Progress Report

So one of the books I've read so far on the subject says that it can take between 6 months and 2 years before your muscles fully adjust to running barefoot. During the time before that you can potentially be at a much higher risk of injuring yourself than you would be running in convential shoes. I've been trying to keep that in mind for my runs so far, keeping it mild and not trying to ramp up the miles, but oh do my calves ache already. So long as I'm careful, I don't think it'll be the end of the world.

Also, with this change in running my plans for the immediate future are a bit upset. I don't want to jump into any long races barefoot for the next month or so, but I'm not sure if I'm keen on switching back to regular shoes just to log a few more races either. I guess I'll just have to play it by ear.

Well, that is all I really have to report, and it's late, so I'm going to bed.

Post Sun Mountain

Something strange seems to be happening to me lately. I'm barely 72 hours past finishing my first 50 mile race, and yet I feel fresh and ready to do another. My legs, which were so achy for the first day after the race that even going up and down a flight of stairs was excruciatingly painful, are now completely recovered. I've been taking the stairs at work two at a time, and feel like I have more of a spring in my step than I used to. I've also noticed that pain doesn't seem to be bothering me as much lately. There were moments during the race where pain was so total, so all encompassing, that anything I feel now is somewhat dulled. Perhaps that effect will pass a bit in time, but if so I should probably capitalize on it now.

The run itself was...almost indescribable. As can be seen from my Garmin Report, It took me just shy of 9 hours to run the entire thing (less about four lost miles, due to a lost marker on the trail. Apparently everyone missed it though, so I'm not feeling too bad about that). Even though I spent the better part of the day in some of the most beautiful country imaginable, I really didn't see much more than what was about three feet directly in front of me. I also discovered that while my homemade gel recipes may work well for shorter runs, after about 5 hours the last thing I could stomach was the taste of dates. Fortunately I managed to make it through thanks to some #9 Energy Gels and a few PB&J sandwiches at the aid stations, I had more than enough energy to get through the race. I also learned that my Ininji socks did not keep my feet from blistering, particularly with all of the downhill that I was pushing. By the time I reached the halfway point, I was ready to drop out between my shredded feet and my twisting stomach, not to mention my thighs were locking up on me and fighting me every step of the way.

Shortly after leaving the midway aid station though, I had a strange moment. I was trundling along, barely keeping above 5mph, when suddenly I thought to myself "Why am I letting my legs dictate what I can do? It's my head that's in charge, not them!" So I started pushing as fast as I could down the trail. I got back up to about 7.5mph (so about an 8 minute-mile) and probably held that for about a mile and a half before sheer pain forced me to stop. Still, it was a valuable lesson in using my mind to overcome my body.

My only regret with running Sun Mountain is that because my feet were so tender, I wasn't able to make up any of the time I lost going uphill by barrelling back down the trails. Still, I had a decent time and I've no regrets. I managed to keep myself in the race by promising that I'd drop out at the next aid station...and then the next...and the next...until I was done. Future races I hope not to maintain such a pessimistic attitude, but the end result is what matters, and finish it I did.

I haven't exactly jumped back into my regular running routine yet, but I'm definitely feeling ready to. Kami and I did go spin out a single mile around Wapato Lake the other night, but short distance was as much because of my feet as because of my legs. Well, not exactly because of my feet, but because of what was on my feet. You see, after reading a little book called "Born to Run" I've decided to give this whole minimalist/barefoot movement a try, and so Kami and I picked up a pair of Vibrams the other day. In addition, I'll probably be getting some Luna Sandals some time this weekend. So far, in what running as little as a mile can tell me, I am pleased with the result. I could feel the areas of my footstrike that need work, and I liked that I could tell what sort of terrain I was running over. We will see how they fair on longer runs.

Two Weeks and Counting

According to my phone, I currently have 12 days, 8 hours, 4 minutes until Sun Mountain. This leaves me feeling many different things, not all of them good. There is still a bit of logistics planning to do, but for the most part I have already figured out what I'll be wearing, eating, storing, and carrying. Now all that's left is to RUN the thing.

So first, below should be the link for my Sunday run statistics. You'll notice that it has a new feature now- maps! Yes, I finally upgraded my watch (have I mentioned this already? I can't remember) to the Garmin 305. It is very handy. Has a compass and everyhing, which proved to be a (literal) lifesaver already.

Tiger Mountain Run

This weekend's run left me considering some issues that hadn't actually crossed my mind during my earlier, more controlled street runs. Essentially, when I took off on Sunday morning my plan was to get in one more solid long run before I begin tapering down. This basically equated to trying to focus more on elevation gain than distance, so I opted to go attempt a track I found in my book that ringed all around Tiger Mountain, east of Seattle. However, being the type of person who obsesses over all the minute details but then forgets the big issues, I neglected to bring any sort of map with me. This was my first problem.

The weather had been promised as spotty rain, which more or less delivered. I had a few moment that probably qualified as a downpour in other parts of the country, but here in Western Washington most just get dismissed as drizzle. However, I did not take into account the effect that such moist weather might have had on very dirt-based trails, particularly trails that were at any sort of angle (honestly, shouldn't the water have kept flowing downhill or something?). Thus, the first hour of my planned 4 hour run were spent slogging up hills that bore more in resemblance to a slip-and-slide than an actual trail. Despite this they were still cleaner and more maintained than anything I've found in the Captitol Forest so far.

The mud also had the effect of ensuring that once I hit the two hour mark, pushing forward seemed like a better option than going back. Since I felt that I was more or less about halfway around the mountain at this point, I kept traveling on, choosing pathways more or less at random, having totally abandoned the original route laid out by my book (which, in my defense, is fairly outdated). There is a compass function built into my watch, but I didn't turn it on, relying on my internal compass instead.

Somewhere around 4 and a half hours in, I passed the same set of rocks that I had run by earlier, and finally had to admit to myself that I was lost. I managed to seek the aid of a passing hiker, the only one that I seen in almost two hours, and readily determined that while I thought I had been running North towards the mountain's first peak, I had in fact been running South towards it's third (who knew a mountain could have more than one peak?). The hiker gave me one of her spare maps, pointed me down an old logging road that was reading North according to my watch, and sent me on my way.

I contined along this trail, now keeping an almost constant eye on my directional indicator, trusting in it with almost religious zeal, even when the road begain to incline up. And up. And up. I started at about 1100 feet, and topped out at 2900. At this point I noticed two things- first, there were patches of snow on either side of the road, and second, I had popped out into what looked like some sort of industrial complex at the peak, with large satellites and chain fences around quiet buildings. I still hadn't seen anyone since that hiker. Finally, I reached the end of the road, literally. Where the map I now possessed said I was to keep going forward, and building sat, ringed with a tall fence and warning signs that proclaimed there were dangerous levels of NIER (Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation). My ability to go forward was blocked, and the thought of going back crushed me. I just sat down in the middle of the road, my mind a blank.

Finally, after a few minutes I collected myself, and noticed a smaller sign next to the larger warnings. It said only two words- Bypass trail -and had an arrow pointing to the right. Hope flooded back into my , and took off down this trail, hopping from rock to rock, running as fast as the terrain would allow me to. Finally I was on my way home.

After that I had a few points where I had to backtrack and consult my map, but for the most part it was a road straight north to home, and almost all downhill. The further North I traveled the more hikers I encountered, and having some of humanity nearby provided a little more feeling of safety. Finally, after plummeting down a steep section of the trail for about half a mile, I suddenly popped out onto cement road, with my car just a few feet away!

So, lessons learned here- don't deviate from planned trips, or attempt new paths, unless you have plenty of spare time in which to do so. Make sure to carry maps and other tracking supplies (I don't know what I would have done without my compass). Also, always pack way more than you in food and water. I brought a couple hours worth of extra, but being on the trails running as long as I was multiplied my hunger factor by several levels. I was ravenous by the time I got back to the car. The final, and most important lesson of the day? Don't underestimate what elevation will do to your running time. There were spots where I was barely moving over 1 mile an hour. I know all of the trail books talk about how running pace on roads doesn't equate to running pace on trails, but this weekend really drove the message home to me.

That said, I can't wait to go out and run Tiger Mountain again.

A Bump in the Road

So suffice to say Saturday's workout was bad. I won't go into details, but the terms crashing and burning come readily to mind. Did manage to crank out about 25 miles, but they were far from impressive miles, let me tell you.

The rest of my workouts this week have been going pretty well. I'm further experimenting with the Thrive diet, and while I still admit that it is extreme and rather rigid, I cannot deny that it gets results. I have been trying out some of his exercise related recipes for pre-and-post workout, and my ability to recover is already noticably improved. Replacing one of my regular meals with a Cholophyll filled smoothie each day has been leaving me with longer lasting energy supplies into the day too, so much that I haven't even had to nip a bit of caffeine all week. This is progress, but it is far too early to decide anything definative.

With less than 7 weeks, and only about 5 solid weekend runs, remaining before Sun Mountain, I have been kicking into high planning mode, trying to lay out exactly what I want to accomplish over the next two months, so that way I can start the race off as prepared as I possibly can be, given what little information I have so far obtained about the entire affair. Currently I am forecasting my plans around semi-optimistic results: assuming that I'll finish, but probably not to far under the 13 hour cutoff time. While my still distant dream is to ensure a sub 10 hour time, I intend to pack and organize my supplies in preparation for the longer shot, so that way I won't find myself caught without fuel. However, the more I assume I need, the more I'll have to prepare ahead of time. The Friday night before departure is going to be a busy one.

I'm also trying to plan out my runs to help optimize my odds of reaching my sub 10 dream. While I can't change much about my weekly workouts other than the time I spend running (and that I can only realistically increase once tax season winds down), my weekend runs are becoming more and more key to my overall success. If weather holds this Sunday may find me on an actual trail for the first time in a long while, but the weather around here is rarely cooperative, especially this particular spring. Fingers shall remain crossed, but rain gear is also kept close at hand.

Bah, enough rambling. Time for a little sleep before speed intervals in the morning.

Changes keep coming

So sometime in the evening after Sunday's run I noticed I had developed a huge blister on the side of my foot. That's what I get for not using some anti-chafe gel, I suppose. In order to give my feet time to rest I've been hitting the elyptical this week instead. Unfortunately, that's extremely sweaty work, and given that I already sweat at a very high rate while indoors anyway, this can lead to much awkwardness. Today I was drenched so bad I actually couldn't maintain a grip on the handlebars, they were slicked down with sweat that badly. I ended up having to just kind of lean on the machine for the last ten minutes or so. This was in itself a problem however, because of my headband. I recently picked up a Halo brand band, which is supposed to funnel moisture away from your eyes. What they don't tell you is that it only works when you hold your head level (which most of us do while running, which is what it's designed for), but leaning over, like when riding a bike, causes all the sweat to just drip down your nose instead. So I had to keep throwing my head back every time I felt a cascade start. It was very distracting, did not help me concentrate on the workout at all. I may have to try something different tomorrow.

Also lately I've been reading more snippets from Brazier's book, which gets real intense real fast. While I find myself intrigued and entranced by his diet regime, I don't think it's something I could ever entirely follow, not in it's base form. It is such an austere, focused diet that I have to question what it is that Brazier thinks people are trying to get out of food. Certainly not taste. That does seem to fit with the theme of it all though, given that the diet's focus is on maximizing energy output rather than being concerned with more humanistic aspects.

Allow me to ellaborate for the unfamiliar (or those too busy to read at length from Brazier's blog). The Thrive diet is an extremely focused Raw Foods Vegan Diet. No Corn, no Gluten, no Soy. The remaining sphere's of consumption can be called limited at best, Draconian at worst. The core of it lies with eating leafy greens in order to "cleanse" the digestive tract, followed by a modest selection of fruits, faux grains, and nuts to complement dietary requirements. I could imagine a professional athlete following this diet quite rigorously, as well as a few orders of Buddhist monks. However, the layman require's an additional, simpler element to their daily fair: taste. As one cannot live on bread alone, one cannot also consist for long on a diet of Kale, Spinach, and Hemp before one goes completely mad.

While I will certainly be adapting some dietary changes based on what I've been reading (and already have instituted many of them, for much the better on my training I might add), to believe as the author does that this is a diet that could ever be applied to "the common man" is utterly laughable. For one thing, most people don't have the time or monetary resources that such a diet would place upon them. Also, while I am sure that the thought of a Raw diet holds much credence down where it is warm year round, such as California, here in the cold north I would decry you to find a common worker who is willing to come home on a frosty day to a dinner of cold lettuce. In short, the diet is much like asking a man in a wheelchair to run a marathon: better to get him to learn how to walk again first, then worry about the more lofty goals. Until the entire world can be fed comfortably, such a diet is only obtainable by a lucky few in the bourgoise class, and only those that have something that they place more important than the taste of their food. Much of what upper society eats may be empty of any nutritional value, but I'm guessing most will continue to choose the pie over carrot, even when they know what it means in the end.

Alright, this rant has waxed on long enough. For the record, I really do like what Brazier is attempting to achieve through his work, it's that he appears to have bit off a bit more than he can chew here.

Rain Puddles

Oh boy, was this a day of ups and downs. I was half certain there for quite a while that I wasn't going to get a run in at all. I had originally planned to take Kami with me out to Enumclaw, where we would hook up with my dad and take a lovely journey through the country, them on bikes, me on foot. Of course, I woke to the site of pattering rain this morning, but after several scans of the Doppler I determined that the clouds were moving South and that we would probably have clear skies soon. Sadly, and much to my chagrin, the clouds were in fact moving north, and the rain continued for almost two hours after we arrived. I was just about to give up and head back to Tacoma when the downpour slowed to a trickle. A group consensus was reached that we should make an attempt at the trip, although shortening it a bit, and off we went.

Of course, there were more problems. My Camelbak got a plug in it right off the bat because I hadn't mixed up the powder in it sufficiently, I forgot both my cell phone and the bagel I had been planning to bring along, and my pedometer's battery died about a mile out, so I ended up running the whole thing having my dad shout out mileage and speed to me from the other side of the road. On the whole though it was very pleasant, with only a few light sprinkles of rain here and there, and even a bit of sun during the middle of it. Totaled out to somewhere around 23 miles in about 3:15, although I can't be certain of the exact distance.

In other news, I'm still reading away though the novel Once a Runner, although I've also started reading Brendan Brazier's Strive book on the side. Kami and I have been adopting a bit of his Vega brand of products into our workouts, and I wanted to know a bit more about the philosophies behind them. Haven't read much of it yet, but so far it seems to confirm that I'm on the right track with what I've been doing about my training and recovery plans.

So, while three more weeks of tax season remain, I should only have 2 more Saturdays where I go in. After that I can begin expanding my training regime a bit more, traveling a bit farther for my workouts. I've got plenty planned here locally, but I've also got some ideas for a few more exotic locals to travel to do some running. Of course much of that hinges on the weather, and if the rain continues in the coming months like it has been, I'm going to be sorely undertrained for Sun Mountain regardless of how many miles I put in. So here's to hoping for some clear skies!

Mid week Post

I've now run for 4 days in a row, including my long run on Sunday. If I'm lucky I'll manage to make a total of six days in a row, with a speed interval tomorrow and an easy run on Friday. Also on Friday I'm gonna do a test run at the gym with my new trail shoes, help break them in a bit before I try to take them off road, so to speak. I attribute much of my recently found strength to getting a good boost of protein right after I finish my runs. Hopefully my energy levels will keep up as well.

For this weekend's run I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will be nice, because if it is I'll haul out to Enumclaw early in the morning for a run in the country. My father already offered to follow me on his bicycle for company, and I think I've convinced my wife to get up early with me, throw her bike in the car, and tag along as well. I could have quite the entourage following me if this keeps up!

Finally, I also signed up for membership to the American Trail Running Association, since it comes with subscriptions to both Running Times and Trail Runner, as well as a discount to Ultrarunning Magazine. Not that I'll be renewing my membership to that one any time soon; until I've successfully completed an ultra, I'm not worthy to look at its hallowed black and white pages.

Alright, signing out.

Quick Entry

Bleh, just a quick post and then I'm off to bed.

I haven't had many opportunities to post lately (well, I have, but when the choice is to write here or to sleep...), but hopefully that'll get better in another month here. So close to the end of tax season! Of course that hasn't stopped me from logging some miles, as you can see below.

Point Defiance Run

In other news, I have been reading several new books lately (well, "new" being a relative term- one of them was written in the 70s), and I finally managed to pick up some new running shoes this weekend, a pair of New Balance 993s, and those Salomon XA shoe that I had been eyeing. Hopefully they'll prove to be worth the investment.

After taking a hydrostic measurement test the other day at the gym, I've come to the startling conclusion that I'm not getting enough protein in my diet given the number of miles I've been racking up. Hence our kitchen has been rapidly filling up with various sources of protein-goodness. I've actually been keeping track in a log to make sure I'm getting enough over the course of a given day. Also started taking a protein shake right after one of my workouts, something I used to do on a regular basis but then fell out of the habit. I can't remember the reason why. In any case, we'll see if it helps at all.

Alright, this post was quick and dirty, but I'll try to get some more up there soon. Just a little over two months now until Sun Mountain, still so much training left to do. Time to start hitting the trails!

Road to Recovery

So ran for the first time in almost a week this morning. Managed to log a solid 7 mile hill workout in before heading off to the office, which I find rather impressive considering that I still can't really breathe out of my nose.

Still hoping that the weather will cooperate with me this Sunday for my run. Most likely it'll be off and on showers, gettting more frequent the closer I get to the mountains. Well, a little rain won't be too bad, so long as the temperature stays at what it's been the last several days.

Alright, and that's it. These 10 hour work days really cut into any spare time I have in the evenings.

Tales From a Bed

Well, it seems that my guess of ozone-inhalation was a bit of a wild guess, as the real cause of my cough revealed itself on Thursday. I've been laid up with a nasty cold ever since then. Of course, the cough may be completely unrelated, but at this point it's rather hard to tell.

Had to skip my long run this morning, which was a bit of a pity, even if it was only going to be 20 miles or less (just something to keep my legs up for next weekend). I've been laying low all day, and hopefully will be in top shape by Tomorrow. Will probably not resume workouts till Tuesday just to be certain. This is a decision made more of resignation rather than acceptance, since I don't even have the strength to stand for very long right now, and just going up and down the stairs at work on Friday almost caused me to pass out. I'd just as soon avoid that happening.

Didn't actually get to see the Jimmy Kimmel Show Live on Thursday (was asleep before it aired anyway), but Kami and I checked out the YouTube clip of Dean Karnazes yesterday, and it meets with much approval. I love how Dean doesn't really say much, he just kinda agrees with whatever the interviewer is babbling about so he can get out of there. Of course, he was probably just there as support for Kelly Ripa, but still, nice that he keeps getting to plug his books and projects. Gotta keep these things moving forward, even if it does mean appearing on the idiot box.

Hmm, that reminds me that I still have a chapter or so left in 50/50. Probably should finish that.

Smog and Shoes

I just finished adding up some figures, and I figured out that in the last 30 days I've put 150 miles on my shoes. Not a huge number in the sphere of ultra-running, but it is definately starting to age my current pair of shoes. I've been thinking that I'll probably try and buy two pairs next, so I can alternate their use and try to extend their life a bit longer that way. However, that plan means twice the expense the next time I hit up RoadRunner. Adding to that, I also need to get myself a decent pair of trail runners some time before Sun Mountain, and that means I need to buy THREE pairs of shoes sometime in the next couple months. Before I know it, I'm going to own more shoes than my wife.

At least I already know what pair of trail runners I'm going to get. I've had my eye on the Salomon Ultra GTX for a while now. If these things can't handle what I've planned over the next six months, then nothing can! I still need to figure out what to do for street shoes though. The Nike Equalon 4 that I've been using so far have treated me fairly well, and they're still being produced, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't check out what else is out there. I'll just have to devote a day to trying on shoes at some point, I guess...

Also, ever since I began my new job I've been having a bit of a nagging cough. It's rather dry and clean, so I hadn't really thought much about it, just figured it was due to getting used to the dusty office conditions again. Then last night I was reading an article about the dangers of ozone inhalation for city runners. The basic issue was that cars cause low level ozone, which when inhaled can accelerate the aging of lung tissue, and leads to various breathing problems like asthma and coughing. This is especially common in city runners because you can inhale up to ten times as much oxygen while running.

Once I started thinking about it, I realized that most of my runs since I started at the office have been in more congested conditions (while I love the Scott Pierson trail, most of it is less than 50 feet away from the freeway), and it seems to have gotten worse after this last Sunday's run, where I basically ran parrallel to the road for four hours of so. Add onto the issue of my being a motocyclist, where I'm basically breathing the exhaust pipe of the car in front of me several times a day, and I wouldn't be suprised if that might not be the cause of my coughing. So, I may have to travel so somewhere a little less congested for my next big run.

Speaking of which, this weekend's run is probably going to be fairly light (as in, no more than 20 miles), but the next weekend is my birthday run. 27 miles all the way from Tacoma to Enumclaw. I haven't exactly set the route in stone yet but I have a rough idea about how I'll get there. I've also been trying to talk a few friends into running it with me, the last mile or so at the very least, but so far no takers. I just need to make more running friends, I guess ^_^

Well, I'm up later than I should be.

The Long Haul

So I've made a decision- from this point on, I'm done trying to shave a few dollars off the budget by buying expired running products. I'm sick of powders going stale and gel packs that have thickened to the point of needing to be chewed. The savings are not worth it when I'm 20 miles out and the sudden shock of bad supplements makes me feel like I want to puke. So, done with that.

I am also starting the favor the GU product line. I've been trying a variety pack of their gels, as well as their orange flavored water additive, and I'm quite pleased with what I've experienced so far. A nice mix of electrolytes, a light flavor, and little sugar. I'll have to try it out on a few more runs, but I think I might have found the product line for me.

Today's run was a bit of an experiment, in that I was trying out the 25/5 formula favored by many ultrarunners, which is basically 25 minutes of running, 5 minutes of (brisk) walking, and then rinse and repeat. The idea behind it is that the body tends to peak at about 20 minutes of cardio activity, and it takes the heart about 4 minutes to recover to normal rate levels. So with this in mind, I set off this morning with the plan being to run for about two hours, see where I ended up, turn around and head home.

I initially started out on the Scott Pierson trail, my mind being fuzzy about it's exact length but thinking it to be about 10 miles from end to end. I figured I'd be lucky to get to the other side of the Narrows Bridge before I turned around. Much to my chagrin, I was barely an hour into my run by the time I reached the bridge, so even with it taking about 10 minutes to get from one side to the other, I still had a fair bit of time to burn up. So I crossed over to the north side of the freeway, and with not really knowing where I was going, I set off to the west.

Following a windy country road eventually led to me a T-intersection. Because the turn looked more running friendly than continuing straight (there was a sidewalk), I started up a bit of a hill. At this point I had about 20 minutes left of running, and figured, really how far could I get? Quite far, apparently, since the road immediately sloped back downwards, and I ran along carelessly, until I found myself right in the downtown core of Gig Harbor. This was all well and good, but now I realized I had to turn around and trudge all the way back.

It took me almost an entire half hour to trek back to the top of the hill, and I was sweating pretty bad at that point, despite the fact that it was only about 34 degrees at that point (which was still warmer than the 28 that I had set out in). Howver, after dropping back down to the T I was running in heavy forests for the next several miles, and my sweat immediately began to freeze to my skin. My hands got so cold that I had to keep flexing them open and closed just to move the blood around. I was mere seconds from stopping to pull my gloves back out of my pack when I burst out of the woods and saw the bridge in front of me again.

By the time I had worked my way back down to the start of the Narrows, I was starting to suffer a constant ache in both of my legs, not enough to cause any real pain, but definately a warning sign that I was hitting my limit. Once I crossed the bridge I once again had a fairly steady uphill as I climbed back to 6th Avenue. By the time I got there I was starting to get little shocks of pain when my left foot slapped the ground, a sensation I remembered well from when I ran the Tacoma Marathon. Fortunately it died back down to an ache after a few minutes, but I was having a hell of a time moving forward the last leg of the trip. After I finished my final walking break at 3:30, I just covered up my watch and told myself to simply run slow until I got home, no more pacing myself. The last mile was about half run/half shuffle, but I managed to keep myself move forward at some semblence of a trot until the South M Street hill came into view. Then, with a final bit of energy that I didn't even know I still had in me, I powered up the hill at a fair pace, to basically collapse in my driveway at the top.

Gig Harbor Run Statistics

So, this run was both good and bad. Good in that I managed to push myself to my limits, but bad in that my limit is only about half of what it needs to be about 3 months from now. As I said in my last post, I'm right on track for being ready for Sun Mountain, but I'm acutely aware that even a small mishap could derail much of my careful planning. It's a fine line to walk between training enough and training too much.

That said, you'll probably find me at the gym tomorrow, bright and bushy-eyed!

The Mountain Approaches

So after some light debate this week, I've settled on the Sun Mountain 50M for my Cascade Crest qualifying event. The bad news about this is that this will mean running a qualifying a bit earlier than I had intended (the race is May 22nd), but the good news is that I'm currently on track to be more than ready for it when it gets here.

I also got an email from the Cascade Crest organizer, who said among other things that the dropout rate before the race is typically about 30%. I really have to wonder why someone would sign up for such a big commitment, only to drop out before even attempting it. Obviously there are some people who have legitamite reasons such as injury or unforseen conflicts, but I can't imagine that accounts for a full 30%. Given that these races have such high levels of DNF already, giving up just seems strange to me. Then again, the $200 entry is probably a lot more precious to me than it is to other folks.

I don't really have an official route planned for this weekend; rather I'm going to simply run for about four hours or so and see where that gets me (or rather, two hours, then turn around and come home). Hopefully this will work out without me being stranded somewhere far from home. With my wife gone all this weekend, I'd probably have to call my parents to come pick me up if I was to wrecked to make it back on my own. So here's to hoping that doesn't happen.

In the meantime, I've got a dozen or so tax returns to finish.

Chamber Bay Run

So during today's run I attempted to take some pictures while on the move. Suffice to say it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, but I got a couple good shots, which posted up on FaceBook:

Awesome out of focus pictures!
Chamber Bay Run stats

Other than completely blowing my quads out on the last big downhill, I'm quite pleased with today's run. Sure, my legs will ache all day tomorrow, but I made some impressive progress with my hill training. Eventually they may become merely grueling to do.

I did have a bit of a problem with the gel packs that I took along, in that several of them were old enough they had congealed and gotten quite the disgusting flavor. I ended up not being able to eat them, so I had to run the last 10 miles or so without fuel of any kind. I've got to learn to stop buying these things from discount piles and then leaving them on a shelf for a year before using them.

So work has been ramping up lately, as it is wont to do this time of year, but fortunately I've managed to maintain a solid 45 minute workout so far. Soon I'm gonna have to roll my start time back by an hour though, which will mean getting to the gym at 5:30, something I'm not really looking forward to yet.

Also, Saturday morning I managed to successfully register for the the Cascade Crest Ultramarathon, which was more of an achievement than you might think, as this event only have 146 slots, and they all filled up within about 10 hours of registration opening. I'm lucky I happened to be sitting right at a computer when reg went live. Now just the small matter of meeting the pre-race requirements (completing a 50 mile trail run), and I'm set. That however is a problem to worry about once tax season is over. For now, just trying to get through my running one day at a time.

And with that, time to get some extra sleep and let poor muscles recover.

Quick Post

So not much to report currently. For this weekend's run I'm thinking about taking Kami to run the path around Chamber's Bay Golf Course. Of course, that's only a three mile track, so I'm thinking I'll probably run from the house, and have Kami drive over and meet me at the course later. Hopefully with a roundabout path and about three loops of the course I should log about 20 miles for this Sunday's run.

Even though I've begun ramping up hours at work, my energy levels haven't been lagging; actually, if anything I've felt more energetic lately. Even now as I right this when I should be getting ready for bed, I feel energetic enough to get out and run a couple miles. Not that I will. I may have the energy, but my muscles are still recovering from last weekend. I read recently about using a pair of recovery tights after running to help speed up recovery, so I might look into that at a later point.

Three more days till I can sign up for Cascade Crest.

Sore Legs

So anyone who has been following my sporadic posting here may remember mentioning a book I was looking for way back in December '09 called "Phenomenon of Man" by Teilhard. I have been casually looking for it ever since then, but had never managed to procure a copy. I probably could have jumped on Ebay or Abebook and found an obscure copy somewhere, but I just couldn't bring myself to put that much effort into the search. Just the other night however, I was reading some novel or other on my Kindle, and it occurred to me that I hadn't yet checked the Amazon marketplace. Thirty seconds later (maybe less) I had myself a copy. It was so quick and simple it almost hurt my head. Amazing what we can do in this digital age now...

So Kami followed me out on another run this morning, this one taking us all the way to the other corner of Tacoma, along Schuster Parkway, and then finally home by way of cutting through Wright Park. I've run the route the other direction by myself before, but this was the first time I had attempted it in reverse. The hill coming out Old Town back into Tacoma proper proved to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated, but otherwise the run was enjoyable. Not that my aching calf muscles would believe that now.

Downtown Run Statistics

Well, that about sums up the day. Pretty much more of the same for the coming week- elyptical cross-training tomorrow, hill running Tuesday, recovery run Wednesday, weights Thursday, Tempo run on Friday. Not sure what I'm doing for this weekend's run yet, but probably something involving hills. Both Kami and I need more hill training.

Returning Again

Well hello. I have returned to updating this blog once again following a severe bout of the running blahs brought on by injury, lack of employment, and my having gotten distracted with other interests. Not that I've really stopped running over the last several months, I just couldn't bring myself to take the time to actually write about it. I'll try to correct for that going forward.

A couple things have changed in my routine lately, the first being that I've introduced Udo 3-6-9 oil into my diet as a replacement for the fish oil tablets I've been using for years. I finally decided to cut the fish oil after I determined it was what had been upsetting my stomache recently. So far the only noticable difference with Udo is that I have to take it straight rather than in a pill form. I doubt it's as bad as Cod Liver Oil, but I keep imagining the taste to be about the same. Hopefully with imbibing it on a daily basis, I'll get used to the taste eventually.

Another item of note is that my wife recently purchased a bicycle, so she has been following me on my longer runs. This adds a lovely bit of companionship to my runs that had so far been lacking, but it certainly is a different experience having someone else along, and certain adjustments have had to be made. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

My running schedule currently is comprised of three 5-mile runs during the week, with a fourth longer run on Sundays (currently up to about 17 miles). Tomorrow I intend to introduce Kami to the experience of running through Downtown Tacoma, not to mention the waterfront, which should make for a nice change of scenery.

Alright, longer report after tomorrow's run, as well as some reflections on the reading I've been doing lately.