever before. Having the IT Band injury and not being able to run helped too, made me appreciate my running!

Assorted Day

I kept waiting for the torrential downpours to hit. It was the time after work, what to do? Hill Repeats? Or go to the gym and get a workout in?
It was raining when I left work, so I went to the gym, did my legs work out, then added a "hill climber" routine. This is touted as a 'hill climber' I guess it would be the same as a stair stepper??? I did five minutes, got a drink of water then did anothe 5 minutes...and my quads were aquivering...Quite a good workout!
'

Assorted Day

I kept waiting for the torrential downpours to hit. It was the time after work, what to do? Hill Repeats? Or go to the gym and get a workout in?
It was raining when I left work, so I went to the gym, did my legs work out, then added a "hill climber" routine. This is touted as a 'hill climber' I guess it would be the same as a stair stepper??? I did five minutes, got a drink of water then did anothe 5 minutes...and my quads were aquivering...Quite a good workout!
'

Hot and Humid Day

We missed a huge storm that dumped 7 inches of water on Mohican..glad I ran there last weekend.
Danny is still with us, still eating liver cheese!
I cross trained today, my core workout and 4.1 miles on the elliptical because I was expecting a huge rainstorm. It was hard not using my arms on the elliptical-still trying to not engage my arms so much to try and heal up.

I Love Liver Cheese!!

Well, actually I don't love it, I think it's kind of fatty and disgusting, but it's the only food that Danny is eating. We're on a day to day with him. Before I went to the store to buy more liver cheese, he had about 1/8 of a cup of cottage cheese. He's ate two slices of liver cheese since I got home!
Ingredients of this package: PORK LIVERS, PORK FAT, SALT, RECONSTITUTED ONIONS, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF DEXTROSE, SODIUM LACTATE, FLAVOR, SODIUM DIACETATE, SODIUM NITRITE.

Of course, two slices of liver cheese isn't going to maintain his life. I am still thinking his end might be this coming week. I'll be happy when Dennis is home again so we can re-evaluate the dog.

Danny is still happy and able to walk around. But he's just skin and bones. He's beginning to lose control of some of his bodily functions, but they've mostly occurred outside. I don't want to do anything when he's still mentally with it and still wagging his grand little tail at me.

Shorter Run Today

It wasn't the greatest run today-I ate roast beef and eggs for breakfast, no toast, since the bread was moldy! Eww! So no carbs, didn't hydrate before, and then forgot the BodyGlide! I can't believe my lack of preparation. But I still did 5 miles.
I'm waiting for Dennis and the nephews to return from the pond with fish. I made some cornbread, so we would have a carb at least for lunch. I still need to mow the lawn, which is still wet, go to town and buy groceries, go to gym and do my core workout. I don't think I will end up gettng my hair colored unless I leave for town soon, but I want to help with lunch. My one nephew apparently freaked out about bugs in his tent last night and was screaming bloody murder. (I had the fan on in the house and didn't hear anything.) My husband has some dark circles under his eyes, I don't think he got alot sleep in the woods last night, poor guy.

Trail Run at Mohican

Excellent run today. I got to Mohican at 9am, and left from the Covered Bridge. This was the “Orange Loop” . I ran this in 3 hours 18 minutes. It was a really fine run. Temps were in the 70’s, and I feel I was running strong for the whole time. I had no problem staying on the course. This is one of the only glitches of these ‘loops’ for this race—it you don’t know the course, it’s hard to run on your own. For example, the trail dumps me out at a pavilion. You then run down the road about 0.8 miles, then re-enter the woods. If you don’t know the course, you would never be able to pick up the trail.
I took one nice trail header-I tripped, and kept going forward, and it seemed rather slow motion, like I was diving into home plate in a baseball game. I actually skidded forward on my right arm and side (instead of the left side this time!)

Core Day

Beautiful day here in Ohio. I went to the gym and did most of my core workout. I avoided the pulldowns and cable work that would involve my arms since I am trying to rest my left arm per doctor's orders.
I'm going to Mohican in the morning to run! Woohoo!!!

Great Run Today

Beautiful weather, in the 70's, low or no humidity, sunshine, but lots of cloud cover while I ran. I left from my gym. This route goes up a hill .8 miles long, then downhill for about 1/2 mile, then kind of rolling. This route will take me out of town and then right back to the gym in 4.3 miles. So I ran 4 miles, back to the edge of town, then doubled back on my route.
I haven't stretched well after yesterday's hill workout, on the immediate uphill, I had knots in my lower legs, kind of on the edge of the shins-a weird spot. It only really eased up after about 4 miles or so. I had a pretty slow pace for quite awhile, it seemed like my shoes with only a 150 miles or so needed replaced!
I felt pretty good on the double back, it's always interesting to look around, you see things differently when you reverse the course. I kept scaring up a small flock of yellow finches that were nestled in the thistle-so pretty.
By the time I reclimbed the hill in the last mile, my legs felt really good. I really kicked it on the downhill, watching my leg turnover and not braking at all as I came down the hill.
I spent 10 minutes stretching well at the gym also. It just turned into a great workout. One of the good ones!!

Hill Repeats

Since I got home a bit later than I wanted, and took the dogs for their stroll around the estate, I did my hill repeats on a hill closer to home.
This hill is only 1/3 of a mile long, but steeper than my other hill. The incline is about 15%.
I ran up and down it three times. Whew! This would definitely count as a focused quality workout! As my quads burned, and my calves burned, and my hamstring burned, I kept remembering Roy's advice "hill repeats. Baby steps up the hill". I reminded myself that this was to strengthen my quads, that in a race I would be power walking the hill, but the purpose of training was to build strength and endurance!
I also concentrated on the downhills, on not slapping my feet down, trying to keep a quick turnover, and not braking, just trying to flow down the hill.
It was a good workout, both uphill and down!

I went to the doctor today. I just have some inflammation in the head of my bicep, nothing is torn or wrong with my shoulder. He told me to take ibuprofen and can the upper body workouts for a couple of weeks. Sounds good to me!

Yes, it's Still Raining

I have been reading “The Triathlete’s Guide to Mental Training” and I would have to recommend this. Although not a triathlete, training is training. For folks like me newer to the sport of ultrarunning, I’m always looking for help and advice with my training.
There are chapters devoted to:
Motivation
Confidence
Intensity
Focus
Emotions
Pain.
Part Two goes into Goal Stetting and mental training plans. I have gotten a lot out of this.
Some random things I wrote down while reading this last night:
I had a coach tell me this as I was starting marathon training, but somehow I think I forgot it along the way:
What is the purpose of this workout? What is the goal I am working toward?
I think I do this quite a bit; I do the workout without thinking about the purpose…maybe junk miles or even junk workout. Yes, it’s still a workout, but I don’t think I focus mentally enough on it. I might do a great workout on my legs at the gym, but I think I also need to think about it, telling myself “this workout is to strengthen your quads so you have better endurance at the Buckeye 50K Race”.

This came from a chapter:
8 Laws of Prime Preparation
1. Take responsibility for everything that can influence your performance.
2. It’s about “the grind”.
3. Train smart
4. The purpose of training is to develop effective competitive skills and habits.
5. Consistent training leads to consistent race performance.
6. Patience and perseverance.
7. Failure is necessary.
8. Prime preparation is readying you to perform your best under the most demanding conditions in the most important race of your life.


Take today for example. I was all focused for a long trail run today. With all the rain, I thought maybe I could run around here. Then I finally thought, well, you could do your hill repeats today instead of Wednesday, why not switch the schedule around a bit. Sometimes I don’t think enough about the overall training plan, I just focus on the day.

I’ve been doing some reading on downhill training: http://www.ultrunr.com/ This is an area I want to improve upon. My quads were getting trashed at Mohican-I was finding myself starting to walk down the last couple of hils sidewise.
Maybe this rain will let up and I can do practice!

Rats

The weather is not cooperating this 4th of July. Up north at Mohican, the forecast is 80% rain, with severe thunderstorms. Out on our porch this morning, it is currently pouring down rain.
Remember the treadmill? It's in my downstairs room. It arrived with a broken foot, so we are waiting for the replacement before we assemble it. Maybe this week!

Buying Stuff

Buying Stuff



I’ve been on an ultra-buying kick lately:



New tent-Wenzel StarLite Hiker/Biker A-Frame Tent (2 person) for the price of 19.99.

“Fixing your Feet” Book

Kinesio Tape to Fix those feet

UnderArmour Heat Gear Shorts

UnderArmour Heat Gear Loose Fit Shirt

Hydration Pack-Kelty Pulse. I took Sarah's advice and will be trying this out.


I went to the gym today and did my core workout. My left upper arm is still hurting. This is the arm that I fell on twice, at Mohican. It's just a twinge but it kind of interferes with my upper arm workouts. You would think this would be all healed up by now.


I get to run trails again tomorrow woohoo! It’s like a free day. My husband asked me what I was going to do, and told him I was going out running, that was my plans for 4th of July. We’re going out to dinner in the evening, to celebrate our 16th Wedding Anniversary. (It was July 1, but we had our out of town company.)

Trail Run

I went down to Salt Fork State Park yesterday and ran about 12 miles, 3 hours on the bridle trails down there. I got a good workout in the heat, as it was 2pm in the afternoon. Most of the trail was dry and dusty; I of course didn’t think to wear my gaiters-duh. I was surprised to encounter large stretches of mud, which slowed me completely down as I had to pick my way through it. I did not lose any shoes to the shoe-sucking mud monster.
I encountered 20 deer; 3 were wee baby deer-fawns, still with their beautiful little white spots; one was a fine 8-point buck, with great brown velvet covering his antlers, he was gorgeous.
The heat really wasn’t bad in the woods, a breeze was blowing. I had two bottles with me, and had stashed a refill where the trail meandered by the road. I did take my Suceed capsules every hour too. A lot of the the trail was right by the lake, which was the noisest part of the run-it sounded like a highway with all that boat noise going on!
I got another blister, in this same weird spot, on the outside of my right foot. I guess I need to tape this area. I was examining my shoes this morning, and found there is a big spot worn through! Looking closer, I can more deterioration in the shoes-wow I didn’t think I had that much mileage into them. Maybe it’s time for a new pair of shoes.

I got home about six, which really seems weird, I usually run much earlier in the day, and Dennis and our friend Nigel, who is visiting from Norway, were just finishing up dinner and had opened the first bottle of wine for the night. So we had a fine evening, sitting outside, drinking wine and chatting. Nigel was dumbfounded to see “lightning bugs” as call them, or fireflies-they don’t have these in Norway.