Make it take it

I updated the watch and it is much more accurate.  At least on the mileage.  Ran 19k today and the watch had me red lining quite often with a 219 heart rate.  After the run it also informed me I need 82 hours of recovery.  Good work if you can get it.  I am definitely tired, but slowly cutting the miles by 1k a day.  Checked into the JFK 50 miler and it’s sold out this year.  Wouldn’t mind trying to squeeze another event in.  Beautiful day as I took off and the wife and I went kayaking.  Pretty choppy and windy on Okauchee Lake.  Put in another 1:40 out there.  Gonna catch some serious rack tonight.

Saw my baby down by the river

So being off work today I did decide to run up into the new turf I mentioned yesterday.  I limited myself to 16k which was a bit difficult to do.  At 8k I was up there on Chenequa Drive where Thurston and Lovey live, but made the decision to go back as I want to get another run in later today.  There are some big cribs up there and new ones being built.  There is also a huge golf course and I figured I best stay of those paths before they released the hounds.  I'm thinking of scouting it out with the vehicle later...we will see.  Nice clean area with a few nice vistas.  There are some hills which are good.  Very low traffic.  Guys with ties driving out into the world mainly.  Hey this is not Palm Beach or anything, but pretty nice digs. 

I put in 23k yesterday and had the idea I could cut my daily mileage by 1k daily before the 50 mile and go like this; 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, race day.  That is the plan for now.

I have found over the years that any time I am building up mileage that once you get to a certain point like 85 miles a week, it just seems easier to pile on extra mileage.  Getting an extra 20 miles in doesn't seem as hard as compared to someone running 40 and wanting to get to 60 miles.  That has always been my experience with easy miles.  Anyone else experience this?  Not that I am going to do that now, but it was tempting to over do it today.

This is my 4th Monday off in a row and I got to tell you this is pure gold.  Mostly how I over achieve at getting nothing significant done.  Sometimes the thought goes through my head as to how cool it would be if most of my/our stuff was gone.  I control that.  I've spoke to myself about getting stuff pared down.  Some progress made, but just another thing on the endless list.  I have books and stuff people have given me I swear will be read, and letters I will write, etc.  Just this moment I am looking at a piece of equipment that served me well for years.  One of those, copies, fax, scanner deals.  I have not used it in well over a year.  Believe it or not my phone has replaced much of the need for any equipment.  If I need anything printed I go down the road to the little library.  I just remembered about 6 years ago or so I threw out a bunch of crap one use to hang up from work, etc.  My wife said I found these diplomas in the trash...you should keep these.  I did.  Not sure where they are at now, but what good is that crap.

I'll finish today with this.  Everything is swell over here.  It just seems that no matter if it is work, social, home, personal, or whatever that the plan changes all the time.  "Hey, we are going in this direction now."  "Let's put more effort into this."  "That doesn't work with Terrance, can we make other plans?"  So sometimes when the dog bugs the hell out of me to take her out in the evening, it seems like the best advice I received all day.

The wild frontier

Looks like the field for Big’s Backyard is set.  With only 75 entrants getting in, I doubt 20% of the field will drop in a few weeks.  Which means it’s all systems go for the Glacial Trail 50 mile.  That is 3 weeks out from today and I feel pretty good about where I am physically.  Got in about 91 miles this week and would be happy with about 80 next week.  It is no more than power jogging these days, but honestly that is all I have and I am enjoying it.

A doe and three fawns got in front of me yesterday in one of the near by neighborhoods.  Not close as I was doing about 20mph, but I did miss my turn.  Suddenly I am finding all this new running turf I was unaware of.  Looking forward to some exploratory shuffling up there.  Probably require 9-10 mile minimum run, but new turf is always a bonus.  Might get up there tomorrow.

I have this new GPS watch.  Not even remotely close to being accurate.  Not the miles, heart rate, or sleep data.  There are many things you can track, but it throws out all these numbers not remotely accurate.  I called customer service only because of the severity of difference.  Known 6.5 mile loop measured 5.1 miles.  Known 2 miles out measured 2.4 out and 1.86 back.  Comical at best, but they gave me a place to go to load up new software or some thing.  I am off tomorrow, maybe I can figure it out.  I picked the watch for my 35 anniversary gift.  I’ll use it, but get me reasonably close!

So what to expect at the 50?  It is an out and back and with Dewey getting a hip replacement the following day he is out.  Tim has stepped in and that is awesome.  Honestly I like crew for the convenience, but it is also huge knowing someone you run with will be out there sharing the experience and rooting you on.  I like the intel as well.  I’m not that far gone where I don’t like to catch people or hold them off.  That’s part of the reason I do this.  Eleven minute miles is a 9:10 so that is the goal.  I’ll plan on going out conservative in the dark and stay within myself the first half.  I’ll try and keep it that way and if I can catch a hot spot the last 10-15 miles try and ride that in.  Always sounds easy when you are sitting on the couch watching the Packer game.

I can’t believe how easy it was to cover 90 miles when you don’t care about the pace 95% of the time.  A couple times a week if I feel thermodynamic, I’ll catch a mile or two around 8:30 pace, but that’s it.  Since the wife works full time at the end of the day I get the dog out for a couple and then add on another 2-3 on top of that.  Truly a win - win - win, because if the dog wasn’t involved the world has a different spin.  Just how life works and I am good with that.

Wicked hard

Al’s Run 8k in 33:38.  Way better than expected.  Most of team exceeded expectations.  Weather certainly cooler than previous years.  Big picnic up at Ryan’s crib.  Great to see the gang and catch up.  I trained through the week and hit about 71.  Another 2 weeks of training and then about 12-13 days of taper before 50 mile.  Still just slow miles.  Whatever the day gives me.  One note about Al’s is I went through 4 miles at 28:00 flat.  As I have done in the past I just let it go.  The 7:00s was about  as fast as I could seem to go.  Ran the last 0.97 miles in 5:38.  I was blowing by people.  Which is nice.  However, it does make one ponder why it took so long to loosen up.  I guess when one trains at 10 and 11 minute miles most of the time it is hard to achieve active flight mode.

Just a bit outside

I’m off today.  What that means any longer I am not sure.  There is always the feeling like something needs to done, or moved forward.  Honestly it can get old.  We have about 10 things in our life we do repeatedly +1 and we go about claiming how great it is.  If anything, running allows me to have the conception of a goal/adventure and matriculate towards that end.  I also enjoy watching others go through the process at all levels.  Yes I still go to HS meets occasionally.  Yes I track my friends progress on my phone running 100 milers.  Running or jogging now-a-days is and can be selfish on my end because I can and have let it be 2-3+ hours a day.  Not all running time mind you, but travel, get ready, etc.  I ran 84.7 miles last week.  That’s a lot for me, but I just don’t enjoy running a 50 miler on memory.

I’m excited about the Glacial Trail 50 mile.  I have not done that distance there.  It can be challenging with a bit of rugged trail with additional leaf coverage.  Not sure I can break 9 hours, but hey why am I putting in these miles?  I turned my ankle up there last year and that makes for a longer day.  It just seems the faster one is the smoother the trail becomes.  I’d like to get in another solid 3 weeks and then an 11 day taper of sorts.  I have Al’s Run 8k this Saturday, but I am training right through that.  If I break 40 then good enough.  Can’t you see we got the damn ballgame on here?

That rabbit's dynamite!

So the plan is not dynamic in any way as I begin to drill down on 5 weeks of training.  Monday through Friday achieve a minimum of 1.5 hours of running per day on 2 runs.  On the weekend run back to back 15 milers with a bonus dog run on Saturday evening to shake things out.  First week went okay as I achieved 79.5 miles.  Yes I am tired, but that goes with the turf.  I do a fair amount of out and backs which works great.  If I run 6 miles in the morning it goes like this.  First 1.5 miles the body figures out we are doing something.  Next 1.5 miles go better and I usually want to extend a bit farther, but I try not to as I am going for a run later.  At 3 miles I turn and it feels like the run is pretty much done as I head to the barn.  Over the last 1-2 miles I perk up a bit and run decent.  I don't worry about being tired because if one has ever done doubles over a period of time the body adapts rather quickly.  More sleep and food required, but that's not a problem.

Very difficult to get into the cruise zone as I age.  In the day the search was on for a hot spot to come.  When it would I'd calculate the Kentucky windage and figure if I could continue in this manner to the finish.  Sometimes yes and sometimes no.  In today's world, if I start to feel decent, I can't depend on it.  It may only last a few minutes.  It is a feeling of clarity.  Near optimal movement over the earth's surface with minimal management needed.  The holy grail of a runner.  I'd run thousands of miles for just a tiny moment of this elixir.  After all, it is why many of us run.  Not to be confused with runners high...whatever that mumbo jumbo is.  I'm talking about when you are laying it down and even with the pedal to the floor there is little exertion felt.

Sorry, I just time warped.  I meant to say these moments don't exist any longer.  But they could to some degree.  That's why I go out and run.  I am trying to make a bit of this happen.  But like Frank Shorter said, "It's not all good looks and a secret recipe."  Honestly most success in distance running comes from being a mileage hog.  Whatever that number is to you, there is always someone else who is doing more.

Yifter the shifter

I get a kick out of this continuing trend towards less miles in training runners.  The main thing is the main thing.  You want to run at your best then the first 5 big rocks in the jar are running.  If the goal is to achieve the best result then figure out how to run more.  I have no problem with all the other stuff, just say that you want to achieve at 60 - 70 - 80 percent of the potential.  When I run 35 miles a week I get 35 mile a week results.  If I add other elements that add up to 2-3 hours of other work, I personally still get less of an outcome if I spent that time running.  Most of my posse is out doing ultra events throughout the year so lack of running definitely has an effect.  Hey, I get the fact that in older people one must rely on other aerobic alternatives to stay in the game.  I’m not that far away.

Sometimes we just don’t want to do the work.  All this running does more than get you physically ready for an ultra.  You have to figure all the other elements out which to me is the challenge.  I can be somewhat of a minimalist.  I don’t have a lot of gear.  I borrow it once or twice a year from friends who are super generous and usually have multiple versions of what I need.  I also don’t go over 50 miles events.  Anyway, I’m still learning stuff after a lifetime of running.  I just had to incorporate a new system of running shorts because of continued chafing issues.  And I did it with stuff I already owned.  Outside of all the things one manages to keep on your feet for hours, I’ve noticed the older I get it is difficult to stay in the zone.  The auto pilot is broke.  Focus, energy swings, and general karma have been thrown out.  You have to deal with staying in cruise mode continually.  Adjustments are made over minutes and not miles.  You have to go run a ton of miles to work on this.  Just like anything else.

So with my 35th work anniversary I get to pick a nice gift.  Lots of choices and the value of these are around $500.  I noticed a Suunto 9 GPS watch which I would never buy on my own.  It has a ton of features which I would use few.  I like the long battery it provides.  I read reviews and most of the complaints are stuff I would not use.  People actually care about posting all their runs?  What’s the deal?  I just want to actually race you over 50 miles, not try and beat your Hoboken Joe 3.4 loop PR.