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Saturday, December 15, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
I tried. 30k
Decent nutrition + being sick + sub-par training + unseasonal heat = DNF
I tried. I gave it my best, but today it wasn't even close to enough.
At 4 miles I was overheating. Felt similar to wearing all my firefighting gear and rushing into a structural fire. Its a feeling of excessive heat and no way to get rid of it. I literally saw steam coming off of my shoulders.
I went into the race ready... so I thought. I "water-loaded". I've been sleeping longer. Better than average nutrition. Even this morning I put my best foot forward. On the course I was taking Gu and S-caps every hour. Consumed 2-3 cups of water at every station. Like I said above... I tried, but it wasn't enough.
At the 10k point it felt as if I couldn't consume enough water at the stations. Sweat was pouring off me with no end in sight. I started changing my routine, hoping I could settle into a rhythm. Initially I was running 10/4, which turned into 10/5, then 10/8, then 5/5, and finally 1/1. Not sure why, but even with all the changes, I stayed with the same "pod" of runner-walkers. Makes me assume they were making adjustments as well.
Also at this point, I started having stomach issues. After taking on water my stomach felt upset. Mile 9 started with full-blown nausea after consuming water. Mile 10 is when I knew I wouldn't finish. On the last two water stops I ended up throwing up shortly afterwards. I couldn't hold it down.
With one loop to go (mile 12), I saw John Yoder and Pony in the median. I stopped and asked their opinion. I wanted to quit, but I did not want to stop prematurely due to a mental barrier. John asked if I was cramping, to which I replied, "no". In fact, I had no other aches or pains. My knees, ankles, back, and running muscles felt fine. John's suggestion was to walk it in and live to run another day. I have a great amount of respect for John and Pony, therefore took their advice. I guzzled at least 4 cups of water at the Strider water station and started my 2.6 mile walk to the finish.
Ten minutes after leaving the loop course the cramps started. And it wasn't just one or two muscles, it was every muscle from my hips down. I was thirsty beyond description. During a stop break I got a bit alarmed. My shorts and shirt were dripping sweat, but my bare skin was bone dry. I had stopped sweating.
I stopped and talked to a friendly HARRA "medic" and asked the fastest way back to the finish line (my car). She replied, "The only way back is along the course, BUT its only 2-miles". She also didn't know of any sag wagons. Although, she did ask me if I needed to be checked out, so technically an ambulance is a sag wagon, right? That was the longest two miles I have ever walked.
I had to walk-around the finish line timing mat. Didn't want to be counted as a finisher, yet I needed to return my chip. I sat down against the wall nearest the finish chute. Within minutes I felt my muscles locking-up, so I got up and went to my truck.
The truck thermometer said it was 79 and weather.com showed 100% humidity. After showering at home I noticed a significant tan line from the sun today. It was horrible out there.
Classic dehydration. I am beat-the-fuck-up! Not sure what to do now. Time to send some emails and chat it over with a couple running coaches.
My timing is all jacked-up. When I stopped and chatted with John I was at 12 miles and a 13:16 pace. The final mileage read 14.65 with a 15:13 pace. That includes a lot of stopping and I didn't turn the garmin off till I was in my truck. Looks like it was a 14:30ish pace to the finish line.
I tried. I gave it my best, but today it wasn't even close to enough.
At 4 miles I was overheating. Felt similar to wearing all my firefighting gear and rushing into a structural fire. Its a feeling of excessive heat and no way to get rid of it. I literally saw steam coming off of my shoulders.
I went into the race ready... so I thought. I "water-loaded". I've been sleeping longer. Better than average nutrition. Even this morning I put my best foot forward. On the course I was taking Gu and S-caps every hour. Consumed 2-3 cups of water at every station. Like I said above... I tried, but it wasn't enough.
At the 10k point it felt as if I couldn't consume enough water at the stations. Sweat was pouring off me with no end in sight. I started changing my routine, hoping I could settle into a rhythm. Initially I was running 10/4, which turned into 10/5, then 10/8, then 5/5, and finally 1/1. Not sure why, but even with all the changes, I stayed with the same "pod" of runner-walkers. Makes me assume they were making adjustments as well.
Also at this point, I started having stomach issues. After taking on water my stomach felt upset. Mile 9 started with full-blown nausea after consuming water. Mile 10 is when I knew I wouldn't finish. On the last two water stops I ended up throwing up shortly afterwards. I couldn't hold it down.
With one loop to go (mile 12), I saw John Yoder and Pony in the median. I stopped and asked their opinion. I wanted to quit, but I did not want to stop prematurely due to a mental barrier. John asked if I was cramping, to which I replied, "no". In fact, I had no other aches or pains. My knees, ankles, back, and running muscles felt fine. John's suggestion was to walk it in and live to run another day. I have a great amount of respect for John and Pony, therefore took their advice. I guzzled at least 4 cups of water at the Strider water station and started my 2.6 mile walk to the finish.
Ten minutes after leaving the loop course the cramps started. And it wasn't just one or two muscles, it was every muscle from my hips down. I was thirsty beyond description. During a stop break I got a bit alarmed. My shorts and shirt were dripping sweat, but my bare skin was bone dry. I had stopped sweating.
I stopped and talked to a friendly HARRA "medic" and asked the fastest way back to the finish line (my car). She replied, "The only way back is along the course, BUT its only 2-miles". She also didn't know of any sag wagons. Although, she did ask me if I needed to be checked out, so technically an ambulance is a sag wagon, right? That was the longest two miles I have ever walked.
I had to walk-around the finish line timing mat. Didn't want to be counted as a finisher, yet I needed to return my chip. I sat down against the wall nearest the finish chute. Within minutes I felt my muscles locking-up, so I got up and went to my truck.
The truck thermometer said it was 79 and weather.com showed 100% humidity. After showering at home I noticed a significant tan line from the sun today. It was horrible out there.
Classic dehydration. I am beat-the-fuck-up! Not sure what to do now. Time to send some emails and chat it over with a couple running coaches.
My timing is all jacked-up. When I stopped and chatted with John I was at 12 miles and a 13:16 pace. The final mileage read 14.65 with a 15:13 pace. That includes a lot of stopping and I didn't turn the garmin off till I was in my truck. Looks like it was a 14:30ish pace to the finish line.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
4 miles
Coach Steeve suggested a few easy miles and a couple off days in preparation of a weekend long run. This evening's run went better than I had expected. In fact, I threw in 4 x 30 second strides. The constant coughing made it hard to breath at times. Either way, its done.
4.11 miles in 51:07. Average pace 12:27
I don't expect anyone to believe me, but I'll post it anyways. While I was doing a few post run stretches, the lateral side of my left lower leg got real hot. Then it started to tingle. I went to massage the area and realized I didn't have any feeling in a 10" x 4" area. Its like your finger nail, you can feel the texture, but there isn't any "feeling". No pain whatsoever. Its been about an hour and the area that lost feeling is starting to decrease.
Too weird!
4.11 miles in 51:07. Average pace 12:27
I don't expect anyone to believe me, but I'll post it anyways. While I was doing a few post run stretches, the lateral side of my left lower leg got real hot. Then it started to tingle. I went to massage the area and realized I didn't have any feeling in a 10" x 4" area. Its like your finger nail, you can feel the texture, but there isn't any "feeling". No pain whatsoever. Its been about an hour and the area that lost feeling is starting to decrease.
Too weird!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Weak Hill Workout
Lots to blog about. Sorry if this seems long...
Yesterday's schedule called for a hill workout. I had to work, so I was going to do something similar to Steve Bezner's hill run (he used a treadmill). The plan was to run a 2 mile warm up around the station, 4 x 2 long hills on the treadmill, and return to the loops around the station for the 2 mile CD.
I haven't blogged about it, but I've been very fatigued. My first assumption is, I am getting sick. It was so bad at one point I nearly left work. After a bite to eat and getting off my feet most of the bad stuff subsided. The remaining sore throat, cough, and headache had me wondering if I should scratch the run. Then "work" happened. We responded to 15 calls during the day. I didn't have time to eat, much less run. Some days are like that... hell breaks loose. Then at 6:30 pm we had the annual Christmas parade. The fire station is located on Main street, which puts us first on the route. Santa rides on the last float, which is our antique 1937 fire truck. By the time the parade was over I had enough. One good note, we slept all night.
Unfortunately, I woke up feeling sick again this morning. Guilt overcame me and I forced myself out the door. The run yielded results of a tired-sick man. All the little stuff winded me, although I recovered quickly. The run went like this:
2 mile warm up in 23:01 - 11:30 pace
Full Silly Walk (winded from simple activities such as dorsal flextion hops)
4 x 2 long hills - I ran 9 out of 10 effort up and walked down on the recovery
*average uphill run pace - 7:33*
*average downhill recovery walk pace - 17:38*
1.86 mile cool down in 26:25 - 14:12 pace
Total:
5.78 miles in 1:13:37 with an overall average pace of 12:44
Near the end of my warm up I could see a pod of ~50 Kingwood High School CC runners. I had no idea, but I picked up my pace. The first sign something had changed was the amount of sweat dripping in my eyes. Either way, it was nice to see a sub-12 pace. The last of the CC runners caught me doing silly walks. I'm sure they thought I was some type of crazy man on the Greenbelts.
The recovery was hard. Once again, I was out of gas. I ran 1/3 mile and stopped. Then I decided to walk home. As I said above I was recovering fast, so I elected to run to every other street light. By the time I got home I convinced myself I could finish the cool down. I took off and did what I thought was 2 miles. My garmin is still fuckin' with my pace/mileage, so I was 0.15 miles short after a remeasure on the bike.
Any suggestions what I should be doing this week, IF I wanted to run 18 miles this weekend?
Yesterday's schedule called for a hill workout. I had to work, so I was going to do something similar to Steve Bezner's hill run (he used a treadmill). The plan was to run a 2 mile warm up around the station, 4 x 2 long hills on the treadmill, and return to the loops around the station for the 2 mile CD.
I haven't blogged about it, but I've been very fatigued. My first assumption is, I am getting sick. It was so bad at one point I nearly left work. After a bite to eat and getting off my feet most of the bad stuff subsided. The remaining sore throat, cough, and headache had me wondering if I should scratch the run. Then "work" happened. We responded to 15 calls during the day. I didn't have time to eat, much less run. Some days are like that... hell breaks loose. Then at 6:30 pm we had the annual Christmas parade. The fire station is located on Main street, which puts us first on the route. Santa rides on the last float, which is our antique 1937 fire truck. By the time the parade was over I had enough. One good note, we slept all night.
Unfortunately, I woke up feeling sick again this morning. Guilt overcame me and I forced myself out the door. The run yielded results of a tired-sick man. All the little stuff winded me, although I recovered quickly. The run went like this:
2 mile warm up in 23:01 - 11:30 pace
Full Silly Walk (winded from simple activities such as dorsal flextion hops)
4 x 2 long hills - I ran 9 out of 10 effort up and walked down on the recovery
*average uphill run pace - 7:33*
*average downhill recovery walk pace - 17:38*
1.86 mile cool down in 26:25 - 14:12 pace
Total:
5.78 miles in 1:13:37 with an overall average pace of 12:44
Near the end of my warm up I could see a pod of ~50 Kingwood High School CC runners. I had no idea, but I picked up my pace. The first sign something had changed was the amount of sweat dripping in my eyes. Either way, it was nice to see a sub-12 pace. The last of the CC runners caught me doing silly walks. I'm sure they thought I was some type of crazy man on the Greenbelts.
The recovery was hard. Once again, I was out of gas. I ran 1/3 mile and stopped. Then I decided to walk home. As I said above I was recovering fast, so I elected to run to every other street light. By the time I got home I convinced myself I could finish the cool down. I took off and did what I thought was 2 miles. My garmin is still fuckin' with my pace/mileage, so I was 0.15 miles short after a remeasure on the bike.
Any suggestions what I should be doing this week, IF I wanted to run 18 miles this weekend?
Monday, December 03, 2007
6 miles for breakfast
Didn't run yesterday because the weather was so nasty and I knew today would be cooler. The run was uneventful with the exception of tight shins/calves and an aching lower back. I always forget about core training. Today was a nice reminder to train SMARTer.
6 miles in 1:17:40
12:57 pace
Run-10/walk-4
When entering the run into my log, I noticed two things of interest. November was my highest mileage month this year (85.86) and last week was my highest mileage week in 2007 (38.55). YAY me!
About half a mile from my house is a nice lake. I have lots of routes around the neighborhood, but I run by the lake every chance I get. Today there was a special treat. For the better part of 2-minutes (while I was running), I saw two American bald eagles. They were flying in tandem and swooping down on the water looking for fish on the surface. It was incredible. At one point I saw a woman sitting on her deck watching the same birds. I asked her, "Am I seeing that right? Are those EAGLES?". She replied, "Yes they are! They show up for about a month every year, then they disappear".
I thought it was really neat. Only wish Alison would have been with me, she LOVES animals.
6 miles in 1:17:40
12:57 pace
Run-10/walk-4
When entering the run into my log, I noticed two things of interest. November was my highest mileage month this year (85.86) and last week was my highest mileage week in 2007 (38.55). YAY me!
About half a mile from my house is a nice lake. I have lots of routes around the neighborhood, but I run by the lake every chance I get. Today there was a special treat. For the better part of 2-minutes (while I was running), I saw two American bald eagles. They were flying in tandem and swooping down on the water looking for fish on the surface. It was incredible. At one point I saw a woman sitting on her deck watching the same birds. I asked her, "Am I seeing that right? Are those EAGLES?". She replied, "Yes they are! They show up for about a month every year, then they disappear".
I thought it was really neat. Only wish Alison would have been with me, she LOVES animals.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Long run
I wasn't out running Huntsville hills with the Striders, but I did manage to run ten miles. Nothing like running "humidity-filled" mileage around the fire station. These loops are going to be the death of me! Thirty-one loops equalled 10 miles. YUCK.... again. First and final mile was very tough, both mentally and physically.
10 miles in 2:07:45
12:46 average pace
My running log is at home, but I'm almost certain I ran 38.5 miles this week. Considered running a couple miles yesterday, so I could say I had a 40 mile week. My legs were heavy and I knew the day off was much wiser than trying to appease my ego.
10 miles in 2:07:45
12:46 average pace
My running log is at home, but I'm almost certain I ran 38.5 miles this week. Considered running a couple miles yesterday, so I could say I had a 40 mile week. My legs were heavy and I knew the day off was much wiser than trying to appease my ego.
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