I've been getting antsy. Normally I have Wednesdays off so I can do a long run as part of my training. In the past month and a half I haven't had a Wednesday off. My schedule has been disrupted by holidays and commitments I had made to friends running races or a mixture of tapering and recovering for/from races.
I had a real nice rhythm going up until the DWD Gnaw Bone race. Now it seems like my running and training have been wonky and inconsistent. My weekly mileage has been fair. I've gotten about forty miles a week for the last month or so. I even managed to get about 57 in this past week. Yet nothing over 13 miles. This is a respectable amount but it seems like I had to beg, borrow, and steal for the time to get those miles in. Nothing easy or relaxed in them. This week I even got up at 5:30 am a couple of times to get some mileage in before work. The runs were pretty good. It was nice to know I can get an eight mile run in before work which is always a good option. Maybe not ideal, but an option. Perhaps the only solace in the week was getting 100,000' of elevation gain and getting over a thousand miles for the year already.
Some of my antsyness could be the onset of summer and the heat and humidity that comes with it. I don't know. It could be that I've been limited to running around the roads of the town I live in. I just can't wait to get a day where I can get an uncompromised long run under my belt on a trail. Earlier in the year I had a great rhythm going and hope to get that going again. Hopefully soon.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
OPSF 5050
So a few days after my last update (the one where I mention that I don't like racing towards the end), I went and registered for a 50 mile race that's taking place in my back yard. The Owen Putnam State Forest 5050 is a trail race here in that is set to take place on November 8th. The course, which I've run on several times over the past several years, is on public land that is primarily horse trails.
I like running the out there mostly because it's a challenging run. Typically about three miles into my runs there I think "why the Hell do I come out here ?!?!?" I haven't been too successful in getting anyone out there to run with me though. I usually don't sugar coat my sales pitch about how hard the trail is compared to other local trails. It's a rugged trail with multiple water crossings, steep inclines and declines, the trails aren't marked very well, it's very rocky, typically very muddy, there are sticks and branches everywhere, and tons of horse shit mixed in the mud.
There are steep hills meant for horse riders. I guess horses would have an easier time getting up them. If they were designed for hikers or runners, they would have incorporated some switchbacks to get up (or down) them easier.
Normally I get out there in the early spring because the foliage isn't as overgrown as it gets in the early to mid summer. My last trip resulted in many scratches and my legs covered in mud and ticks. Now that I'm registered for the race out there, I will probably try to make it out there more than I typically do in the summer. Knowing I have this race in November makes the humid training runs seem worthwhile. I just hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew making this my first 50 mile race.
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| map of the Owen Putnam State Forest horse trails |
I like running the out there mostly because it's a challenging run. Typically about three miles into my runs there I think "why the Hell do I come out here ?!?!?" I haven't been too successful in getting anyone out there to run with me though. I usually don't sugar coat my sales pitch about how hard the trail is compared to other local trails. It's a rugged trail with multiple water crossings, steep inclines and declines, the trails aren't marked very well, it's very rocky, typically very muddy, there are sticks and branches everywhere, and tons of horse shit mixed in the mud.
There are steep hills meant for horse riders. I guess horses would have an easier time getting up them. If they were designed for hikers or runners, they would have incorporated some switchbacks to get up (or down) them easier.
 | |
| my shoe the last time I ran at the OPSF |
Normally I get out there in the early spring because the foliage isn't as overgrown as it gets in the early to mid summer. My last trip resulted in many scratches and my legs covered in mud and ticks. Now that I'm registered for the race out there, I will probably try to make it out there more than I typically do in the summer. Knowing I have this race in November makes the humid training runs seem worthwhile. I just hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew making this my first 50 mile race.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
What I've been up to.....or something.
So it's been awhile since I updated anything. In the last few months I just decided to just run consistently. I was running about forty to fifty mile weeks. I was training for a 50 mile race but I injured my foot and that was pretty much the end of that.
During my injury time I turned my attention to weight training. I started learning how Bruce Lee trained for his sport and his methods became the inspiration for my training. He had an insane training regimen with the philosophy that you should train every part of your body. Now he was a martial arts fighter so this makes total sense for that. I just want to run trail. So I decided to focus my efforts on a weight training regimen that would help me become stronger and more injury proof. Lots of core work and shoulder and leg strengthening.
I came up with the training philosophy of "Train for nothing; be prepared for anything". This was directly inspired by Bruce Lee. I don't really like to run races. I like training though. If it wasn't for being registered for the Prairie Spirit run I wouldn't have minded being injured so much. Weight training has been a good compliment to my running and a good substitution when I'm experiencing an injury.
After several weeks my foot was healed and I started running again. This was about mid March and I was advised not to run the Prairie Spirit run (by my foot doctor, wife and friends). I then set my aim on a local race called "Dances With Dirt ~ Gnaw Bone". I wanted to do the 50K or the 50 mile race there. I did an 18 mile run three weeks from the event and figured the 50K distance would be a better fit. The fifty miler would have been too much for me in hindsight.
So in that month leading up to the race I started focusing on hill training. I had to abandon any what little adherence to the Maffotone method I had in order to train the way I wanted. This switch was inspired by a Bruce Lee quote:
I see the Maffotone method as beneficial.I enjoy running hills and the Maffotone Method prevents me from doing that at my present fitness level. Basically I don't have the patience to build my aerobic motor to get to the point where I can run hills according to the Maffetone method. Another Bruce Lee quote that influenced me away from strict Maffetone
adherence is "Obey the Principles without being bound by them." So I decided to train by loosely following Maffotone's method but have fun training. And for me, running hills and charging up them as part of my training is fun.
The Gnaw Bone 50K came and went. I had fun doing it and met a lot of cool people. I went in wanting to run the course in under 6 hours and accomplished that feat. I found out what weaknesses needed to be addressed but overall was pleased with my effort. I had a good time but I still don't think I'm sold on running races. I would just rather say "On such and such date I'm going to run 50 miles" and then train to do that. I don't really need a t-shirt to commemorate the event. Or a medal that will just lay around the house or something. Or to spend a hundred dollars.
Shortly after the GB50k a friend asked if I would pace him for a 100 mile race that he wanted to run. It was about a month away and I agreed. I had never paced anyone before so I had my work cut out for me. I'm bad about my own nutrition and taking electrolytes and all that other shit while running. Now I've agreed to help someone with their own nutritional needs while running. We're fucked. This race was the Mohican 100 that took place in Ohio on June 21st and 22nd. I ended up pacing him for about 34 miles.
I didn't really train for this. I had just been consistent with my running so I was able to do the distance. (Whether or not I did a good job pacing or not is another story. I would give myself a C+) This fit into my new "train for nothing; be prepared for anything" philosophy that I started following several months ago. The 34 miles was a new distance PR by a little over an hour. I did 33 and some change at the cancelled "Eight hours of Payne" non-event event.
The last several months have gotten me out of my routine. I've had to request some weekends off, I had to taper for the Gnaw Bone and Mohican races, and holidays have thrown my routine off. I had to struggle to run consistent with my normal Wednesday "long day" run being vacant. I can't wait to get back in a good routine.
During my injury time I turned my attention to weight training. I started learning how Bruce Lee trained for his sport and his methods became the inspiration for my training. He had an insane training regimen with the philosophy that you should train every part of your body. Now he was a martial arts fighter so this makes total sense for that. I just want to run trail. So I decided to focus my efforts on a weight training regimen that would help me become stronger and more injury proof. Lots of core work and shoulder and leg strengthening.
I came up with the training philosophy of "Train for nothing; be prepared for anything". This was directly inspired by Bruce Lee. I don't really like to run races. I like training though. If it wasn't for being registered for the Prairie Spirit run I wouldn't have minded being injured so much. Weight training has been a good compliment to my running and a good substitution when I'm experiencing an injury.
After several weeks my foot was healed and I started running again. This was about mid March and I was advised not to run the Prairie Spirit run (by my foot doctor, wife and friends). I then set my aim on a local race called "Dances With Dirt ~ Gnaw Bone". I wanted to do the 50K or the 50 mile race there. I did an 18 mile run three weeks from the event and figured the 50K distance would be a better fit. The fifty miler would have been too much for me in hindsight.
So in that month leading up to the race I started focusing on hill training. I had to abandon any what little adherence to the Maffotone method I had in order to train the way I wanted. This switch was inspired by a Bruce Lee quote:
The Gnaw Bone 50K came and went. I had fun doing it and met a lot of cool people. I went in wanting to run the course in under 6 hours and accomplished that feat. I found out what weaknesses needed to be addressed but overall was pleased with my effort. I had a good time but I still don't think I'm sold on running races. I would just rather say "On such and such date I'm going to run 50 miles" and then train to do that. I don't really need a t-shirt to commemorate the event. Or a medal that will just lay around the house or something. Or to spend a hundred dollars.
Shortly after the GB50k a friend asked if I would pace him for a 100 mile race that he wanted to run. It was about a month away and I agreed. I had never paced anyone before so I had my work cut out for me. I'm bad about my own nutrition and taking electrolytes and all that other shit while running. Now I've agreed to help someone with their own nutritional needs while running. We're fucked. This race was the Mohican 100 that took place in Ohio on June 21st and 22nd. I ended up pacing him for about 34 miles.
I didn't really train for this. I had just been consistent with my running so I was able to do the distance. (Whether or not I did a good job pacing or not is another story. I would give myself a C+) This fit into my new "train for nothing; be prepared for anything" philosophy that I started following several months ago. The 34 miles was a new distance PR by a little over an hour. I did 33 and some change at the cancelled "Eight hours of Payne" non-event event.
The last several months have gotten me out of my routine. I've had to request some weekends off, I had to taper for the Gnaw Bone and Mohican races, and holidays have thrown my routine off. I had to struggle to run consistent with my normal Wednesday "long day" run being vacant. I can't wait to get back in a good routine.
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