speed of lightning, roar of thunder

I finished the week up today with 18.5 on sloppy roads.  I did feel decent and this was a bonus.  Was going to cover 15 miles and promised myself a coke if I reached 18.5.  I picked that number as it gave me 70 miles for the week on 6 runs.

4/9   = Off
4/10 = 6.3 (9:37) Joliet roads
4/11 = 7.4 (9:15) Lombard rails to trails
4/12 = 13.3 (9:56) Menomonee Park w/ Tim and Dewey
4/13 = 12.0 (10:27) Ice Age
4/14 = 12.5 (9:41) into the abyss at 4:50am
4/15 = 18.5 (10:14) into the slop
Week = 70.0

Clem sent me the recent 50k article on Tyler Andrews who ran 2:46:06.8 on the track.  Looks like a new world 50k track record.  The article mentioned Barney Klecker, who's wife Janis was an Olympian.  Their son is a top notch runner at Colorado.  I mention this because I see John Horns (55y) is now registered for Ice Age.  John is an excellent runner and won Kettle 100 outright in his 50s.  I have gotten by him at Ice Age (rarely), but man the age group competition is always stout.  Of course with the internet I looked him up to see how he is running.  One article mentioned he is Janis Klecker's brother.  I think it will possibly require a sub 8:15 to get in the top 3 this year.  Weather dependent.  You never know at Ice Age.  Some guys are just beat up, or coming back from injuries.  I have the secret crew strength.  If you ain't blastin' you ain't lastin'.  No time for uniform changes or Sweet Polly Purebred damsel-in-distress twinkle-toe scenarios.  Stand aside...can't you see we have the dang ballgame on here?

In other stats, I have averaged 51.75 miler per week since January 1st.  Better than I thought.  Runs over 2 hours January through March:

1/5   = 2:17:03
1/6   = 2:02:33
1/20 = 2:10:52
1/27 = 2:29:28
2/3   = 2:45:55
2/10 = 2:01:53
2/17 = 2:27:07
2/24 = 2:28:57
3/3   = 2:22:00
3/4   = 2:01:31
3/10 = 3:00:00
3/17 = 4:27:47
3/31 = 4:20:00

April runs over 1:30:

4/2   = 1:54:11
4/3   = 1:48:16
4/4   = 1:34:12
4/7   = 1:57:30
4/8   = 1:48:53
4/12 = 2:12:11
4/13 = 2:05:26
4/14 = 2:01:05
4/15 = 3:09:12

I'll pull the next couple weeks together and see how I feel.  I'll weigh in tomorrow.

Underdog Cartoon theme song

when criminals in this world appear
and break the laws that they should fear
and frighten all who see or hear
the cry goes up both far and near
for Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!

speed of lightning, roar of thunder
fighting all who rob or plunder
Underdog. Underdog!  when in this world the headlines read
of those whose hearts are filled with greed
who rob and steal from those who need
to right this wrong with blinding speed
goes Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!  speed of lightning, roar of thunder
fighting all who rob or plunder
Underdog. Underdog

Jimmy legs

Ice Age is 4 weeks from today and I have not made it out to the course one time.  Next week in the 35 mile training run which I will attempt with my friend Andy.  Part of it is the drive down there and being busy with other things.  But the big reason for not going there is the crap weather.  I have commitments today, so I ran at 4:50am.  Twenty-three mph winds, rain, and just at that 34 degree mark to complete the ambiance.  In the day we went there months out from race day.  There were always people you new there.  Not so much now.  I'm sure people still go out, but I don't really know many of them.  I am also in that too slow to keep up with the main group and too fast to spend an extra hour or so getting a normal run for me in.  In some ways it is fine.  I spend more time running myself up here on the Northern Ice Age. 


Running alone is getting more preferable because I run in my own groove.  Feel good, feel slow, feel tired, feel caffeinated, feel good, feel fat and on and on.  Now-a-days Ice Age is getting out there like one big training run, taking care of myself, and then looking for a hot spot to grab on to over the last 15-20 miles.  Though in this day and age it is more the last 13 miles I look for it.


The good news is I am in decent shape.  I've cobbled together a fair amount of 10-11 mile runs during the week instead of my old 6 a day during the week.  Knowing I would not be able to go long Saturday (today), I decided to run 2 hours a day Thursday through Sunday.  So far so good the past three days have been 2:12:11, 2:05:26, and 2:01:05.  I'll get my 2 hours in tomorrow and if it goes well maybe close to 2:30.  I've held together fairly well and the biggest thing is just forgetting about time. 


I'm almost out the other end of the pipe.  I'll run less miles during the week and get the big run in next Saturday.  The following week I'll run a bit everyday and on that Saturday two weeks out I'll look to do a simulation run on close to 20 miles of the course.  It is also a good time to make mental notes about the course.  I'll time some of the harder sections and make an estimate what it will take to run time wise on them race day.  Then when I'm suffering at the end, I just look at my watch and tell myself it should take 23 minutes (or whatever) to finish the challenging segment.  This way I just shut everything off in my head and treat it like a 23 minute run.  It I get there in 21 minutes I can then get a feel for how I am doing.  If it is 26 minutes then I better reevaluate.  Over the years I can get fairly close to my estimates.  It just seems to make the run manageable.

One tasty burger

Saturday I jogged 5 miles up to the St. Augustine lot and ran 14.4 miles with Robert and Dewey.  I then lumbered back home from there.  It was a lunch box run.  Wind, rain, and snow mixed in throughout the run, with the best weather found in the last 10 miles or so.  The trails up around Holy Hill were cautious.  At times the wet snow flakes were the size of nickels.  Felt like Al Bundy the first 5 miles on the road, but then did okay on the trails.  The run home on the road was at least 40 seconds a mile faster.  Not sure how that all works, but it is in the bank. 

I spoke to Robert about the runner lean I have to the right at the end of many ultras and especially 50 milers.  The announcer at JFK even mentioned it when bone chipping in, "and here comes a runner with the famous JFK lean."  It does seem common, so I looked up a few stretches, etc.  I guess 5-10 minutes of a routine won't hurt me.  I am also glad to report that a few wall squats every other day have had a positive outcome for my knee.  No pain Saturday at all.  Thanks Dean! 

One hundred percent disclosure on something.  I reviewed my last 6 weeks of training for Ice Age in 2009.  I know every time I'm on here I have a new formula.  In fact let me reach up to the bulletin board here and pluck one off that I created 7 weeks ago that was never utilized.  Okay...that's in the trash.  The year 2009 was the first time in like 4 years I was healthy enough to run well.  I was able to run well in 2008, but my enthusiasm created my first and only stress fracture which required 10 weeks off.  That meant no Ice Age.  So in 2009 a wiser human took over the control tower and came up with the idea to run within yourself.  See your future, be your future.  Run hard when it feels right; in other words a true how far to the barn mentality.  When I felt good I let it go.  I was 47...at some point common sense had to kick in.

At the 2009 Ice Age, true to my word I went out like it was a casual training run.  No pressure.  Like any long event if you stay back you'll start passing people in jimmy stacks.  It just never stopped that day and I ended up 5th overall.  It was also the best I ever felt at the end of a 50 miler.  Had I cracked the Drakos 3?  Everybody twist.  I now held information.  Information that could control the world.  But I didn't have that.  It lead to more of the, "I don't run to take beatings" mentality.  I was after all still myself.  Another bum from the neighborhood.  "This is reality Greg."

 https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/1873836b-fe0a-4ed7-bffa-0edcbd821628

So what did those last 6 weeks look like.  Unless stated the runs are on roads.
Unless stated the dog is Cookie.

3/30 = 8.5 (8:16) w/ dog
3/31 = 8.0 (8:13)
4/1   = 4.5 (9:00) w/ dog
4/2   = OFF
4/3   = OFF
4/4   = 26.0 (9:27) Ice Age course trails (Christine, Robert, Ricker)
4/5   = OFF
Week = 47.0

4/6   = 6.0 (8:31) w/ dog
4/7   = 7.0 w/ 30:00 tempo
4/8   = 6.2 (8:30) w/ dog
4/9   = 5.8 w/ 6 x Lowell Hill
4/10 = OFF
4/11 = 20.0 (9:00) Ice Age course trails
4/12 = 8.0 (8:47) w/ dog
Week = 53.0

4/13 = OFF
4/14 = 7.5 w/ 5k tempo in 19:32
4/15 = 7.0 Lapham Trails
4/16 = 7.7 w/ dog
4/17 = OFF
4/18 = 30.0 (9:00) Ice Age course trails (Bruce, Kirby)
4/19 = 7.2 (9:48) Minooka trails (Clem, Andy)
Week = 59.4

4/20 = OFF
4/21 = OFF
4/22 = 5.0 (8:00) w/ dog
4/23 = 4.0 w/ 15 x Horab Hill
4/24 = OFF
4/25 = 21.0 (8:34) Ice Age course trails (Christine, Ricker, Kirby)
4/26 = OFF
Week = 30.0

4/27 = 5.0 (8:20) w/ dog
4/28 = OFF
4/29 = 6.6 (8:11) Lapham trails w/ dog (Ricker, Todd)
4/30 = 4.8 w/ 10 x Horab Hill
5/1   = OFF
5/2   = 5.4 (9:38) w/ dog
5/3   = 7.6 (9:13) Minooka trails (Clem, Andy)
Week = 29.4

5/4   = OFF
5/5   = 5.0 (9:00) w/ dog
5/6   = 3.4 (8:49) w/ dog
5/7   = OFF
5/8   = OFF
5/9   = 50.0 Ice Age 7:20:57 (8:50)
5/10 = OFF
Week = 58.4

I know Cookie would be up for it. 

Last week was 62.0 miles on 5 runs.