Well, not a lot to report lately but my 100 mile training is going well.
One day left until Ashley is due to deliver my first grand child. She's reporting, "tired of carrying this kid around," but is trying to be patient about the contractions that aren't coming. I'll post as soon as I hear the good news from Germany!
Back to running: White River was all but a disaster for me. I barely slept the week of and was awaken by work at 1:00 am the day of the race. I had already decided on Friday(the day before) that I wasn't going to race but by start time, I was lucky to stay awake on my feet. I suppose this was good 100 mile training (moving with sleep depravation), but I even failed that when I fell asleep coming down from the ranger station and "BAM!" slammed right down face first. I took the rest of the run slow, just wanting to get the 50 miles in but you can't fake this 50 - It's tough. I tried to lay down at Suntop but my friend LEO (Lynn Yarnall) wouldn't let me. Well, thank goodness that day (nay, week) came and went and I finally got some good sleep the next morning.
Since I didn't run that hard at WR, the week following was easy recorver for me. Van, Arhtur, Gwen (Van's CCC pacer), and I ran the last 1/3 of the course again. We moved pretty fast and it served everyone well for their familiarity needs. Gwen, a good climber, was shocked at the elevation gain as was glad to preview this section before her pacing duties.
I arrived home to some dinner and late movie plans with my wife and friends. It was fun and I slept only at the beginning of the third "Bourne" movie. I had told Van that I would consider running the Cedar River marathon the next morning but wasn't sure after getting home at 12:30 am. I woke up before the alarm went of at 5:30 am so I guess I was rested enough. Got my running crap together and headed to meet Van and her husband Ken at the park-n-ride - Ken was to drop us off at the start of this point-to-point run.
The marathon was nice and made my legs feel good. I was surprised at how well my joints felt and actually think the level surface made things feel better. Van and I started out with Mary Hanna at 8:30 miles and slowly picked up the pace. I was good for 20 miles when I really needed to walk - and said bye to Van and Mary. I walked about 5 minutes and ate an energy bar. Then I slogged it in, finishing in a time of 3:41 - not bad I thought. Never mind that Mary and Van ran a 3:31 (5 minute negative split). I was happy that I got in 55 miles over the weekend.
Again, this week's recovery is going well and I am actually down in weight. I need to pay attention to that so that I don't get too light before the 100. I need somewhat of a spare tire to carry me over the Cardiac Needles and through Thorpe, and beyond. Ooops! I'm giving away my secret.
I hope everyone's training is going well. *tc
6 comments:
tc,
I find it impossible to believe you have a spare tire. You need to be careful with your weight so you don't drop into the anorexic zone!
Great job getting WR done - maybe you should have just slept right there on the trail when you crashed. See you at CCC!
Hey Michelle, I tried to sleep on the trail but people kept waking me up "are you alright?" - no!
Still no grandson news ...
Howdy TC. Sorry to hear that WR was a disaster for you. But as you know, finishing a 50 miler is a feat in itself and in spite of the bitter taste in your mouth of knowing it could have been better, you have to be happy you did it.
Rock on.
Dane
Steve, Jamal, and I ran the last 1/3 today. Missed the trail on TFH that goes to the right and ended up 1/2 mile up the creek before we decided we were in the wrong place. Thorpe and the needles are brutal. We got confused at the road as we decended French Cabin but got back on track and headed through the gap and into the runable sections again. Man the Mt. Bikes have sure torn up the trail from the road at the French Cabin AS down to the trailhead at mile 95 where we parked the car. Can you say chunky?
Sounds like you are ready to go! Nice run at the marathon.
No baby yet? I think I read somewhere (when we were waiting for our first) that, on average, first time moms are about a week late.
Sounds like you and Van had a high mileage weekend last week. That will surely pay off. I thought all ultra runners had a spare tire - isn't that why we're doing this instead of running the 1600 at the olympics? :)
White River was a good time, thanks for driving. Sorry about my leaky cooler in your car :( What goes around comes around - you'll get me back for that!
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