In 1976 our little high school decided to have a boys cross country program. I was going to be a sophomore and knew nothing about the sport. The thought process was I have always been just about as fast as everyone else so I signed up. After several years of football this just seemed like a better path for a scrawny kid. I remember getting some sort of schedule printed off on one of those machines for the summer. Like everyone else I showed up the first day with basically zero training. I will add that in that era we were highly active kids. We were outside all day in the summer. That's what we did and we rode bikes everywhere. I can still remember those initial days of practice and some of the crap the seniors bestowed on us. So basically the same as any other high school sport. One of them sticks out in my mind. He simply declared he was the best runner we had. I had no reason to doubt him.
Today I just finished 13 kilometers. I'll try and sneak out later with the dog for another easy 5k. I've been moving around rather slowly and have been walking a lot more than usual. One reason was the Doc asked me to after a simple procedure I had and the other reason is this continuing hip/back pain. It really only becomes noticeable after a couple hours. Well, as a guy who like long events that is a problem. So I am trying to start exercises that might help. Which I hate. Plus the dog is 13 and needs a little break once in awhile, so I add in walking with her.
There is also a golden ticket event to be held in Wisconsin on April 3rd. The winner gets into the big dance at Big's Backyard Ultra next year. I've been looking at this for months. But I have little success in anything that basically requires more than 8-10 hours of being out there. I can't stop thinking about this, so I believe I'm going to be signing up. I am very pleased that Brother Grub signed up. He has as good a chance as anyone to do well. That's partially why I want to be there. Sure I want to go have a good go at it, but have to be realistic. I think it would be neat to at least be a part of an event that sends someone to Big's. I'm not getting any younger. I tell myself to find a way to manage the hip/back, pile up some slow miles, and just go have fun. So I thing that's what I am going to do.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Up on cripple creek
I had a DNF at the Glacial Trail 50 mile. I'm okay with that. Here's a brief recap. If you read my last post I felt good coming into the race. It was a cool (low 30's) day and overcast. It was basically dark the first hour. I was traveling slower than I expected, but what can you do. I knew two guys in the race which was Scott Meyers and Parker Rios. It was great to not only run with them, but to see how they managed the course.
Somewhere around 15 miles I noticed my right ankle had turned and it hurt. Thing is I cannot pinpoint exactly where it happened. Probably more of an accumulated total of smaller turns that just weakened it each time. The trail is rough in many spots. This was a higher ankle sprain. I still feel it today, primarily walking on steps.
Around 20 miles I did notice I was listing or tilting to the left. This has happened to me twice before. At Ice Age I think in 2017 and definitely at JFK in 2017. You may see this in other older runners at longer races. I know I have. Once it starts you really can't make it go away. Obviously there is an issue and for the first time I read somewhere about the possible relation to too much fluids. I was definitely in that camp. Whatever it was the crew noticed it and finally mentioned if I was aware of it. Which is a good question because you don't always know. Fact was I did notice and was somewhat bummed out because I was starting to feel the best I had all day past 25 miles.
Why wouldn't I think I could just out run it? Especially feeling decent. Eventually it was too much and my back was killing me. I could not stay erect enough to navigate the trails properly. I pulled the plug at 35.8 miles. Briefly I thought of walking it in, but it was cold and still in the 30's.
As before, the next day the back thing has all but disappeared. Whatever was causing the pain has gone away and all that remains is a back that is slightly sore. The ankle was painful enough that it kept me up quite a bit that night. Good thing was that pain subsided substantially each following day.
But I didn't drop because of the ankle. The back pain was the key to dropping.
Anyway I am now considering some new adventure. Perhaps I'll blog about this soon. I will say that the experience I just had at the race above taught me more about me and long distance running than I have learned in a long time. Hats off to Parker for taking 4th overall and another solid finish by Scotty. Both true legends the past 20-30 years in the sport.
Somewhere around 15 miles I noticed my right ankle had turned and it hurt. Thing is I cannot pinpoint exactly where it happened. Probably more of an accumulated total of smaller turns that just weakened it each time. The trail is rough in many spots. This was a higher ankle sprain. I still feel it today, primarily walking on steps.
Around 20 miles I did notice I was listing or tilting to the left. This has happened to me twice before. At Ice Age I think in 2017 and definitely at JFK in 2017. You may see this in other older runners at longer races. I know I have. Once it starts you really can't make it go away. Obviously there is an issue and for the first time I read somewhere about the possible relation to too much fluids. I was definitely in that camp. Whatever it was the crew noticed it and finally mentioned if I was aware of it. Which is a good question because you don't always know. Fact was I did notice and was somewhat bummed out because I was starting to feel the best I had all day past 25 miles.
Why wouldn't I think I could just out run it? Especially feeling decent. Eventually it was too much and my back was killing me. I could not stay erect enough to navigate the trails properly. I pulled the plug at 35.8 miles. Briefly I thought of walking it in, but it was cold and still in the 30's.
As before, the next day the back thing has all but disappeared. Whatever was causing the pain has gone away and all that remains is a back that is slightly sore. The ankle was painful enough that it kept me up quite a bit that night. Good thing was that pain subsided substantially each following day.
But I didn't drop because of the ankle. The back pain was the key to dropping.
Anyway I am now considering some new adventure. Perhaps I'll blog about this soon. I will say that the experience I just had at the race above taught me more about me and long distance running than I have learned in a long time. Hats off to Parker for taking 4th overall and another solid finish by Scotty. Both true legends the past 20-30 years in the sport.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
The cannons don't thunder
The Glacial Trail 50 mile is tomorrow at 6am. There is a feeling of anticipation as today is a Saturday and this is when one usually is running. Instead I have all day to think about tomorrow and get all my chores done in a timely manner. I have looked at the entry list multiple times and see 42 folks entered. I only know 2 of them personally. Scott Meyers has been around as long as I have been running. I saw him last at the Holy Funk run on August 10th where I put in 35 miles with Andrea. The other is "Brick" who I've known for 3-4 years now. We both ran the Wauwatosa Perimeter run at the end of July which was around 27 miles. Most of the people I know will be running the 50k which has always been the main event. There are routinely over a 100 runners in that one.
Having never run the 50 mile here, it was my carrot run in case I did not get in to Big's which I did not. It has always been on my to do list, but honestly putting up miles in the summer was only something done to race a fall marathon. That's seldom a goal now so I committed to run a lot of slow miles on about 11 runs a week. Nothing fancy. If you read my blog occasionally you can see that.
Back to the entrants list. It is my nature to look and see what the other runners have accomplished in ultras and how I might compare to them. My goal is 9:10 here simply because it is 11 minute miles. Though the course is not overly difficult it does have plenty of rocky sections, many short steep climbs, and leaf cover. For me and others it can be a challenge finding ones trail savvy. Especially for a fellow like me who has occasionally went out towards the upper part of the field just to see what might happen. Those thought do not go away, but memories of many failed attempts do linger. It is my intention tomorrow to strongly lean towards the latter, but I cannot rule out that foolishness may prevail.
Here is what I can say about tomorrow. I should be in shape as I averaged 81.8 miles over a 5 week period and just completed an average 2 week taper. At 58 it is no different than prior tapers in that how I currently feel never tips its hand on tomorrow's outcome. Just trust the work is done. I also have Tim crewing for me. I know Tim well and it is an honor to have this former 2 time state champion from the 70s assisting me. Dewey is having hip replacement surgery the following day so he is out. I'm hoping to be able to do well enough for Tim to relay positive updates to the Dew Master. These are the two guys I run with the most and it is great that they are willing to assist. Another positive is that I do know a fair amount of the volunteers and it is always great encouragement to hear from them. My weight is good as well as I weighed in at 170 today. Tomorrow will be cold. Really cold from normal with starting temps around freezing and maybe only getting to 45F for the high. Actually good running weather, but about 20-30 degrees less than we are all currently used to.
What does this all mean? It means I should be in absolutely no hurry to try and do anything. It is 50 miles so there is plenty of ground to try and cover comfortably. I do not walk much, but I think I will try and walk half the hills. With Tim handing me supplies I should be able to save a bit through the 7 aid stations. I know this is not necessary, but honestly this is what I have become used to. Like a relay team there does seem to be this sense of obligation to do well. You have to take care of yourself early. I've proven to myself numerous times that a conservative approach can result in positive finishes. Not sure why I have to remind myself of this ever time, but I do. The 2019 Ice Age is a strong reminder to stay conservative. Trying to be somebody at 20 miles in resulted in a beat down. Perhaps because I had family there and my mind went into flashback mode. No matter, twern't no Griz left anyway. Let's find out on here a few days later how it all worked out.
Having never run the 50 mile here, it was my carrot run in case I did not get in to Big's which I did not. It has always been on my to do list, but honestly putting up miles in the summer was only something done to race a fall marathon. That's seldom a goal now so I committed to run a lot of slow miles on about 11 runs a week. Nothing fancy. If you read my blog occasionally you can see that.
Back to the entrants list. It is my nature to look and see what the other runners have accomplished in ultras and how I might compare to them. My goal is 9:10 here simply because it is 11 minute miles. Though the course is not overly difficult it does have plenty of rocky sections, many short steep climbs, and leaf cover. For me and others it can be a challenge finding ones trail savvy. Especially for a fellow like me who has occasionally went out towards the upper part of the field just to see what might happen. Those thought do not go away, but memories of many failed attempts do linger. It is my intention tomorrow to strongly lean towards the latter, but I cannot rule out that foolishness may prevail.
Here is what I can say about tomorrow. I should be in shape as I averaged 81.8 miles over a 5 week period and just completed an average 2 week taper. At 58 it is no different than prior tapers in that how I currently feel never tips its hand on tomorrow's outcome. Just trust the work is done. I also have Tim crewing for me. I know Tim well and it is an honor to have this former 2 time state champion from the 70s assisting me. Dewey is having hip replacement surgery the following day so he is out. I'm hoping to be able to do well enough for Tim to relay positive updates to the Dew Master. These are the two guys I run with the most and it is great that they are willing to assist. Another positive is that I do know a fair amount of the volunteers and it is always great encouragement to hear from them. My weight is good as well as I weighed in at 170 today. Tomorrow will be cold. Really cold from normal with starting temps around freezing and maybe only getting to 45F for the high. Actually good running weather, but about 20-30 degrees less than we are all currently used to.
What does this all mean? It means I should be in absolutely no hurry to try and do anything. It is 50 miles so there is plenty of ground to try and cover comfortably. I do not walk much, but I think I will try and walk half the hills. With Tim handing me supplies I should be able to save a bit through the 7 aid stations. I know this is not necessary, but honestly this is what I have become used to. Like a relay team there does seem to be this sense of obligation to do well. You have to take care of yourself early. I've proven to myself numerous times that a conservative approach can result in positive finishes. Not sure why I have to remind myself of this ever time, but I do. The 2019 Ice Age is a strong reminder to stay conservative. Trying to be somebody at 20 miles in resulted in a beat down. Perhaps because I had family there and my mind went into flashback mode. No matter, twern't no Griz left anyway. Let's find out on here a few days later how it all worked out.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Keep it legal
Water is down. Out at the laundromat. Off course I forgot detergent and then proceed to use the slots there and by bleach by mistake. Good times! Dog almost 13. Does what she wants. Eats the plants. Tosses up for grins. Hey I want to hang outside, but please let me back in in 7 minutes. Can I eat 2 hours early today? Classic.
Got in 349.5 miles for September. Missed my last PM run on 9/30. Was a tad under the weather for a couple days. Trying to not run too much on this short taper. This coming 50 miler I’ve heard can be a lonely one with only about 40 runners. It is an out and back. We have 7 opportunities for aid so a bit spread out. Only know one other guy entered. Though I’ll know the majority of the helpers at aid stations which is nice.
The plan is to twinkle toe down to the turn in about 4:30. Repeat on the way back and see if there is a person or two to chase after. A 4:40 return time will yield a 9:10 finish which is the goal. Eleven minute miles. Hope being 58 keeps me disciplined and not channeling visions of grandeur early on. The current weather looks partly cloudy with a low of 36F and a high of 46F. That could be some good running weather.
I have some medical stuff to attend to in a couple weeks. Nothing major, but I believe they want me fairly docile for a couple weeks. I guess. After I am back up and at it I would like to consider the next adventure. Be nice to try something new. I’ve also kind of starting thinking of a marathon (race) when I turn 60. Why not? Just need to stay away from getting busted up.
Got in 349.5 miles for September. Missed my last PM run on 9/30. Was a tad under the weather for a couple days. Trying to not run too much on this short taper. This coming 50 miler I’ve heard can be a lonely one with only about 40 runners. It is an out and back. We have 7 opportunities for aid so a bit spread out. Only know one other guy entered. Though I’ll know the majority of the helpers at aid stations which is nice.
The plan is to twinkle toe down to the turn in about 4:30. Repeat on the way back and see if there is a person or two to chase after. A 4:40 return time will yield a 9:10 finish which is the goal. Eleven minute miles. Hope being 58 keeps me disciplined and not channeling visions of grandeur early on. The current weather looks partly cloudy with a low of 36F and a high of 46F. That could be some good running weather.
I have some medical stuff to attend to in a couple weeks. Nothing major, but I believe they want me fairly docile for a couple weeks. I guess. After I am back up and at it I would like to consider the next adventure. Be nice to try something new. I’ve also kind of starting thinking of a marathon (race) when I turn 60. Why not? Just need to stay away from getting busted up.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
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.
Monday, September 23, 2019
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.
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.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
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.
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.
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