Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Week of may 21, uh, i mean, 28th.

Dear Diary,

Sorry I'm so late. I've spent the last week swamped with learning my new job, and feeling sorry for myself for having done so poorly at the marathons last weekend.

13. My new life started!!!!!!! This is the one where I work one job instead of two, attending no classes, NO working on Saturdays, and driving five miles (one way) to work instead of 20.

12. Of course, I now have to get ready for my "A" race of the year: the Vermont 100k. Baboo is doing the 100-miler, of course, as part of the grand slam.

11. Did I mention that Sweet Baboo ran the Lincoln marathon in 3:31? Apparently took longer than he planned because of wind, or something. Whatever. *rolls eyes*

10. I started doing Hill repeats with the peeps. (Hill Repeeps?) on Tuesday evenings? See the profile, above. This consists of running up a certain hill near my house which starts at 6200 feet and goes up steeply 100 feet. Not something you want to do on a full stomach, as one young man among us found out. (remember, boys and girls, it's polite to rowlf off the trail). The fast peeps do 10 circuits. My first effort was either six or seven, in the midst of my bronchitis thing. Two weeks ago, I did nine. Then skipped a couple,weeks due to working the last of Old Job. I have touted hill repeats as the heavy runner's speed workout. It's easier on the joints than speedwork, and easier on the shins. The downhill part helps strengthen those supporting muscles around your knee that get all shaky when you have to run extended downhills. Running downhill also helps increase foot turnover.

9. I started the Jemez 50k on two weeks ago Saturday, and the first eleven miles were pretty difficult. Then I got to an aid station and asked, where is the next aid stqation?

"six miles..." was the response. Ah, good. Six miles is nuthin'.

..."and 3000 feet up."

I did some quick calculating, factoring in the marathon double I'm supposed to do this next weekend, and the fact that I've done Jemez before, and then decided to be done.

Yes, I feel a bit like a loser but hey, I jist wasn't ready for this race. In fact, Dreadpirate, who is a bit faster than me, took nearly eleven hours to do it, so it would have taken me longer. That is not a good taper run.

8. On the Jemez course, I met Carolyn, who let me know that she lost 200 lbs a couple years back, just by running. Is she fast? No, she's about the same speed as me. She didn't even mean to lose 200 lbs, she told me. She had three kids at home, too, between age 9 and 13. That's pretty humbling, right? I mean, i dropped 40 lbs in a year. She dropped 200. Jeez.

7. So here is my new training schedule to try to get ready for Vermont:

  • Mondays, yoga. Maybe.
  • Tuesdays, Hill Repeeps.
  • Wednesdays, run to work (mostly downhill, about 5-6 miles). It's about a 500 foot drop over five miles. Extended downhill running is great for foot turnover. After that, maybe run home? I haven't worked out that part yet.
  • Thursdays, morning run (5 ish or so) and evening run, same distance.
  • Friday: rest
  • Saturday: Long run. Usually 18 miles or more.
  • Sunday: Hike La Luz or medium(10-12 mile) run.
  • Rinse, wash, repeat.
6. I got picked in the La Luz trail run lottery! This is the local race that is a 'run' that ascends from about 6100 feet to 10,800 feet over nine miles. You only get the shirt when you finish. Last year I did it a hair under three hours. This year my goal is 2:45. Ish.

5. The local unveresity was wanting to have participants in a body mass study. I'll get to get my bodyfat percentage from a dunk-tank. This is the most accurate way to do this. Baboo is doing it tomorrow. I'm doing it june 7.

4. This is the run I did Saturday, in New York. It was brutal. It doesn't look like it, but it is.

3. Sunday, I did a road marathon in Massachusetts (memorial day marathon). It was downhill from start to mile 8, and the uphill from mile 18 to finish. On miles on between, there was nothing but water. I had done something I rarely do, I did not carry gels or electrolytes on the run, because I've become accustomed to road marathons having aid stations with those.

Big mistake. It was eighty degrees, with 70% humidity, and I'm a big desert baby who isn't used to humidity. By the time I got some gatorade at mile 18, I couldn't get back on top of my calories or electrolytes, especially since I did a trail marathon the day before. I finished in over six hours.

The RD, clearly one of the area scholars, told me that he had made the decision to put gatorade only on the aid stations on the hill, because, I swear this is what he said, well, people running up hill lose electrolytes.

Wow, did you figure that out all by yourself, Mr. Wizard? Hey, did you know what else? People lose electrolytes running in the heat when it's or when they're running in place. And do you know what else they lose? They lose calories.

I should add that this race, which was $85, did not have food at the finish, except for the cart that charged for snacks. They didn't even offer bottles of water at the finish. They offered free beer, though. Because, when you're exhausted and dehydrated and ready to drive home, what could be better than alcohol?

Did I mention that over half of the race was run on the side of the road with the traffic at your back? There was one long curve with no shoulder and no cones. It was terrifying.

Yet another RD trying to kill the athletes. Fucking moron.

2. Mini Baboo has so far ripped out nearly half of the 1000 square feet of burmuda grass we have in the front yard, and it's been replaced with crushed gravel and low water plantings. I will post before and after pictures soon. We just got our water bill, and first time ever there is a small credit for "low water usage". It's not a huge credit, but it's a credit. I will post before and after pictures soon.


1. One more reason to hate me: As if New Job wasn't fantastic enough, there is a shower, yes, a SHOWER, that is private, about 50 feet from my office. So, on Tuesdays, I will bring in clothes and such, and a towel, so that when I run in on Wednesdays, I can go shower and be fresh for work. BOOyah!

 

 

 

 

2 comments:

  1. Losing 40 lbs in a year? Still amazing.

    Road marathons? Seldom worth the price of admission. Never come close to trail events in really any category except finishing times. I signed up for the Portland Marathon this year (couldn't convince my sister to run a trail 50K with me) and early registration is $135 (4 months before the event is held) and their registration page mentions several times that there are no refunds or transfers for any reason whatsoever.

    Not making me a fan of your race to know that I'm on the hook no matter what. No transfers to next year or a friend or anything. Ugh. Stick to trail races.

    Glad to hear that your job situation is much improved. I long to live running distance from work some day.

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  2. I would love to know what you did to increase your times. August will be my 2 year anniversary of quitting smoking and I am still so stinking slow....I'm finally up to a whopping 14 minute mile! My biggest fear is not that I won't finish because of my will or ability to finish but the sag wagon and I will be pulled from the course.
    Glad to hear things are going well on the job front! Yeah you!

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 I'm no longer involved in multisport or endurance sports. I've started my own business, a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety d...