Monday, April 28, 2014

no Mac River 50k

Despite my promises of daily sacrificial leg beatings to the lotto gods--and 60/40 odds--the MacKenzie River 50k and I are not going to be getting together this year.  I've generally opposed entering lotteries for races as my train of thought has been "why?  when there are so many other races out there..."  And, I am not an especially lucky person when it comes to drawings.

Too bad, I think the course and I could have made a great pair.  It would have helped me to run a slightly more gentle and speedy 50k as I prepare for my potential goal of 3:30 at Autumn Leaves 50k.  I'll just find something else to do that month, perhaps Bunker to Bonneville 50k on Aug. 30.  That's the race I took my first and only DNS on due to a bad knee injury.

Mac training is pretty mediocre but I feel like I am progressing well with respect to mid-June's 50k race.  The daily ritual runs remain and it's been wonderful having Mike Studer along for the early departure (I leave around 4:15 most weekdays and he's the only one out there that would consider at start that early).  Track was tough and hills are something I can almost always use more of in my diet though I certainly got my share of hills on yesterday's adventure along the Elk/King Mtn. Traverse with Don G.  We were floored after all the steep climbing (~6000') and quick descents even though it was only about 13 miles traveled.  I spent the afternoon eating, avoiding stairs and applying a heavy doses of wine to numb the pain. 

Despite the fact that the Mac is only one week out I think I will try and pull off a decently long run this coming weekend.  Probably just do the Zena route to home thing with a few faster miles towards the end unless something better comes up.

End boring Monday training post! 

Monday, April 14, 2014

wah wah wah

rearrangin' the mix a bit so I thought I'd update all my imaginary fanbase.

running regularly for lots of reasons has been tough for me lately.  I felt crappy after all the time off in February.  Things just hurt and my lungs where all beat up after dying nightly of TB like cough fits (no blood from the mouth, just the nose).  I know, I am still complaining about a cold in February... lame.  but it seriously left a little trauma mark on me.

then things started to come around a little about the same time that it stopped snowing and being shitty/winter back east.  what's the weather back east got to do with my running in Oregon?  the relationship is indirect but nice weather means Spring and Spring means harvest at the nursery.  we run around like chickens with our heads cut off for 13hrs a day, 6 days a week and load plants into semis and send them to a garden center near you.  it's a harvest, if you're over 50 or 60 maybe you've been a part of one, there's no way to describe it's intensity.

this harvest just wipes me out.  I leave early and get home late.  I barely have time to eat.  running gets lackluster and seems like a forced drill rather than a hobby.  so I skip it.

anyway harvest seems to be in a bit of a lull and work's still crazy but I am feeling a resurgence of energy coming on.  I am ready to put together a solid block of training like I did last fall.

the Mac looms large being only 4 weeks out.  I was digging and digging for an excuse to just go "have fun".  you know classify it under "b-race" or "training run" status.  I was desperate for a reason to not have to race the thing but I didn't have any newbie friends to run it with or that uncle with cancer whose dying goal was finish a 50k that I could heroically walk the thing with.

until today.

I found a late June 50k and now the Mac is a long run.  whew.  can you feel the stress lifted from these quads and lungs?  I am excited about the 50k as it's in Smith Rock, one of my favorite parts of God's country, and it's got vert but not overkill.  awesome.  I am going to work hard for that gig, relax a week or so, and then wage a training block like non other (no ridiculous mileage-just a bunch of hard work) before the MacKenzie River 50k (did you hear that lottery gods?  the promise of sacrifice?!)

yeehaw super-fans.  summer's gonna be hot.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

GET ON THE TRAIN

February Recap:

I suffered through 2 and 1/2 weeks of Black Lung Death Cough and never ran a step (missing Zena Road Race).  I started to feel better and ran a few days (mostly in Denver) and decided to race Buck Mtn 6.5 mile up at Silver Falls State Park since I love that little loop so much.  Within 200 yards I could taste those pennies that usually come with an extreme track workout...  raw lungs already?  no bueno.  I took things easy on the climbs because breathing was difficult.  I charged the downhills as fast as a person who hadn't run much lately could.  I ended up in 4th place overall.  I got a little plaque to add to my meager collection of mediocre accomplishments.  I also got the cough back.  It stuck around for another week and 1/2 to 2 weeks and by then I was feeling the fitness fade.

March:

You see when I take time off I do it to the max.  I sleep less.  I eat poorly.  I drink more.  It doesn't help with the sickness but these are the things that people do when they are bored and don't have to get up early to jog.  The results are bad but I am slowly getting back to things.  You know 3 days a week, 4 days a week, 5 days a week...  and so on.

While I was sick I took up yoga and home improvement.  Re-did the front yard, the side yard and working on the back.  Yoga was primarily an exercise in resisting coughing fits for an hour with some pathetic stretching on the side.

I raced Monument Peak 10 mile this past weekend.  Total mudfest.  Fun and challenging.  Felt weak on climbs but hung in there for a 5th overall finish.  3 or 4 faster guys showed up to the race and that gave me some incentive to start working a little harder at getting back on the training train. 5th was the perfect place for me to come in as I know I've still got some drive but a lot of work to put in to get better results.

The future:

Signed up for the Mac 50k.  Race is going to kill me again (3rd time).  I'll try and be conservative out the shoot as I am feeling a little less strength this year.  I've got to get some long hilly runs in soon if that's going to be fun at all this year.