Up to Date

Just a bit of rambling because I don't like to go too long without blogging. I took a day off after the El Scorcho 50k. I've read with interest their website and blog with all the patting themselves on the back. Again, it's a good race, almost bare bones and as long as you understand that, it's fine.
I'm back to training, and it's going well. I've been running in the mornings after I get to work because of the heat. I've been getting the runners high after almost every run, and that's scary. I read on another blog something to this effect; "People exercise too much, I have a friend that runs marathons and he gets a high afterwards. That's why I drink and smoke, I can get the same thing walking up a flight of stairs." Anyway, I had a good week after the race. I've backed off a bit this week because of my upcoming family reunion. After that's over, I should be able to pick it up again. I probably needed a step back week anyway.
I had to schedule a business trip to "upstate New York." So there was this 100k I'd been looking at, and decided to tie them together. So I signed up for the Green Lakes 100k trail endurance run. I believe in gradual increases and to me, this was the next logical step in ramping up to a possible try at 100 miles early next year. One-hundred kilometers is 62 miles.
Another goal I have for this year is to Boston Qualify. For me, since I will be 55 this year, that means I need to run a marathon in 3:45 or better. I have a bit of nostalgia for the Rt. 66 Marathon in Tulsa, because their first marathon was my first marathon. And I could keep a streak going there. But I've decided that to B Q is more important to me, and so I'm thinking about skipping Tulsa, and trying to qualify at Tucson. Tucson is known as a good qualifier because it's a net downhill course. I'll wait until after the 100k, but that's how I'm leaning right now.
Live well, exercise regularly, and enjoy life.

El Scorcho Midnight 50k

It's over, what a run. My friend picked me up around 11 a.m. Saturday morning because we wanted to make it to Ft. Worth by 3:00 for packet pickup. Our ride to FW was pretty uneventful, we talked and listened to his wide variety of music. We picked up our packets and went to have a light lunch. We checked in to our hotel and then decided to check out the nearest REI. After returning to our hotel we grabbed a few hours of sleep before heading to the park. We got to the park around 10:30 to pick up our timing chips. After that it was just hang around until the Midnight start. The race started a few minutes late and we're off. This race is 10 loops around a 5k mixed surface track at Trinity River Park. I decided to do my best to run by feel. I settled into a nice pace and checked to see I was running around 9:30 miles. I felt like I could hold this pace for the entire race. It was hot, but it didn't feel that hot. But I was sweating profusely. I think the fact that it was night time deceived us some on how hot it was. I did my first lap in under 30 minutes and felt good. This went on for about 4 laps but by lap 5 I was starting to slow a bit. My main goal was to finish in under 6 hours with a secondary goal of sub 5:30. But I didn't know how the heat would affect me, so I was running more by the way I felt than by trying to hold those paces. I was starting to feel a bit nauseous by the 6th lap. I walked more during this lap than any other in the race. I decided to try and solve my problems by drinking more water and NUUN for electrolytes. I had made the mistake of not carrying any solid fuel with me. And I was sick of the Heed and Perpetuem that I had been drinking. I did this because they had said they would have "standard ultra fare." They didn't have anything solid until around the 7th lap and that was clif bloks and sports beans. I took a few bloks but they tasted terrible at this point, even though I've eaten them before without any problems, but I ended up spitting it out. I did start feeling better during the 8th lap, not great but better. I still had a chance to beat 5:30 and was running almost the total lap. On the final lap I would have had to run around a 29 minute 5k, I know, sounds easy, but not after 28 miles. Anyway I did try to run the whole lap, but started feeling bad again, so I walked just enough to push my finishing time to 5:32. I got my medal and some more water and sat down. After just a few minutes I was feeling better. After recuperating a bit, my friend and I decided to go back to the hotel and try to catch a few hours of sleep. It was around 6:30 a.m Sunday morning and we had been up all night. I couldn't go to sleep and so we left around 11 to go have breakfast. And then we headed back to Oklahoma. I'm feeling pretty good now, stiff, but otherwise no problems. I do expect to have trouble walking stairs tomorrow. Overall this is a nice race. It's different with it's midnight start, but other than that nothing special to me. I didn't get as bored as I thought I would running the same loop 10 times.

Just an update

For the past week I've been mainly concentrating on this school reunion I'm a committee member for. It went well, but interrupted my running schedule. I have a family reunion in three weeks, and I'm a worker for that one also. I'll be glad to get that one over with also. So this past week, I only got in about 30 miles. That's including 14 miles I did yesterday around Draper Lake. But that's ok, I should be tapering for my 50k this coming Sat/Sun. The race starts at midnight, so I guess technically it's a Sunday race.

Freedom Run and more

As I said in my last post, I had another 8k on the 4th. Just 6 days after the Super Summer 8k. I P R'ed in the Super and I was talking to the race director for the Freedom Run. He said I would do even better in his race. I told him I doubt it. I know his race is hilly and I figured I wouldn't race as well so soon. He was right, I was wrong. It was warm and humid at the start, but not too bad. We go and I had my Garmin set for the same time as before. I figured I'd just try to do as well in this race. But I started a bit faster and this time I didn't back off. I was mostly passing people, although one person did pass me. Just a kid, so I didn't worry about him. There was one guy in front of me, and I had seen him before, but wasn't sure whether he was in my age group. It turns out he isn't, but I didn't pass him anyway. But I did hang on to him and that helped me get through the hard times. This race finishes with a hill before it finally goes down. I was dying on the hill but hung on and finished in 35:35, a 20 second P R over last weekend. This is one of the best run races in the city. The director makes sure as many people as possible leave with a prize of some kind. Near the end he just looks out at bibs, and then calls your number.
Last Sunday I had a 20 mile long run planned. Well planned is a bit of an overstatement. I'll explain. I did one short out and back for 5 miles. Dropped off one bottle and picked up another and headed in the opposite direction to get in the remaining 15 miles. I was about to the 7 mile from my car mark when I realized that I was almost out of drink, and I didn't have any money with me. I wasn't panicking, but I thought, that was dumb. So I started looking for water hydrants when I remembered that another group was planning a long run out this way, and they were going to put water out. But for me to get to where I figured they'd have the water would mean that I'd have to go an extra two miles. So my dilemma, turn around and try to make it back, or go the extra two and take a chance that the water was there. I decided to go the long way. I was very happy to see the ice chest there with Gatorade and water. I got some, and filled my bottle and headed back. Twenty-two miles done. I thought I knew who had put the water out, but I saw him at the race yesterday and he said he hadn't put it out. So whoever put it out, Thank You. Tue - speed work Wed - 5 miles on trails, and this morning 13 miles on different trails running with a friend.