I was drivin' that Model A

When I was a kid I could burn rubber.  I was a pipsqueak like Grubby.  I dominated in elementary school football.  Country schools have playgrounds about a quarter mile wide and we didn't have good knowledge of what was out of bounds was.  Give me the ball run a 100 yards left and turn up field.  I was Leroy Kelly in my head who had replaced Jim Brown.  A hard act to follow, but Leroy is in The Hall...you could look it up.

In essence this is where it all began.  The distance didn't matter; I felt competitive at all distances.  I think I'd have been a good half miler, but we had guys there in high school.  Good guys not chumps.  It was kind of a raw deal because I had to train like a Manimal to get the occasional point or two at the big meets.  What I didn't understand at the time was the people I ran against had history.  They had programs.  Big trophies in the cases.  I had the run down to the Mill and back and do a few wind sprints.

Looking back I wouldn't have it any other way.  I had to figure stuff out myself.  Along the way I became a runner.  Just another guy trying to rub a few sticks together to get a little fire going.  A running bum.  I'd run thousands of miles for just one good day.  All stuff I've said before, but true. 

A couple days ago I went on a rare evening run at home.  I left the house in the dress soxs and white cotton T and a group of kids mocked me.  I ignored them.  I did look like a 50 some year old hobby jogger barely moving.  About a dozen miles later on the way back I was laying wood.  Close to home, close to 6:30 pace with white T in my hand.  Felt invincible.  Same kids looked at me and it just came out.  "It would take three of you just to tear my picture in half."  Not the most popular Dad in these parts.

You know your semi-good looking

Never a big VH fan, but isn't it odd when you hear songs from when you were younger you kind of groove to them?  Yes even KC & The Sunshine Band.

Rocket Ronnie Bero and I did the 35 mile build-up run a week early.  I just wanted a day without rain and the trails were in excellent shape.  I was surprised how it just clicked by.  I'm tired, but we ran well.  Now I either have a week more to recover from this distance or sneak in another semi-long one next week if weather okay.  It was cool and I believe this helped us.  Plus I ate more than usual and it seemed to help.  I only drank about 110 ounces during the run.

Saw Craig, Kevin R., LaDonna, Mary, Brenda, Chris R., Joel, his brother Tim and one or two other hobby joggers out there.  There is nothing green out there and Ice Age is 4 weeks away.  Big difference from last year. 

Pork sandwiches never tasted so well.

Woke up...got out of bed

It's quarter to 10 in the evening and I just lost my third straight game of Scrabble to the computer.  I wanted to get to bed earlier, but old habits die hard.  I get the coffee ready for tomorrow morning and crawl into bed to listen to the soothing voice of Bill O'Reilly.  I'm sure it is common in Waukesha County.  I say my prayers rather hurriedly because I want to start thinking about running.  I run training ideas past myself as if they were fresh ideas of my own.  The alarm goes off this Wednesday morning as 4:56 am and it takes me 10 minutes to drag myself out of bed.  I take my meds first thing, let the dog out, and pour my first of 2-3 cups of black joe.  I have ESPN on and catch up on the Lakers as if I have a choice.  During a commercial break I go online an check the current weather to see if the dog is able to go with me.  Down in the basement I grab what I need to wear for the day and start strapping it on.  I should probably wash this I say to myself, but it will have to wait for the weekend.  At 5:41 am I leave to run to Jamie's house where he and his border collie Rosie roll out just in time.  The hard part is complete, now I can concentrate on running.  We roll West on the Drumlin this day into the wind and say little as the big election is over.  Some days we rap, other days we just get it in.  It makes no difference to us...we are running bums...and the damn dogs are addicted.

I cheated the day.  Victory was mine.  The run is in the bank. 

It's only a model

If you wanted to train specifically for a marathon or half it seems there are plenty of on-line workouts broken down by month/week.  In ultras...not so much.  I enjoy looking at planned schedules for marathons a few years back and then tweaking them to fit me.  For ultras it mainly runs from how to finish one, discussion on what elements are best, to elite programs that are other wordly.  In other words we kind of have to figure it out on our own.  Which in my experience is pretty accurate.  I have done similar marathon schedules as others with very similar results.  This hasn't always been true in ultras.

You can run and talk with ten different people enough over a season who do ultras and no one seems to be doing the same thing outside of getting in long runs.  That's a big chunk of the pie, but is that it?  I just don't enjoy much over two hours anymore, so I only do 3-4 strategic runs of any length.  Primarily because I like running most other days as well and hate the waxed feeling I get for a few days after runs in the 3.5+ hour range.  I've tried about everything from making the long run the centerpiece of training to detailed strength/speed and the results have been surprisingly similar for trail ultras.  In otherwords, I'm still trying to figure out what works for me which makes it enjoyable, but also a mystery. 

Trail ultras are much different than road ultras.  I seem to get my head around roads much better than any trail.  Ice Age is so different because it is difficult to get into a flow.  The topography is always shifting, rising, turning, to the point you almost always want to have a little juice for what's coming up.  I've probably had 15 seperate conversations on how to run the first loop.  It makes sense to "bank" a little time and use the wide/good trail to your advantage.  I have went to the other side and I go out at training run pace, stay back, take care of myself and maintain that for the day.  Every year it is the same conversation with someone I don't know out there.  "What are you hoping to do."  "7:xx something."  What?!"  I'm hoping to break 9 hours."  What theory are they using?  Look, 10:30 pace is an 8:45.  That would be like me going out at 7:30 pace (6:15).  Why would I do that? 

I walk some at Ice Age, but I don't like walking.  People I respect very much have broken down walking to me.  I have done better recently and may walk more this year.  It seems like such a waste of time...but is it?  I need to try it out on some test runs this year and figure it out. 

I have collected a fair amount of point to point data in my head for time/hills, but realized this last week that there is still much to learn.  I hope to share some of this data as we get closer to Ice Age.   

Just feed him when you can.

I spent much of the fall season running short faster 2-4 mile tempos.  At Thanksgiving I went back to PA and entered a 10k to see how I would fair.  It was a cool day in the mid 20s and I got ready to do battle against another 156 hearty souls.  I went out conservative and was in the lead for a couple minutes before 4 people went ahead.  A couple young guys took the lead and I worked back up to third position and through the mile in 6:12.  The first guy was way out there and didn't look like he was working too hard, but the second one was only maintaining a 30 yard lead on me.  I decided to work the downhill and uphill and caught him at 2 in 12:05.  I went past him and he countered.  We got to a flat section and I opened it up a bit to see what he had and opened 20 yards on him at 3 in 18:00.  I felt okay, but knew I had to push through a windy section and probably gained another 15-20 yards to get through 4 in 24:09.  I maintained through 5 where you make a left hand turn towards the finish in 30:18.  I peaked back and saw a couple guys coming so I laid out what I had so as not to make it interesting.  I know you finish on the track and I was determined to finish strong and did in 37:32 for 2nd.

Tiffany Wolfe

Gobbler's Gallop

Runners warm up in the cold for the 17th annual Gobbler’s Gallop on Thursday.

After a few easy weeks I'm back to my normal hobby jogging in anticipation for the upcoming Ice Age 50 mile.

Feed your head

It is nice running when your not tired all the time.  When I think about it, a decade of doing the long one on the weekend just grew old.  Two hours is doable.  Did 2 hours today and probably will do 2 again tomorrow.  probably wait til January to ramp up a bit.  I assisted the Maestro on an Ultra Intro last month and I will be the wing man twice more before the end of the year.  Jeff is real good and I just ramble.  Hope to get better traction next time.

It is fun having people come up after to chat a bit about themselves and ask questions.  They ask me stuff I have no idea on, but I render a reply anyway.  When hydration comes up I often wonder why the need is felt to really change much before a race.  If you drink too much the night before and the morning of you still have to run it through the system.  I just think it takes some of the stuff you'd like to have with it.

The 50k is a good place to start for beginners.  I struggle when people let me know half their workouts are weights, biking, yoga, swimming...etc.  That is all good and I am sure there is tangible benefit.  I just think if more of the time was spent running it would be a more enjoyable/doable effort.

Kind of looking forward to running with Old Ron Bero this winter.  The Flemish Flash seems to be heading out towards the same path I'm looking for.  Not the one to the pasture just yet. 

IP Man

My son and I watched this martial arts movie and I rather enjoyed it.  It brought back memories of discussions I had with a friend who has practiced for years.  I was intrigued by the mental and physical training and saw many similarities between what he did and running.  He did as well and I enjoyed those discussions.  The movie got me to thinking again as a runner this is my art.  I have and will practice this as long as I can because it is way beyond just doing it to keep in shape.  Though competing does not hold as much as importance as it once did, I still find myself doing it because I want to get better.  Though I often jog around at 9 pace I find my schedule has morphed into a solid platform for me.  I run hard over short distances twice a week just for the shear enjoyment of running faster and then really spend the rest of the week running getting a few easy miles in.  I told Mallach several weeks ago that I have been enjoying running now as much as any time in my life.