4/20 run 30 mins on the mean streets of southern Delaware in New Balance Trail Minimus MT10 with Injinji socks
HR avg 151 max 164
I felt like an egg on a frying pan today. No shade, no wind and just asphalt and concrete helping to convection bake my ass. It doesn't help that I never run on streets or sidewalks either. The temperature was around 84 and sun was out in full force. My plan was to run for an hour, but being the hottest day I've run so far this year and my knee bother me; I wasn't feeling it. The temperature will be back in the 60's tomorrow and if my knee is up to it, I'll try to redeem myself.
I've come to a few conclusions today. I still don't like running on the road. The MT10 does everything well for a minimalist shoe, including roads. Delaware is completely flat. My body needs more time to adapt to the summer heat. Some people say a cucumber tastes better pickled.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
"Down Time"
4/18 lift box squat 3x315 towel bench 3x235 plus snatches 3x100 pull-ups +55lbs and rotator cuff bands
I need some time to heal up after back to back races and heavy lifting throughout. I'm hoping the next two weeks will provide me with a bit of a reprieve. I do have two trips planned though. This means I will be out of my element for rest, food and training.
I need some time to heal up after back to back races and heavy lifting throughout. I'm hoping the next two weeks will provide me with a bit of a reprieve. I do have two trips planned though. This means I will be out of my element for rest, food and training.
Monday, April 18, 2011
2011 USMC Mud Run Quickie Report
4/16 run 1:37 @ USMC Mud Run in my MT101's with Superfeet Green and Injinji socks
34 obstacles in 5.2 miles this year made comparison with last year's time more difficult. We also found ourselves helping out other teams more often, but that is what this event is all about, team work. Some highlights include me completing the Arm Walk on the first try this year. I also made it through the Weaver again without falling off, although it left its mark. My left arm and the back of my left leg are scraped up (along with about 50% of my body). Now, the new problem obstacle is called Tarzan and Jane. It consists of a series of about 5 ropes equally spread apart over a pit. The bottom of the rope is about 8 feet from the bottom of the water pit below. The two problems with this obstacle are the ropes are small diameter and they are very far apart. You can only reach the next rope on a full swing from the previous rope. I got a good swing off the bank on the first rope, grabbed the second one with my left and then my right hand, only to suddenly feel as if my hands caught fire. The rain, mud and small diameter of the rope combined resulting in a full slide to the bottom of the rope. This messed up my hands pretty good and really pissed me off. I didn't see anyone complete this obstacle and I'd really like to get some strategy for it. If I had some pine pitch, or a way to clean my hands off I think I could have made it. None of our team managed to complete or saw anyone complete it for that matter (I don't think I saw anyone make it onto the second rope successfully even). Good thing is, this year, they were enforcing time penalties. Although it was on the honor system, they had DI's at each obstacle to PT your team for the duration of the time penalty or for however long they felt like it.
Another obstacle I don't remember from last year was the creek walk. This was VERY long and full of stumps, tree limbs, and sink holes below the water's surface. I think we all managed to twist an ankle or bang up a knee on this one. The only way to go fast was to run along the bank barely in the water, which some teams did. The run didn't mess up my contacts as bad this year as I would use the aid station water cups as an eye wash.
Now probably the biggest obstacle was our drive back. I'm not sure how we did it, but it seems we were driving on the edge of the "super cell" storms that came through the area. At times the dust from the fields along 95 was so bad you couldn't see the car in front of you. About the time we arrived in Raleigh (from Gaston, SC) the storm caught up to us, as power and traffic lights were going out as we drove through the Crossroads area after dropping off two members of our team. Somehow the storms completely missed my home in Durham. I'll update with some event photos as soon as they are posted. Hope everyone made it through the storm safely.
34 obstacles in 5.2 miles this year made comparison with last year's time more difficult. We also found ourselves helping out other teams more often, but that is what this event is all about, team work. Some highlights include me completing the Arm Walk on the first try this year. I also made it through the Weaver again without falling off, although it left its mark. My left arm and the back of my left leg are scraped up (along with about 50% of my body). Now, the new problem obstacle is called Tarzan and Jane. It consists of a series of about 5 ropes equally spread apart over a pit. The bottom of the rope is about 8 feet from the bottom of the water pit below. The two problems with this obstacle are the ropes are small diameter and they are very far apart. You can only reach the next rope on a full swing from the previous rope. I got a good swing off the bank on the first rope, grabbed the second one with my left and then my right hand, only to suddenly feel as if my hands caught fire. The rain, mud and small diameter of the rope combined resulting in a full slide to the bottom of the rope. This messed up my hands pretty good and really pissed me off. I didn't see anyone complete this obstacle and I'd really like to get some strategy for it. If I had some pine pitch, or a way to clean my hands off I think I could have made it. None of our team managed to complete or saw anyone complete it for that matter (I don't think I saw anyone make it onto the second rope successfully even). Good thing is, this year, they were enforcing time penalties. Although it was on the honor system, they had DI's at each obstacle to PT your team for the duration of the time penalty or for however long they felt like it.
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| The Arm Walk with multiple transitions to higher and lower bars make it a real killer (stock photo) |
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| The Weaver doesn't look so bad, until you realize it's 8 ft off the ground and you have to transition over and under logs sideways (stock photo) |
Another obstacle I don't remember from last year was the creek walk. This was VERY long and full of stumps, tree limbs, and sink holes below the water's surface. I think we all managed to twist an ankle or bang up a knee on this one. The only way to go fast was to run along the bank barely in the water, which some teams did. The run didn't mess up my contacts as bad this year as I would use the aid station water cups as an eye wash.
Now probably the biggest obstacle was our drive back. I'm not sure how we did it, but it seems we were driving on the edge of the "super cell" storms that came through the area. At times the dust from the fields along 95 was so bad you couldn't see the car in front of you. About the time we arrived in Raleigh (from Gaston, SC) the storm caught up to us, as power and traffic lights were going out as we drove through the Crossroads area after dropping off two members of our team. Somehow the storms completely missed my home in Durham. I'll update with some event photos as soon as they are posted. Hope everyone made it through the storm safely.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Friday lifting session
4/15 lift squat 10x205, 8x225 close-grip bench press 6x205 plus kettlebell clean & press 3x80 and pull-ups +55lbs
Right knee is still an issue. This made the squats pretty painful and with the Mud Run the next day, I stopped after 2 sets. My training partner managed to pull a muscle in his thigh, so this should make for a gimpy team run tomorrow.
Right knee is still an issue. This made the squats pretty painful and with the Mud Run the next day, I stopped after 2 sets. My training partner managed to pull a muscle in his thigh, so this should make for a gimpy team run tomorrow.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Hanging out with Umstead's slutty sister
4/14 run 60 mins @ Eno River on Cox Mountain Trail and Fanny's Ford Trail in MT101 with Superfeet Green
HR avg 152 max 172
My plan was to head back to the Cole Mill Road entrance for a nice, easy run on the same trails we ran the Saturday before Mountains-to-Sea. I remembered roughly how to get there, but decided to consult my car GPS just in case. So I searched "Eno River State Park" and picked out the one that said "Cole Mill", this is where the problems started. See, if I had brought a park map with me I would have known there are two different park access points on Cole Mill Road. So things looked kind of familiar as I made my way into the park, but nothing looked quite right and next thing I know, the road dead ends into a parking lot. I manage to catch one of the nearby park signs by the picnic benches and I see it reads "Cox Mountain". Hmm, m-o-u-n-t-a-i-n that sounds like a nice easy trail. Now I do remember a few things from the park map at home, one being that Cox Mountain is listed as a strenuous trail and with a name like that I'm expecting a few climbs. By this time I'm already an hour behind schedule thanks to the UPS Store and a funeral procession. I needed to drop off a package, but instead I got to watch them wrap some guy's fishing pole for 20 minutes. Then, on my way to the Durham Freeway, I run into the most baller funeral procession I've ever seen. I counted at least 5 Durham Police and Sheriff Harley Davidsons, countless patrol cars, 4 limos and 3 hearses. So instead of trying to figure out where I went wrong with the directions, I figure I'll just wing it. I make sure to text the +1 my whereabouts so I don't have to chew off a limb if things go bad.
I check out the park maps by the picnic tables and see there are two trails in this section. My plan will be to hit both of them to give me about an hour of running time. I also grab my completely not running friendly digital camera from the car after being inspired by the great work of Shannon Johnstone during the Mountains-to-Sea-Trail Race last weekend. Here's a comparison of the western trail map and what my gps watch shows. I only missed one turn, which shows up as the little point going off into the river at the top of the gps data (no, I did not try to run through the Eno River).
The two most memorable sections are the ridiculous climb near the beginning of Cox Mountain Trail and the equally, if not more so, ridiculous downhill section. Now there are a lot of shorter ascents and descents throughout the trail, but if you run this you will know the two sections I'm talking about. I was wanting an easy run to get the stiffness out and practice keeping my heart rate under 155, but what I got was more of a quad grinding, ankle busting slog session. I could feel the pressure increasing in my knee once I got on the flatter Fanny's Ford Trail, but by then the quickest way out was to finish the trail.
This is another beautiful set of trails and Cox Mountain is definitely a bit more demanding than anything I've run at Umstead. I can't wait to run these when I'm healthy again! Here are some photos I managed to snap on the go. I took 83 photos and all but 16 turned out ok. I'll post a few here and if anyone wants to see the rest let me know and I'll see about posting them somewhere.
So I spent another day with Umstead's slutty sister and I have to say she's wild, fun and a real free spirit, but much like a real slutty sister, she's probably going to get you in trouble if you hang out with her too much. I only saw one other person and that was on the way out. Compared to many other trails, there is a real sense of wilderness here. It's hard to describe. Maybe it's the number of other creatures I experienced on the run combined with the isolation from humanity. It's nice to feel outnumbered for a change.
HR avg 152 max 172
My plan was to head back to the Cole Mill Road entrance for a nice, easy run on the same trails we ran the Saturday before Mountains-to-Sea. I remembered roughly how to get there, but decided to consult my car GPS just in case. So I searched "Eno River State Park" and picked out the one that said "Cole Mill", this is where the problems started. See, if I had brought a park map with me I would have known there are two different park access points on Cole Mill Road. So things looked kind of familiar as I made my way into the park, but nothing looked quite right and next thing I know, the road dead ends into a parking lot. I manage to catch one of the nearby park signs by the picnic benches and I see it reads "Cox Mountain". Hmm, m-o-u-n-t-a-i-n that sounds like a nice easy trail. Now I do remember a few things from the park map at home, one being that Cox Mountain is listed as a strenuous trail and with a name like that I'm expecting a few climbs. By this time I'm already an hour behind schedule thanks to the UPS Store and a funeral procession. I needed to drop off a package, but instead I got to watch them wrap some guy's fishing pole for 20 minutes. Then, on my way to the Durham Freeway, I run into the most baller funeral procession I've ever seen. I counted at least 5 Durham Police and Sheriff Harley Davidsons, countless patrol cars, 4 limos and 3 hearses. So instead of trying to figure out where I went wrong with the directions, I figure I'll just wing it. I make sure to text the +1 my whereabouts so I don't have to chew off a limb if things go bad.
I check out the park maps by the picnic tables and see there are two trails in this section. My plan will be to hit both of them to give me about an hour of running time. I also grab my completely not running friendly digital camera from the car after being inspired by the great work of Shannon Johnstone during the Mountains-to-Sea-Trail Race last weekend. Here's a comparison of the western trail map and what my gps watch shows. I only missed one turn, which shows up as the little point going off into the river at the top of the gps data (no, I did not try to run through the Eno River).
This is another beautiful set of trails and Cox Mountain is definitely a bit more demanding than anything I've run at Umstead. I can't wait to run these when I'm healthy again! Here are some photos I managed to snap on the go. I took 83 photos and all but 16 turned out ok. I'll post a few here and if anyone wants to see the rest let me know and I'll see about posting them somewhere.
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| access trail to suspension bridge |
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| To the Footbridge! |
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| Eno River pre-trail |
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| So apparently you aren't supposed to run on suspension bridges |
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| going up! |
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| Down by the river |
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| So I heard you like the roots |
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| Up? Down? I don't even know anymore. |
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| Beautiful day on Fanny's Ford Trail |
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| Running through a trench |
So I spent another day with Umstead's slutty sister and I have to say she's wild, fun and a real free spirit, but much like a real slutty sister, she's probably going to get you in trouble if you hang out with her too much. I only saw one other person and that was on the way out. Compared to many other trails, there is a real sense of wilderness here. It's hard to describe. Maybe it's the number of other creatures I experienced on the run combined with the isolation from humanity. It's nice to feel outnumbered for a change.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Keeping my back on track
4/13 lift power clean 2x225 deadlift 2x395 plus dips +55lbs and 21's with 95lbs
I was worried about locking up my back again, like I did last week. My knee is still swollen but it's gone down considerably and I'm planning to run again tomorrow. I figured skipping my Tuesday run would give the back and knee a bit more time to rest, plus I ran out of time trying to mow the lawn anyways.
Power cleans went better than they have in weeks. Lately it seems I will always miss the first rep on my heaviest set of power cleans, almost like my body wants to do a run through at half speed, but this is after I've already done 2-4 working sets! Today, I nailed both reps on the first try. My form wasn't perfect and I wouldn't say they felt strong, but I would say they felt better than 4 weeks ago.
Deadlifts felt heavy, but they went off without any problems. My back feels like it's still getting better, so I don't think I slowed things down too much by adding 5lbs. I've got the USMC Mud Run on Saturday, which means 4.5 hours in a car each way to make a 9:20AM start time. The run doesn't concern me, it's what 9 hours in the backseat of a car is going to do to my back that has me worried.
I was worried about locking up my back again, like I did last week. My knee is still swollen but it's gone down considerably and I'm planning to run again tomorrow. I figured skipping my Tuesday run would give the back and knee a bit more time to rest, plus I ran out of time trying to mow the lawn anyways.
Power cleans went better than they have in weeks. Lately it seems I will always miss the first rep on my heaviest set of power cleans, almost like my body wants to do a run through at half speed, but this is after I've already done 2-4 working sets! Today, I nailed both reps on the first try. My form wasn't perfect and I wouldn't say they felt strong, but I would say they felt better than 4 weeks ago.
Deadlifts felt heavy, but they went off without any problems. My back feels like it's still getting better, so I don't think I slowed things down too much by adding 5lbs. I've got the USMC Mud Run on Saturday, which means 4.5 hours in a car each way to make a 9:20AM start time. The run doesn't concern me, it's what 9 hours in the backseat of a car is going to do to my back that has me worried.
Lawn Mower Man
4/12 mow 3.5 hrs @ my yard in flip-flops
Being a bit of a cheap skate I tend to buy a lot of used stuff. This extends to pretty much my entire complement of yard equipment. About 2 years ago, I stumbled upon this Frankenstein's monster of a mower. It's a very early Exmark 36" walk-behind that has been MacGyver'd or more like MacGruber'd back together thousands of times. I think it has survived 15+ years in commercial service and a few tours in Afghanistan. Being a nice wide 36" cut with a 14hp motor it rips through my hilly and inhospitable yard in no time flat... at least it does when it's working.
Now this isn't my first time mowing this season, but every mow feels like the first. You see, the mower leaks gas, burns oil and spits belts off like an angry dragon. Not to mention it's a pull start on a Kawasaki FB460v 14hp engine, which is akin to playing tug of war with a bunch of angry chimpanzees. So I top it up on fluids again and proceed to dislocate my shoulder getting it started. This only takes about 30 mins, hey I'm ahead of schedule! I kick the lever to engage the blades, no problems so far! Drop the safeties to release the pistol grips and we lurch forward followed by some angry noises and then it rolls to a dead stop. The engine is still going, so I immediately know I've lost the drive belt again... This happens about once a year and is a huge pain in the ass, as I have to drop the axle to get it back on. I have no idea how it manages to spit the drive belt with the axle in the way but it does. Being a stubborn idiot sometimes, I figure if it can spit the belt around the axle, then I can get it back on that way. So I struggle for another half hour rolling around in the dirt by my shed trying to get the belt on.
Finally I admit defeat and proceed to push the 250lb beast uphill to my garage so I can drop the axle and put the belt back on. This is made even more fun by my footwear selection, which happens to be a pair of flip-flops with the soles worn smooth from use (I can't wear my dress flip-flops to cut the lawn, ya know). About this time, my wife comes home from work to laugh at me before heading inside. I would much rather work on a car than a mower, I'm always afraid this beast is going to fall on me and cut off my arm or my head every time I have to work underneath it. I got the belt back on and the axle bolted back in place after much cursing and knuckle busting. Now I can begin the fun part, the actual cutting. Being an older mower, this model seems to pre-date all safety mechanisms. It's controlled by two pistol grips, one for each drive wheel. Much like a grenade, when each grip is locked in the fully squeezed position, the mower is stopped, but as soon as you release the lock, you better hold on, because if you let go, the grips go full open, which means full speed, which means the mower doesn't stop until it hits something or it runs out of gas. The only way to stop it is to squeeze the grips completely. This makes for quite a wild ride or should I say run around my yard. I can only imagine what the neighbors think when they see me running after this loud smoking beast in flip-flops.
So that's my long-winded excuse for why I didn't run today. Ohh, and today's PSA: you should never mow in flip-flops and always wear ear and eye protection, or if you have children, you should never have to mow, just make them do it!
Being a bit of a cheap skate I tend to buy a lot of used stuff. This extends to pretty much my entire complement of yard equipment. About 2 years ago, I stumbled upon this Frankenstein's monster of a mower. It's a very early Exmark 36" walk-behind that has been MacGyver'd or more like MacGruber'd back together thousands of times. I think it has survived 15+ years in commercial service and a few tours in Afghanistan. Being a nice wide 36" cut with a 14hp motor it rips through my hilly and inhospitable yard in no time flat... at least it does when it's working.
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| Get to da mowa! |
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| Note red axle blocking my access to the drive pulley above |
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| View from the cockpit (note: my yard has grass, this is just the dirt patch by the shed) |
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
What's harder than running 12 miles?
4/11 lift box squat 6x295 close-grip towel bench 6x205 plus snatches 5x70 kettlebell C&P 3x80 and pull-ups with +55lbs
I'll tell you what's harder than running 12 miles, trying to workout again afterwards! My knee is still too swollen for power cleans, good thing today was box squats. The pain eased up after the first set and the pain in my lower back was replaced by fatigue. Today was hard. My nutrition was screwed up on Sunday as I was too beat up to think about eating 3 square meals and didn't get enough quality calories in my system.
Mixed things up today with some kettlebell clean and presses. I think we might add these in on Fridays to boost our snatches.
I'll tell you what's harder than running 12 miles, trying to workout again afterwards! My knee is still too swollen for power cleans, good thing today was box squats. The pain eased up after the first set and the pain in my lower back was replaced by fatigue. Today was hard. My nutrition was screwed up on Sunday as I was too beat up to think about eating 3 square meals and didn't get enough quality calories in my system.
Mixed things up today with some kettlebell clean and presses. I think we might add these in on Fridays to boost our snatches.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
MST19.3K not your average race report AND CONTEST!
4/9 race 2:15 @ The Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12-Mile Challenge in MT101 with Superfeet Green and Injinji socks
HR avg 165 max 175
"a race report from the back of the pack"
Alarm rings at 5:30 (last shuttle at 7:30), by this point I think the wife is probably 2 hours into her pre-race preparation rituals. I ignore the ringing for about 10 minutes and finally drag myself out of bed to figure out what I might need today. Both GPS watches and heart strap, check. Umstead 100 poser shirt, check (hey, I volunteered). Random shorts with pockets from Dick's, check. Dual handhelds, check. Injinji socks, check (I figured they would protect my toes and give me a little extra shoe room over my Balega's). MT101's with Superfeet green, check. I had already stuffed 2 gels into each handheld pouch (2 pineapple rocctane, 1 raspberry clif gel and 1 lemon-lime gu), along with a package of GU chomps. I won't touch any of the caffeinated gels if I can help it, as I don't drink coffee or soda. The last thing I wanted was a nutritional issue to factor into my first 12 mile run. I filled one handheld with water and the other with around 90 cals of Cytosport Monster Amino plus an additional 5 grams of BCAA's for around 9 grams total of branched-chain amino acids. I do whatever I can to keep from burning muscle when I run.
As we head out the door, I can't help but notice how pleasantly warm the weather is today. We pile into the car and I chomp down some gluten-free french toast sticks with chocolate almond butter, a banana and drink part of a protein shake on the way. As we arrive there is already a large crowd waiting for shuttle bus service. As soon as I open the car door, the wind hits me. Not sure how there can be such a huge weather differential after only a 20 minute drive, but it's freezing in the parking lot by Kohl's. We both immediately root through our drop bags for pants and jackets to put on while we wait. I proceed to lace up my kicks while we huddle for warmth waiting for the passenger vans and I chomp down a package of Clif margarita shot bloks and start to down my water bottle. We load up into the second van, which feels like it's about 100 degrees inside on our scenic drive to the start.
The houses seem to get larger, the scenery prettier and the road names stranger as we rode to the start. Opossum fart drive turns into rooster bush lane followed by tree rat circle...ok, I made up most of those but you get the point. Upon exiting the van with over 20 minutes to spare, we head for the bathrooms to unload before we line up, now here is where the fun begins. There are only two porta-potties instead of four like the pre-race info stated. Kim informs us as we stand in line for the next 20 minutes that they ordered four but the company only dropped off two, jerks! It seems like I spend forever staring at these two blue turd Tardises while I wait my turn and wonder if I will make the start on time. I figure with timing chips, it shouldn't be a big issue if I'm a little late, more on that later. Finally the plastic latch flips from red to green and it's my turn! I sprint toward the door, fling it open and hop inside (by this point my bladder is so full the race is a minor concern).
What greets me behind this blue plastic door is the stuff of nightmare and legend. The odor hits me first as someone has left the seat in the up position. I immediately take my place at the plastic urinal to the left but much like the Eye of Sauron, I am willed to look into the pit of despair to my right. What I see is burned into my brain forever. Upon the chemically blue ocean below, I see what appears to be a massive volcanic island forming it's peak at the mouth of the pit...only it's made up entirely of paper and "other stuff." Much like Circe's island, Aeaea, it's not the island but it's brown completely exposed "occupant" that was "enchanting" me with it's smell. The sound of Kim's voice on the PA system broke me free from it's deadly trance and I tumbled out of the porta-potty backwards coughing and disoriented. I grabbed my gear and stripped off my tracksuit just in time for us to line up at the back of the pack as the race was starting.
The wife is bummed that we are at the back to start, being the experienced trail machine she is, she knows how much of a pain it is to pass people on single track and she's roughly half my size... The race starts on the road and we manage to pass a number of folks before we hit the queue to enter the actual trail. There is a decent amount of standing around at this point due to the number of folks that have to enter single file. Pretty soon we are finally moving again and on an actual trail! This being our first race together we hadn't really discussed passing in advance, so I'm sure we lost some time in the beginning as we both wanted to stay together. After things thinned out a bit, we were able to start passing folks as space allowed. I have trouble remembering the terrain on the individual sections, but I will say the first 3 miles were very congested and we spent most of the time passing or waiting to pass. I had planned a strict nutrition schedule of one full gel every 30 mins and we stuck to it, with her doing a half a gel. By the time we reached the 3 mile aid station my water bottle was empty and being a race newb I went to the cooler to fill it instead of grabbing the cups. This cost us some time and I eventually gave up after only refilling about half my bottle. We started running again and had managed to maintain our position pretty well. The trail is very technical and narrow with lots of bridges and every one of them seemed to be slick from the night's rain. I believe the +1 turned her ankle in the first 6 miles but she didn't miss a step doing it. I was following at the time and I remember seeing it and thinking...wow, that looked painful! We hit the 6 mile aid station and my water bottle was again empty after I polished off another gel. This time I was smart and grabbed several cups to fill my bottle. We were off again pretty quick this time. I think this was around the point we switched and she started following while I lead. I'm not sure why but this race was the opposite of all our training runs together, where I normally start strong and get weaker, but today I felt weak at the start and had trouble the few times I was leading us in the beginning. After the 6 mile point I feel like the people got fewer and further between as we would only come upon small groups of 2-4 runners at a time. This section seemed to have more hills and more fast rollers where you really had to carry your momentum to get through them. I started to stuff a gu chomp in my mouth whenever I wasn't sucking down an actual gu/gel. I would also sip from my BCAA drink bottle here and there. By the time we reached the 9 mile aid station, my feet were definitely regretting the sock choice and my water bottle was again empty. I dumped another 3 cups in to refill it and off we went. I remember hearing another runner comment to my wife that her shoe was untied as we started off again and I thought to myself, "ha, oldest trick in the book." The only problem was her shoe really was untied! So she stopped and quickly tied it and off we went again. The balls of my feet started to feel like they were breaking around this point but it wasn't bad enough to make me slow down as I couldn't do anything about it anyways. At around one hour 50 minutes I asked the wife what her Garmin 310xt was showing for mileage. I find that both my Timex and my Garmin 405 can be off by quite a bit and my 405 had lost satellite at least once already. The 2 hour mark is my kryptonite as I'd never run more than 2 hours before or 9 miles for that matter up to this point. My legs were starting to feel heavy and sluggish, even though I had done my 90 minute gel and had a chomp stuffed in my mouth at the time. I think it's more a mental issue, as I used to have the same problem when I had never run over 30 minutes. I made it to the 2 hour mark by keeping my arms moving and checking my heart rate. Even though my perceived effort was going up, my heart rate was dropping into the lower 160's, so I knew I could push harder. I hit my 2 hour gel and felt some life come back into my legs, I also figured we couldn't be too far from the finish as we started to run into volunteers giving words of encouragement (thanks to all of you!). Although I have to say most of you are dirty liars! I can't even count how many people told me I was "almost there" or "only another 100 yards to go." This went on for a large bridge crossing at least two road crossings followed by another run down the side of the road and back into the woods before we finally entered the last clearing to see the finish line ahead. I asked the wife if she wanted to hold hands for the finish. Being the dirty trickster I am, I knew she would think this was a sweet gesture of our unity and love for one another, when in reality, I just didn't have a sprint left in me and I wanted to make sure she didn't blow me out at the finish line! (she doesn't read this blog, right?....oh crap, back in the doghouse I go...) I heard someone say we get the cutest finishers award, but they must hand that one out separately as I don't see it in the race results. I even managed to beat one guy in my age group...yeah suck it! (I kid.. I kid..) Now, if my right knee could just return to its normal size and I could bend my big toe again I would be happy.
Thanks for reading and for those of you counting at home there was a superhero, a sci-fi and a fantasy reference plus a whole paragraph of turd mythology. You also get a bonus point if you got the obscure tv show referenced in the title. Whoever comments/emails with names of all the references correctly wins the stick of Body Glide pictured. Get on this, I promise it's got a lot of life left in it.
HR avg 165 max 175
"a race report from the back of the pack"
Alarm rings at 5:30 (last shuttle at 7:30), by this point I think the wife is probably 2 hours into her pre-race preparation rituals. I ignore the ringing for about 10 minutes and finally drag myself out of bed to figure out what I might need today. Both GPS watches and heart strap, check. Umstead 100 poser shirt, check (hey, I volunteered). Random shorts with pockets from Dick's, check. Dual handhelds, check. Injinji socks, check (I figured they would protect my toes and give me a little extra shoe room over my Balega's). MT101's with Superfeet green, check. I had already stuffed 2 gels into each handheld pouch (2 pineapple rocctane, 1 raspberry clif gel and 1 lemon-lime gu), along with a package of GU chomps. I won't touch any of the caffeinated gels if I can help it, as I don't drink coffee or soda. The last thing I wanted was a nutritional issue to factor into my first 12 mile run. I filled one handheld with water and the other with around 90 cals of Cytosport Monster Amino plus an additional 5 grams of BCAA's for around 9 grams total of branched-chain amino acids. I do whatever I can to keep from burning muscle when I run.
As we head out the door, I can't help but notice how pleasantly warm the weather is today. We pile into the car and I chomp down some gluten-free french toast sticks with chocolate almond butter, a banana and drink part of a protein shake on the way. As we arrive there is already a large crowd waiting for shuttle bus service. As soon as I open the car door, the wind hits me. Not sure how there can be such a huge weather differential after only a 20 minute drive, but it's freezing in the parking lot by Kohl's. We both immediately root through our drop bags for pants and jackets to put on while we wait. I proceed to lace up my kicks while we huddle for warmth waiting for the passenger vans and I chomp down a package of Clif margarita shot bloks and start to down my water bottle. We load up into the second van, which feels like it's about 100 degrees inside on our scenic drive to the start.
The houses seem to get larger, the scenery prettier and the road names stranger as we rode to the start. Opossum fart drive turns into rooster bush lane followed by tree rat circle...ok, I made up most of those but you get the point. Upon exiting the van with over 20 minutes to spare, we head for the bathrooms to unload before we line up, now here is where the fun begins. There are only two porta-potties instead of four like the pre-race info stated. Kim informs us as we stand in line for the next 20 minutes that they ordered four but the company only dropped off two, jerks! It seems like I spend forever staring at these two blue turd Tardises while I wait my turn and wonder if I will make the start on time. I figure with timing chips, it shouldn't be a big issue if I'm a little late, more on that later. Finally the plastic latch flips from red to green and it's my turn! I sprint toward the door, fling it open and hop inside (by this point my bladder is so full the race is a minor concern).
What greets me behind this blue plastic door is the stuff of nightmare and legend. The odor hits me first as someone has left the seat in the up position. I immediately take my place at the plastic urinal to the left but much like the Eye of Sauron, I am willed to look into the pit of despair to my right. What I see is burned into my brain forever. Upon the chemically blue ocean below, I see what appears to be a massive volcanic island forming it's peak at the mouth of the pit...only it's made up entirely of paper and "other stuff." Much like Circe's island, Aeaea, it's not the island but it's brown completely exposed "occupant" that was "enchanting" me with it's smell. The sound of Kim's voice on the PA system broke me free from it's deadly trance and I tumbled out of the porta-potty backwards coughing and disoriented. I grabbed my gear and stripped off my tracksuit just in time for us to line up at the back of the pack as the race was starting.
The wife is bummed that we are at the back to start, being the experienced trail machine she is, she knows how much of a pain it is to pass people on single track and she's roughly half my size... The race starts on the road and we manage to pass a number of folks before we hit the queue to enter the actual trail. There is a decent amount of standing around at this point due to the number of folks that have to enter single file. Pretty soon we are finally moving again and on an actual trail! This being our first race together we hadn't really discussed passing in advance, so I'm sure we lost some time in the beginning as we both wanted to stay together. After things thinned out a bit, we were able to start passing folks as space allowed. I have trouble remembering the terrain on the individual sections, but I will say the first 3 miles were very congested and we spent most of the time passing or waiting to pass. I had planned a strict nutrition schedule of one full gel every 30 mins and we stuck to it, with her doing a half a gel. By the time we reached the 3 mile aid station my water bottle was empty and being a race newb I went to the cooler to fill it instead of grabbing the cups. This cost us some time and I eventually gave up after only refilling about half my bottle. We started running again and had managed to maintain our position pretty well. The trail is very technical and narrow with lots of bridges and every one of them seemed to be slick from the night's rain. I believe the +1 turned her ankle in the first 6 miles but she didn't miss a step doing it. I was following at the time and I remember seeing it and thinking...wow, that looked painful! We hit the 6 mile aid station and my water bottle was again empty after I polished off another gel. This time I was smart and grabbed several cups to fill my bottle. We were off again pretty quick this time. I think this was around the point we switched and she started following while I lead. I'm not sure why but this race was the opposite of all our training runs together, where I normally start strong and get weaker, but today I felt weak at the start and had trouble the few times I was leading us in the beginning. After the 6 mile point I feel like the people got fewer and further between as we would only come upon small groups of 2-4 runners at a time. This section seemed to have more hills and more fast rollers where you really had to carry your momentum to get through them. I started to stuff a gu chomp in my mouth whenever I wasn't sucking down an actual gu/gel. I would also sip from my BCAA drink bottle here and there. By the time we reached the 9 mile aid station, my feet were definitely regretting the sock choice and my water bottle was again empty. I dumped another 3 cups in to refill it and off we went. I remember hearing another runner comment to my wife that her shoe was untied as we started off again and I thought to myself, "ha, oldest trick in the book." The only problem was her shoe really was untied! So she stopped and quickly tied it and off we went again. The balls of my feet started to feel like they were breaking around this point but it wasn't bad enough to make me slow down as I couldn't do anything about it anyways. At around one hour 50 minutes I asked the wife what her Garmin 310xt was showing for mileage. I find that both my Timex and my Garmin 405 can be off by quite a bit and my 405 had lost satellite at least once already. The 2 hour mark is my kryptonite as I'd never run more than 2 hours before or 9 miles for that matter up to this point. My legs were starting to feel heavy and sluggish, even though I had done my 90 minute gel and had a chomp stuffed in my mouth at the time. I think it's more a mental issue, as I used to have the same problem when I had never run over 30 minutes. I made it to the 2 hour mark by keeping my arms moving and checking my heart rate. Even though my perceived effort was going up, my heart rate was dropping into the lower 160's, so I knew I could push harder. I hit my 2 hour gel and felt some life come back into my legs, I also figured we couldn't be too far from the finish as we started to run into volunteers giving words of encouragement (thanks to all of you!). Although I have to say most of you are dirty liars! I can't even count how many people told me I was "almost there" or "only another 100 yards to go." This went on for a large bridge crossing at least two road crossings followed by another run down the side of the road and back into the woods before we finally entered the last clearing to see the finish line ahead. I asked the wife if she wanted to hold hands for the finish. Being the dirty trickster I am, I knew she would think this was a sweet gesture of our unity and love for one another, when in reality, I just didn't have a sprint left in me and I wanted to make sure she didn't blow me out at the finish line! (she doesn't read this blog, right?....oh crap, back in the doghouse I go...) I heard someone say we get the cutest finishers award, but they must hand that one out separately as I don't see it in the race results. I even managed to beat one guy in my age group...yeah suck it! (I kid.. I kid..) Now, if my right knee could just return to its normal size and I could bend my big toe again I would be happy.
Thanks for reading and for those of you counting at home there was a superhero, a sci-fi and a fantasy reference plus a whole paragraph of turd mythology. You also get a bonus point if you got the obscure tv show referenced in the title. Whoever comments/emails with names of all the references correctly wins the stick of Body Glide pictured. Get on this, I promise it's got a lot of life left in it.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Moving Weights and Furniture
4/8 lift squat 3x255 (3 sets only for pre-race) close-grip bench press 1x235 plus pull-ups with +55lbs
I skipped my Thursday run in favor of driving all over God's green earth to pick up some new (to us) furniture for the house. Needless to say, my back is very unhappy with me right now. I guess I shouldn't say I skipped it, as I had every intention of running, I just ran out of time thanks to the long drive time and rush hour traffic.
Lifting today went pretty well. I still feel very weak in my squat, which is really irritating, as I used warmup with 225. I cut the squats short in hopes of saving some juice for the run tomorrow. I'm sticking with the close-grip on the bench and keeping my elbows into my body. It's working ok, but holy cow, with my arms in close my lockout point has the bar about twice as high as the pins for racking it. Talk about a long push. My shoulder is grinding a little bit but not to the point that I need to change anything up.
Looking forward to a good run on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12-Mile Challenge! This should be an awesome race, and it's going to be my first time running more than about 9 miles. My plan is to keep my heart rate under 155 for the first 8 miles and gu every 30 mins just in case. These plans could all go out the window, but my main goal is to have fun and not mess myself up as we return to the USMC Leatherneck next weekend. Goodluck to all the runners!
I skipped my Thursday run in favor of driving all over God's green earth to pick up some new (to us) furniture for the house. Needless to say, my back is very unhappy with me right now. I guess I shouldn't say I skipped it, as I had every intention of running, I just ran out of time thanks to the long drive time and rush hour traffic.
Lifting today went pretty well. I still feel very weak in my squat, which is really irritating, as I used warmup with 225. I cut the squats short in hopes of saving some juice for the run tomorrow. I'm sticking with the close-grip on the bench and keeping my elbows into my body. It's working ok, but holy cow, with my arms in close my lockout point has the bar about twice as high as the pins for racking it. Talk about a long push. My shoulder is grinding a little bit but not to the point that I need to change anything up.
Looking forward to a good run on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12-Mile Challenge! This should be an awesome race, and it's going to be my first time running more than about 9 miles. My plan is to keep my heart rate under 155 for the first 8 miles and gu every 30 mins just in case. These plans could all go out the window, but my main goal is to have fun and not mess myself up as we return to the USMC Leatherneck next weekend. Goodluck to all the runners!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
New Barbells and Nagging Injuries
4/6 lift power clean 1x230 deadlift 1x405 plus curls, dips and rotator cuff band work
Of all the days to make a change in equipment, we pick the day I have to pull 405lbs, which is my first attempt at this weight since I injured my back a year ago. We've been using an old chrome finished barbell I got off Craigslist since we started for floor exercises. It's not even close to straight and the bolt through ends have to be tightened after each set. We should probably just be glad it's held up as well as it has for the amount of weight we've been using. After using the CAP, I might even blame the old bar for when I re-injured my back. So today, we switched it for the CAP 1200lb barbell we got with the bumper plates, and we used the 45lb bumper plates in combination with my other 45lb steel plates, as I only have six 45lb plates, so, in the past, we would use a combination of 35lb and 10lb plates to make 405lbs.
The higher quality CAP barbell doesn't have nearly as much flex as the cheap unit we were using. This is something most people don't notice, as it doesn't make a huge difference unless you are doing some type of dead pull from the floor...like..say a deadlift or a power clean. That little bit of flex you get from a barbell when you go to pull it from the floor can make a big difference. This is why you see the guys who set records using things like the Texas Deadlift Bar or the Okie bar, as they have more flex, which allows you to load up and get several inches into your pull before you are fully loaded. The CAP barbell was definitely a wake-up call for both of us. This was the first time I could land both ends of the barbell at the same time, every time. With the old barbell, when I would lower the weight one side would always hit the ground first, as the barbell had a serious bend in it. It got me second guessing my form and turning more than I should.
Now, the bad part about all this is the extra effort it required. My back was already mad at me from the intervals on Tuesday and 5 sets of power cleans followed by 5 sets of deadlifts have left me feeling like I have a pair angry serpents going through their death spasms locked onto either side of my spine. Hopefully some rest and an easy run tomorrow will loosen things up before Saturday.
Speaking of trail runs, I got the word from Bull City Running Company that they had received a shipment of the new Altra Running shoes. I went by to check them out, hoping to snag a pair of Lone Peaks (trail shoe), but all they had were Instincts (road shoe). I brought my Superfeet Green to try, as I'm looking for a zero drop, low profile shoe I can wear with my Superfeet until my foot heals up. I've been managing in my MT101's but they don't really have enough room to accommodate a standard insole and my feet are getting a bit mangled in the process. The good news is, even though it's kind of a weird looking shoe, the Instinct felt great and it's designed for use with an insole (comes with two from the factory). Jason is going to see about getting a pair of Lone Peaks for me. I'll let you know what I think when I get my hands on them.
Of all the days to make a change in equipment, we pick the day I have to pull 405lbs, which is my first attempt at this weight since I injured my back a year ago. We've been using an old chrome finished barbell I got off Craigslist since we started for floor exercises. It's not even close to straight and the bolt through ends have to be tightened after each set. We should probably just be glad it's held up as well as it has for the amount of weight we've been using. After using the CAP, I might even blame the old bar for when I re-injured my back. So today, we switched it for the CAP 1200lb barbell we got with the bumper plates, and we used the 45lb bumper plates in combination with my other 45lb steel plates, as I only have six 45lb plates, so, in the past, we would use a combination of 35lb and 10lb plates to make 405lbs.
The higher quality CAP barbell doesn't have nearly as much flex as the cheap unit we were using. This is something most people don't notice, as it doesn't make a huge difference unless you are doing some type of dead pull from the floor...like..say a deadlift or a power clean. That little bit of flex you get from a barbell when you go to pull it from the floor can make a big difference. This is why you see the guys who set records using things like the Texas Deadlift Bar or the Okie bar, as they have more flex, which allows you to load up and get several inches into your pull before you are fully loaded. The CAP barbell was definitely a wake-up call for both of us. This was the first time I could land both ends of the barbell at the same time, every time. With the old barbell, when I would lower the weight one side would always hit the ground first, as the barbell had a serious bend in it. It got me second guessing my form and turning more than I should.
Now, the bad part about all this is the extra effort it required. My back was already mad at me from the intervals on Tuesday and 5 sets of power cleans followed by 5 sets of deadlifts have left me feeling like I have a pair angry serpents going through their death spasms locked onto either side of my spine. Hopefully some rest and an easy run tomorrow will loosen things up before Saturday.
Speaking of trail runs, I got the word from Bull City Running Company that they had received a shipment of the new Altra Running shoes. I went by to check them out, hoping to snag a pair of Lone Peaks (trail shoe), but all they had were Instincts (road shoe). I brought my Superfeet Green to try, as I'm looking for a zero drop, low profile shoe I can wear with my Superfeet until my foot heals up. I've been managing in my MT101's but they don't really have enough room to accommodate a standard insole and my feet are getting a bit mangled in the process. The good news is, even though it's kind of a weird looking shoe, the Instinct felt great and it's designed for use with an insole (comes with two from the factory). Jason is going to see about getting a pair of Lone Peaks for me. I'll let you know what I think when I get my hands on them.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
A Pyramid scheme to progress
4/5 run 61 mins (200,400,600,800,800,600,400,200m intervals) on American Tobacco Trail soft side in New Balance MT10 Minimus Trail w/ Injinji socks
200m
1. :52
400m
2. 1:56
600m
3. 2:51
800m
4. 3:54
5. 3:56
600m
6. 2:56
400m
7. 1:57
200m
8. :57
note: all interval times are recorded using custom workouts on a Garmin 405
HR avg ??? max ??? (average heart rate includes warm-up, cool-down and rest intervals)
I got roped into watching the brother-in-law's crazy puppy and forgot to bring my heart strap. Any other day this would have been a problem, but today was intervals so the only goal is to go as hard as I can for as long as I can...with consistency, of course. Last week I did my long run on Tuesday and skipped Thursday in favor of a roadtrip, so this was my first hard run in over a week. I'm glad it was a pyramid workout instead of mile repeats as it took me awhile to find my rhythm. This is also the first time I've jogged most of my rest intervals (I walked the 800m rest intervals). This is the first workout where it seems I got some decent consistency in my times! I had no idea what my times were until I uploaded the data after I got home. I'm not sure if the heart rate is just an added distraction or it's coincidence, but I'm happy to finally dial in some of my times. Now when I look at the graphs for each interval, my pace does fluctuate quite a bit, but that could also be the Garmin playing tricks on me. All of my intervals were at a sub-8 pace, so it was great to hit that goal as well. We had a big rainstorm last night, so the surface wasn't the best either. I also made a point to not turn around in the middle of an interval. In the past if I reached the road crossing on either end of this stretch of trail I would turn around and head back, but this was screwing up my times even further, so this time I ran them out no matter where I was at and I would u-turn on the rest interval. Thankfully I didn't have to stop for traffic.
I really love my New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus, I know I said I would write a full review, but with my left foot plantar fasciitis flaring up again, it's limited my ability to do longer runs on gnarly terrain in minimal shoes. They've been relegated to intervals on the flat but rocky American Tobacco Trail instead. I'm doing everything I can to get my foot healed again, as I have high hopes of using the MT10 for all but my longest runs in the future. The shoe fits so well and allows for excellent ground feel without rock bruising issues. I feel like my form and efficiency improves every time I put them on.
Now, I have to say a few words about the Strassburg Sock. I've been struggling with it for almost a week now and I'm giving up and ordering a real boot. I figured the pain and hot spots on the end of my toes would go away after a few days of adaptation, but instead I now have blisters on the tips of several toes from the damn thing. Now, I will say, I have some messed up feet and toes...my wife refers to them as Mr. Deeds' feet. I've tried adjusting the tension of the strap, but loosening seems to put even more pressure on the tips of my toes. I figured I would throw this out there for anyone who is looking at one of these socks. It does help, but in the exact same way as the boot, and there are about a 100 models to choose from, most of which don't rub the ends of your toes.
200m
1. :52
400m
2. 1:56
600m
3. 2:51
800m
4. 3:54
5. 3:56
600m
6. 2:56
400m
7. 1:57
200m
8. :57
note: all interval times are recorded using custom workouts on a Garmin 405
HR avg ??? max ??? (average heart rate includes warm-up, cool-down and rest intervals)
I got roped into watching the brother-in-law's crazy puppy and forgot to bring my heart strap. Any other day this would have been a problem, but today was intervals so the only goal is to go as hard as I can for as long as I can...with consistency, of course. Last week I did my long run on Tuesday and skipped Thursday in favor of a roadtrip, so this was my first hard run in over a week. I'm glad it was a pyramid workout instead of mile repeats as it took me awhile to find my rhythm. This is also the first time I've jogged most of my rest intervals (I walked the 800m rest intervals). This is the first workout where it seems I got some decent consistency in my times! I had no idea what my times were until I uploaded the data after I got home. I'm not sure if the heart rate is just an added distraction or it's coincidence, but I'm happy to finally dial in some of my times. Now when I look at the graphs for each interval, my pace does fluctuate quite a bit, but that could also be the Garmin playing tricks on me. All of my intervals were at a sub-8 pace, so it was great to hit that goal as well. We had a big rainstorm last night, so the surface wasn't the best either. I also made a point to not turn around in the middle of an interval. In the past if I reached the road crossing on either end of this stretch of trail I would turn around and head back, but this was screwing up my times even further, so this time I ran them out no matter where I was at and I would u-turn on the rest interval. Thankfully I didn't have to stop for traffic.
I really love my New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus, I know I said I would write a full review, but with my left foot plantar fasciitis flaring up again, it's limited my ability to do longer runs on gnarly terrain in minimal shoes. They've been relegated to intervals on the flat but rocky American Tobacco Trail instead. I'm doing everything I can to get my foot healed again, as I have high hopes of using the MT10 for all but my longest runs in the future. The shoe fits so well and allows for excellent ground feel without rock bruising issues. I feel like my form and efficiency improves every time I put them on.
Now, I have to say a few words about the Strassburg Sock. I've been struggling with it for almost a week now and I'm giving up and ordering a real boot. I figured the pain and hot spots on the end of my toes would go away after a few days of adaptation, but instead I now have blisters on the tips of several toes from the damn thing. Now, I will say, I have some messed up feet and toes...my wife refers to them as Mr. Deeds' feet. I've tried adjusting the tension of the strap, but loosening seems to put even more pressure on the tips of my toes. I figured I would throw this out there for anyone who is looking at one of these socks. It does help, but in the exact same way as the boot, and there are about a 100 models to choose from, most of which don't rub the ends of your toes.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Maxing Out before Mountains to Sea
4/4 lift box squat 1x315 close-grip towel bench 1x225 dumbell snatches 5x100 righthand and pull-ups +55lbs
I don't know how or why anyone would do squats outside of a power rack. Today when I was doing my 3x295lb set, I exploded off the box and got too far forward to balance the weight. I would have done a face plant into the ground with 295 on my shoulders, if not for the power rack. With the power rack stops set at the proper height, it was drama free for me to lean forward and dump the weight. I'm struggling to find my power on the box it seems, now that I'm squatting again, but at least I managed to match my single from 4 weeks ago. It's good to be doing all the main exercises again and I realize the importance of not missing a single core exercise if I can help it.
Close-grip on the towel bench was another feeling out period as we both picked a medium heavy weight to max out. I definitely feel like I can do a lot more even with the close grip. My shoulder is still doing just fine with these, although the snatches were a different story. I think I managed one clean dumbell snatch on the left side, so clearly something is still going on with that shoulder. The funny thing is my lifting partner is the opposite even though we are both right handed. His right side is the problem. I guess someone could create a pretty strong Frankenstein's monster from the two of us.
I don't know how or why anyone would do squats outside of a power rack. Today when I was doing my 3x295lb set, I exploded off the box and got too far forward to balance the weight. I would have done a face plant into the ground with 295 on my shoulders, if not for the power rack. With the power rack stops set at the proper height, it was drama free for me to lean forward and dump the weight. I'm struggling to find my power on the box it seems, now that I'm squatting again, but at least I managed to match my single from 4 weeks ago. It's good to be doing all the main exercises again and I realize the importance of not missing a single core exercise if I can help it.
Close-grip on the towel bench was another feeling out period as we both picked a medium heavy weight to max out. I definitely feel like I can do a lot more even with the close grip. My shoulder is still doing just fine with these, although the snatches were a different story. I think I managed one clean dumbell snatch on the left side, so clearly something is still going on with that shoulder. The funny thing is my lifting partner is the opposite even though we are both right handed. His right side is the problem. I guess someone could create a pretty strong Frankenstein's monster from the two of us.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Eno River Run and Umstead 100
4/2 run 72 mins Pea Creek Trail, Cole Mill Trail, Bobbitt's Hole Trail and Dunnagan's Trail @ Eno River State Park in New Balance MT101 with Superfeet Green
HR avg 154 max 170
Being a proud resident of Durham, I'm always on the lookout for good running trails that are closer to home. I had looked at trail maps for Eno River before and I was always put off by the short distances of the trails and their interconnected design. I'm used to planning each run around a single trail. On paper, it seems like an easy way to get lost on a run and I admit it could be challenging to track your distance and pace without a gps device.
Seeing as how I'm psycho enough to run with two gps devices, this is not a problem! The +1 slapped me around that morning, as we had to be out the door bright and early in order to make our date with Umstead in the afternoon (that's right we were two-timing her!). We arrived with plenty of time and there was ample parking with only a few cars to be seen at 10:30AM.
My first run on a trail, I always find myself missing out on the scenery and the actual trail, as I worry about my footing and following the trail markers. Even with those distractions, I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of this park. Our path was sort of an out and back loop along 4 trails that follow the edge of the Eno River. We followed Pea Creek Trail to Cole Mill Trail and Bobbitt's Hole Trail and back to Pea Creek Trail which crosses the parking area to Dunnagan's Trail. The arrow you see in the second screenshot below is for the Pea Creek Trail label. You can also see the start/stop break in my gps capture at the Parking area off of Cole Mill Road.
The trails follow the bank of the Eno River with some very technical off camber single track in many places, then they loop into the woods for some moderate climbs. The range of scenery from the flowing river to fields of tall grass and ancient hardwoods is magnificent. The sound of the trees in the wind was even slightly spooky at times. I'm already planning to do my last pre-race run here on Thursday. I promise to bring a camera and I can't wait to checkout the western trails, as several of those are listed as "strenuous," but not until after next weekend.
Later that day we headed over to Umstead 100 Aid Station #2, which is called Tom's Tavern to put in 4 hours gawking at the folks crazy enough to run 100 miles. The +1 had originally signed up to run the 50 option, but had dropped out due to her piriformis issues. When we first arrived it felt like a too many cooks in the kitchen situation, as they had an abundance of volunteers at that time, but within a few minutes it thinned out and we took up residence at the main table when you enter the tent. To our left was the cooking area and to our right were the other food tables and drop bag area. I spent most of my time cutting baked potatoes, orange slices, cantaloupe and bananas, while the wife made sandwiches and relayed the soup and hot food orders to the kitchen. It was a great learning experience for me and really interesting to see what people want to eat when they stop by after around 40-50 miles of running. As you can tell by what we spent our time doing, baked potatoes dipped in salt, orange slices and turkey sandwiches were very popular. The potato and later, chicken and rice soup also grew in popularity as dinner time approached. Not that I would ever consider running 50 or even 100 miles in 30 hours, but it was great to see what kinds of gluten free options I would have available, as most of what was offered I couldn't eat. The top two requested items were gels and fresh legs, of which we had none. I did see one guy in Vibran KSO treks with rainbow Injinjis and another in New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus. I was surprised by the number of Newtons I saw and most people had gaiters. There also seemed to be a lot "lucky t-shirts" either that or there was a rogue mountain lion on the course attacking participants and shredding their t-shirts. One of my friends normally works this station overnight and he says it's a totally different experience as many runners dropout at that point and those who continue are in rough shape. I can't imagine the accumulation of mental and physical stress on a person after 50+ miles combined with the plummeting temperature and added difficulties of night running. I am inspired by all those I saw and I was especially impressed by the few Clydesdales :-)
HR avg 154 max 170
Being a proud resident of Durham, I'm always on the lookout for good running trails that are closer to home. I had looked at trail maps for Eno River before and I was always put off by the short distances of the trails and their interconnected design. I'm used to planning each run around a single trail. On paper, it seems like an easy way to get lost on a run and I admit it could be challenging to track your distance and pace without a gps device.
Seeing as how I'm psycho enough to run with two gps devices, this is not a problem! The +1 slapped me around that morning, as we had to be out the door bright and early in order to make our date with Umstead in the afternoon (that's right we were two-timing her!). We arrived with plenty of time and there was ample parking with only a few cars to be seen at 10:30AM.
My first run on a trail, I always find myself missing out on the scenery and the actual trail, as I worry about my footing and following the trail markers. Even with those distractions, I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of this park. Our path was sort of an out and back loop along 4 trails that follow the edge of the Eno River. We followed Pea Creek Trail to Cole Mill Trail and Bobbitt's Hole Trail and back to Pea Creek Trail which crosses the parking area to Dunnagan's Trail. The arrow you see in the second screenshot below is for the Pea Creek Trail label. You can also see the start/stop break in my gps capture at the Parking area off of Cole Mill Road.
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| Timex GPS data from Google Maps |
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| Eno River State Park Map |
Later that day we headed over to Umstead 100 Aid Station #2, which is called Tom's Tavern to put in 4 hours gawking at the folks crazy enough to run 100 miles. The +1 had originally signed up to run the 50 option, but had dropped out due to her piriformis issues. When we first arrived it felt like a too many cooks in the kitchen situation, as they had an abundance of volunteers at that time, but within a few minutes it thinned out and we took up residence at the main table when you enter the tent. To our left was the cooking area and to our right were the other food tables and drop bag area. I spent most of my time cutting baked potatoes, orange slices, cantaloupe and bananas, while the wife made sandwiches and relayed the soup and hot food orders to the kitchen. It was a great learning experience for me and really interesting to see what people want to eat when they stop by after around 40-50 miles of running. As you can tell by what we spent our time doing, baked potatoes dipped in salt, orange slices and turkey sandwiches were very popular. The potato and later, chicken and rice soup also grew in popularity as dinner time approached. Not that I would ever consider running 50 or even 100 miles in 30 hours, but it was great to see what kinds of gluten free options I would have available, as most of what was offered I couldn't eat. The top two requested items were gels and fresh legs, of which we had none. I did see one guy in Vibran KSO treks with rainbow Injinjis and another in New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus. I was surprised by the number of Newtons I saw and most people had gaiters. There also seemed to be a lot "lucky t-shirts" either that or there was a rogue mountain lion on the course attacking participants and shredding their t-shirts. One of my friends normally works this station overnight and he says it's a totally different experience as many runners dropout at that point and those who continue are in rough shape. I can't imagine the accumulation of mental and physical stress on a person after 50+ miles combined with the plummeting temperature and added difficulties of night running. I am inspired by all those I saw and I was especially impressed by the few Clydesdales :-)
Saturday, April 2, 2011
End of another 5x5 week!
4/1 lift squat 4x265 close-grip bench press 5x205 pull-ups +55lbs and ab roller work
I widened my foot placement to allow a more upright posture, while still keeping my shoulders aligned over my ankles. This adjustment seems to have helped me to maintain the same rate of ascent for my shoulders and my hips when I come out of the bottom of the squat. I think my squat form has become more and more screwed up over the last year as I worked around my back injury.
I made sure to keep my elbows in tight to my body and my left shoulder didn't bother me at all today. Although, the weights are around 50lbs off of what I would do with a normal grip. My plan is to stick with the narrow grip and build things up slowly.
I widened my foot placement to allow a more upright posture, while still keeping my shoulders aligned over my ankles. This adjustment seems to have helped me to maintain the same rate of ascent for my shoulders and my hips when I come out of the bottom of the squat. I think my squat form has become more and more screwed up over the last year as I worked around my back injury.
I made sure to keep my elbows in tight to my body and my left shoulder didn't bother me at all today. Although, the weights are around 50lbs off of what I would do with a normal grip. My plan is to stick with the narrow grip and build things up slowly.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Long day in the car
3/31 roadtrip 12 hours!
So I've always got my eye on Craigslist for a good deal and yesterday one popped up. We've been wanting a set of bumper plates for awhile now, as we currently do our Olympic lifting with regular plates (no dropping the weights). Thanks to all the Crossfit crazies, the prices keep going up and the deals are few and far between. In this case, that meant Cullowhee, NC. Cullowhee is on the other side of Asheville and the home to Western Carolina University. So, today, my training partner and I made our way down to pick up a set of 45,35,25 and 10lb plates with a rusty Cap 1200lb barbell. We really needed another barbell, as the one we use for Olympic lifts and deadlifts is seriously bent and comes apart on every set. As a bonus, Anson, of Silverback Strength Equipment had a 170lb atlas stone ready for us, so we made a stop in Salisbury to pick it up on our way back to the triangle.
Nothing like 12 hours in a car eating only what you can forage from gas stations to really jack up your system. I'm glad I wimped out and skipped my intervals this morning. Sitting for so long in car has DOMS from Wednesday's workout kicking in.
So I've always got my eye on Craigslist for a good deal and yesterday one popped up. We've been wanting a set of bumper plates for awhile now, as we currently do our Olympic lifting with regular plates (no dropping the weights). Thanks to all the Crossfit crazies, the prices keep going up and the deals are few and far between. In this case, that meant Cullowhee, NC. Cullowhee is on the other side of Asheville and the home to Western Carolina University. So, today, my training partner and I made our way down to pick up a set of 45,35,25 and 10lb plates with a rusty Cap 1200lb barbell. We really needed another barbell, as the one we use for Olympic lifts and deadlifts is seriously bent and comes apart on every set. As a bonus, Anson, of Silverback Strength Equipment had a 170lb atlas stone ready for us, so we made a stop in Salisbury to pick it up on our way back to the triangle.
Nothing like 12 hours in a car eating only what you can forage from gas stations to really jack up your system. I'm glad I wimped out and skipped my intervals this morning. Sitting for so long in car has DOMS from Wednesday's workout kicking in.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
50 reps and stick a fork in me
3/30 lift power clean 5x200 deadlift 5x380
5 sets of 5 reps is no fun after running 9 miles the day before. It didn't help that I had just finished eating lunch right before we started working out. I got my feet moving properly on the cleans, but the pull got ugly towards the end. I nailed my knees one time with the bar and I started pulling wide afterwards, which screws up the catch position.
Deadlifts weren't fun either. The last 2 reps of the top set were about as close to the ragged edge as you can get, but it felt great to pull them hard without any back pain. I was too wiped to do any auxiliaries. Tomorrow I plan to do my intervals in the MT10's if my foot feels good. I had to help my brother move this afternoon and now my foot is bothering me again.
5 sets of 5 reps is no fun after running 9 miles the day before. It didn't help that I had just finished eating lunch right before we started working out. I got my feet moving properly on the cleans, but the pull got ugly towards the end. I nailed my knees one time with the bar and I started pulling wide afterwards, which screws up the catch position.
Deadlifts weren't fun either. The last 2 reps of the top set were about as close to the ragged edge as you can get, but it felt great to pull them hard without any back pain. I was too wiped to do any auxiliaries. Tomorrow I plan to do my intervals in the MT10's if my foot feels good. I had to help my brother move this afternoon and now my foot is bothering me again.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
In the Zone
3/29 run 1hr 58 mins on Company Mill and Loblolly @ Umstead in MT101 with Superfeet Green insoles (no tape!)
HR avg 149 max 184 (maybe I ran into some powerlines)
Today I went out with one goal, and that was to keep my heart rate under 75% of max for the run. I set my watch to alarm if I got above 155, which is more like 77%, but close enough. I did have to partially walk most hills, but the pace turned out to be faster than I expected. I plan to use this same heart rate plan for the first 8 miles of the race. The +1 joined me after work and we did all of Company Mill and a partial out and back on Loblolly. The weather was basically perfect, in the mid 50's the whole time. The real shock of the whole run is that I covered about the same distance as my last long run, but with 16 fewer beats per minute average. Physically I feel fresh, but my knees and feet feel just as beat up as before. I used two gels plus carried my 2 bottles.
Our run was going well up until we finished Company Mill and headed for Loblolly, around 10 minutes in, on a gradual downhill stretch we had some folks and a dog approaching from behind while the +1 was telling me a story about her work. I started to instinctively pick up the pace on her and she got a big 'ol helping of trail lovins. She was behind me at the time and I heard a loud crash along with an abrupt stop to her story. I turned just in time to see her water bottle rolling my way. Her knees, palms and entire right arm were skinned up pretty bad, but like the super trooper she is, she wouldn't let us quit no matter how much I begged and pleaded for her to call it a day, so I could carry her back to the car and dress her wounds.... OK OK, more like, I stood there looking dumbfounded and asked her if she was ready to get going again until she finally got pissed off enough to start running. So off she went swelling, bleeding and cursing at me the whole way. I figured if I got her ticked off at me enough, she wouldn't have time to focus on her wounds!
This is the first long run I've done without taping my left foot in a LONG time. I wish I had the time to change individual variables, but with the race fast approaching I had to pull out all the stops in order to heal my foot. First, the Strassburg Sock has worked miracles on my left foot. I didn't realize how much my left calf, arch and toes were tightening up at night in comparison to my right side. Wearing the Strassburg Sock has given me back the flexibility I've always been missing on that side. It has also reduced my foot pain tremendously. I could always passively stretch both sides equally, but if I was to try to simply flex my foot and toes upward I couldn't achieve the same degree of flexion on both sides until now. Now, I will say it's not the most comfortable thing to wear while you're sleeping. I find it mashes the ends of my toes, in addition to the awkward foot position.
I got my Superfeet green insoles yesterday from Jason at Bull City. They really thicken up the heel of the shoe and increase the heel-toe drop significantly, but if it allows me to run without pain and tape, then it's a step in the right direction. My left foot never felt like it was rolling in and collapsing with the Superfeet, but I did find the added sole height made it easier for me to roll my ankles on technical sections. The increased slope of the shoe seemed to bother the ball of my right foot and gave me some top of the foot pain on that side. Perhaps I can figure out a way to wear only one insole... After the run, my left foot didn't feel nearly as sore or as painful as it normally does after a long run. Now, I wish I could say it was the sock or the insoles, but I really think it's the combination of the two. I'm looking forward to wearing my New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus again on Thursday for speed work. This will be a good test of where my left foot is in its road to recovery.
HR avg 149 max 184 (maybe I ran into some powerlines)
Today I went out with one goal, and that was to keep my heart rate under 75% of max for the run. I set my watch to alarm if I got above 155, which is more like 77%, but close enough. I did have to partially walk most hills, but the pace turned out to be faster than I expected. I plan to use this same heart rate plan for the first 8 miles of the race. The +1 joined me after work and we did all of Company Mill and a partial out and back on Loblolly. The weather was basically perfect, in the mid 50's the whole time. The real shock of the whole run is that I covered about the same distance as my last long run, but with 16 fewer beats per minute average. Physically I feel fresh, but my knees and feet feel just as beat up as before. I used two gels plus carried my 2 bottles.
Our run was going well up until we finished Company Mill and headed for Loblolly, around 10 minutes in, on a gradual downhill stretch we had some folks and a dog approaching from behind while the +1 was telling me a story about her work. I started to instinctively pick up the pace on her and she got a big 'ol helping of trail lovins. She was behind me at the time and I heard a loud crash along with an abrupt stop to her story. I turned just in time to see her water bottle rolling my way. Her knees, palms and entire right arm were skinned up pretty bad, but like the super trooper she is, she wouldn't let us quit no matter how much I begged and pleaded for her to call it a day, so I could carry her back to the car and dress her wounds.... OK OK, more like, I stood there looking dumbfounded and asked her if she was ready to get going again until she finally got pissed off enough to start running. So off she went swelling, bleeding and cursing at me the whole way. I figured if I got her ticked off at me enough, she wouldn't have time to focus on her wounds!
This is the first long run I've done without taping my left foot in a LONG time. I wish I had the time to change individual variables, but with the race fast approaching I had to pull out all the stops in order to heal my foot. First, the Strassburg Sock has worked miracles on my left foot. I didn't realize how much my left calf, arch and toes were tightening up at night in comparison to my right side. Wearing the Strassburg Sock has given me back the flexibility I've always been missing on that side. It has also reduced my foot pain tremendously. I could always passively stretch both sides equally, but if I was to try to simply flex my foot and toes upward I couldn't achieve the same degree of flexion on both sides until now. Now, I will say it's not the most comfortable thing to wear while you're sleeping. I find it mashes the ends of my toes, in addition to the awkward foot position.
I got my Superfeet green insoles yesterday from Jason at Bull City. They really thicken up the heel of the shoe and increase the heel-toe drop significantly, but if it allows me to run without pain and tape, then it's a step in the right direction. My left foot never felt like it was rolling in and collapsing with the Superfeet, but I did find the added sole height made it easier for me to roll my ankles on technical sections. The increased slope of the shoe seemed to bother the ball of my right foot and gave me some top of the foot pain on that side. Perhaps I can figure out a way to wear only one insole... After the run, my left foot didn't feel nearly as sore or as painful as it normally does after a long run. Now, I wish I could say it was the sock or the insoles, but I really think it's the combination of the two. I'm looking forward to wearing my New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus again on Thursday for speed work. This will be a good test of where my left foot is in its road to recovery.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Five Sets and Foot Injuries
3/28 lift box squat 3+2x300 towel bench close-grip 5x205 snatch 3x100 right only pull-ups +55lbs and some rotator cuff band work
Struggled to move up on the box squat, feeling weak in my left leg for some reason. I'm slowly working out a way to bench without too much pain. It seems as long as my elbows stay against my body, my shoulder doesn't feel like it's being ripped out of the socket. My plan is to stick with reduced weights and close-grip benches until it feels better. I couldn't pull off my heaviest set of snatches on the left side with the shoulder bothering me. Pull-ups went ok, I'm starting to feel the shoulder a bit on them, as well.
In injury related news, I've worn a Strassburg Sock the last couple of nights in the hopes of healing my left foot. It's been going down hill since I ran Sal's Branch in my Minimus Trail last week (even with tape). Today I got fitted for a pair of Superfeet Green in my MT101's. I'm not a big fan of the added heel lift, but if they allow me to run without tape or further injury I'll be ecstatic. I'm planning to do my last long run tomorrow before the MST 12 miler with the goal of slowing my pace down for the first hour or so.
Struggled to move up on the box squat, feeling weak in my left leg for some reason. I'm slowly working out a way to bench without too much pain. It seems as long as my elbows stay against my body, my shoulder doesn't feel like it's being ripped out of the socket. My plan is to stick with reduced weights and close-grip benches until it feels better. I couldn't pull off my heaviest set of snatches on the left side with the shoulder bothering me. Pull-ups went ok, I'm starting to feel the shoulder a bit on them, as well.
In injury related news, I've worn a Strassburg Sock the last couple of nights in the hopes of healing my left foot. It's been going down hill since I ran Sal's Branch in my Minimus Trail last week (even with tape). Today I got fitted for a pair of Superfeet Green in my MT101's. I'm not a big fan of the added heel lift, but if they allow me to run without tape or further injury I'll be ecstatic. I'm planning to do my last long run tomorrow before the MST 12 miler with the goal of slowing my pace down for the first hour or so.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Show me your O-run
3/26 O-run 63 mins @ Palmetto State O-run with the team in MT101's with left foot taped
Got up at 4am to leave at 5am for South Carolina. We were worried about rain, but the weather held out until our trip back, as our start time was 10:23AM. After a slightly round about trip through Charlotte we arrived with less than an hour to spare. We suited up and lined up to wait for our number to be called. It was around 50 degrees with a bit of wind, thankfully I didn't have to wait long before we got to start. The clock hit 10:23 and off we went.
I'm not going to give an obstacle by obstacle breakdown, but some of my favorites include the "Golden Child balance posts" and the "3 baby atlas stones." I really liked the course, it was basically flat with plenty of climb and carry based obstacles. Nothing extremely technical, but quite a few that required team work, like the ten foot wall and the tire flip as well as several carries that required multiple team members. The lack of congestion getting into and out of the event was also a plus. We actually started at the EXACT time we were supposed to start! I can't say enough about how well this event was put together. For someone who still wears contact lenses, it was great to have a course that isn't intentionally designed to ruin your clothes and your car's interior when you leave. I think we will definitely be back next year.
In terms of my personal performance, I was blown away by how much my conditioning has improved since the USMC Mud Run. It seems running is the real key to success in these events. Due to the team nature, there was never a point where I really felt like I was pushing myself that hard. I felt about 10x better afterward than I do after my weekend long runs. My plan is to get in a long run on Tuesday but to maintain a heart rate of 80% during the entire run. In a bit of irony, the t-shirts I ordered for the team arrived in the mail that Saturday after I got back.
Got up at 4am to leave at 5am for South Carolina. We were worried about rain, but the weather held out until our trip back, as our start time was 10:23AM. After a slightly round about trip through Charlotte we arrived with less than an hour to spare. We suited up and lined up to wait for our number to be called. It was around 50 degrees with a bit of wind, thankfully I didn't have to wait long before we got to start. The clock hit 10:23 and off we went.
I'm not going to give an obstacle by obstacle breakdown, but some of my favorites include the "Golden Child balance posts" and the "3 baby atlas stones." I really liked the course, it was basically flat with plenty of climb and carry based obstacles. Nothing extremely technical, but quite a few that required team work, like the ten foot wall and the tire flip as well as several carries that required multiple team members. The lack of congestion getting into and out of the event was also a plus. We actually started at the EXACT time we were supposed to start! I can't say enough about how well this event was put together. For someone who still wears contact lenses, it was great to have a course that isn't intentionally designed to ruin your clothes and your car's interior when you leave. I think we will definitely be back next year.
In terms of my personal performance, I was blown away by how much my conditioning has improved since the USMC Mud Run. It seems running is the real key to success in these events. Due to the team nature, there was never a point where I really felt like I was pushing myself that hard. I felt about 10x better afterward than I do after my weekend long runs. My plan is to get in a long run on Tuesday but to maintain a heart rate of 80% during the entire run. In a bit of irony, the t-shirts I ordered for the team arrived in the mail that Saturday after I got back.
I Don't Know Squat.
3/25 lift squat 3x265 bench press 3x225 plus pull-ups +55lbs and rotator cuff band work
Today was a wake up call for skipping two weeks of regular squats. I needed to do 285 for 3 to duplicate last month's effort, but reality set in and I did 265 for two sets of 3 instead. My box squats have continued to move up, but I guess they don't translate as well as I thought to regular squats. I also think I have finally figured out the weak link in my squat. My original thinking was that my back was the issue from my injury, but I now believe it's an anterior chain issue that's causing me to bend forward too much to compensate. In short, I believe my quads are the weak link, and I lean forward to kick in my hip flexors in order to get out of the hole.
It was definitely too early to load my shoulder on the bench. 135, I can control with no discomfort. 185, I start to feel it but it's more of a nagging sensation. 225, and it feels almost as bad as when I stopped a month or so ago. Looks like a doctor's visit might be in my future.
Today was a wake up call for skipping two weeks of regular squats. I needed to do 285 for 3 to duplicate last month's effort, but reality set in and I did 265 for two sets of 3 instead. My box squats have continued to move up, but I guess they don't translate as well as I thought to regular squats. I also think I have finally figured out the weak link in my squat. My original thinking was that my back was the issue from my injury, but I now believe it's an anterior chain issue that's causing me to bend forward too much to compensate. In short, I believe my quads are the weak link, and I lean forward to kick in my hip flexors in order to get out of the hole.
It was definitely too early to load my shoulder on the bench. 135, I can control with no discomfort. 185, I start to feel it but it's more of a nagging sensation. 225, and it feels almost as bad as when I stopped a month or so ago. Looks like a doctor's visit might be in my future.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
More Minimus Trail on the Trail
3/24 run 45 mins on Sal's Branch @ Umstead in New Balance Trail Minimus MT10 with left foot taped and Injinji socks
HR avg 163 max 174
I really wanted to wear my Trail Minimus for another trail workout, but I was worried about squeezing my taped foot into the glove like shoe. I taped up and did a test fitting. Surprisingly, I got the shoe on and off without any problems! So off I went to put in another run. Even taped, I can tell my left foot and calf took quite a beating. I put in close to 4 miles in socks this time. A few spots were getting warm toward the end but no blisters! I didn't have any traction issues, even though some parts of the trail were still muddy from the rainstorm last night. I really enjoy the added ground feel, except on the extremely rocky sections. They stick well and I haven't had any issues with foot movement on downhills. I'm not ready to tackle a long run in them yet, but I plan to keep them in the permanent rotation for tempo and speed work. I think they are by far THE BEST minimal shoe you can buy that is truly capable of trail running at race paces.
HR avg 163 max 174
I really wanted to wear my Trail Minimus for another trail workout, but I was worried about squeezing my taped foot into the glove like shoe. I taped up and did a test fitting. Surprisingly, I got the shoe on and off without any problems! So off I went to put in another run. Even taped, I can tell my left foot and calf took quite a beating. I put in close to 4 miles in socks this time. A few spots were getting warm toward the end but no blisters! I didn't have any traction issues, even though some parts of the trail were still muddy from the rainstorm last night. I really enjoy the added ground feel, except on the extremely rocky sections. They stick well and I haven't had any issues with foot movement on downhills. I'm not ready to tackle a long run in them yet, but I plan to keep them in the permanent rotation for tempo and speed work. I think they are by far THE BEST minimal shoe you can buy that is truly capable of trail running at race paces.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A Full Pull
3/23 lift power clean 3x215 deadlift 3x390 plus 21's x85 and a few dips and ab work
I finally sorted out some of my recent power clean problems. I've been focused so much on getting my feet to pop out that I was shorting my pull. I went to pull 215, and missed my first one, hit my second and missed another. About this time with some observations from my lifting partner I began to realize where I was breaking down. I pulled the next two cleanly without issue, making a point to complete the pull with full back extension before dropping under the bar and popping my feet out. I guess sometimes you just need to slow down and take your time. At least it makes sense now, as I couldn't understand how my pull could get weaker, while my deadlift would move up.
I moved up on the deadlifts, as well. Sticking to my 5lbs a workout to keep me on track to regain my previous form. I've been feeling strong in my legs and back lately. Which is kind of surprising with my ever increasing running volume. Although I've been on a reduced lifting volume thanks to skipping my Friday squats two weeks in a row along with a bunch of missed bench days.
My left foot is aching a bit tonight. I was really hoping to pull off another genuine trail run in the NB Minimus Trail MT10. I've only managed one so far, as I continue to use them for my Tuesday interval workouts. The intervals are probably the hardest workouts for my feet and calves, but I prefer the added feel I get from the MT10 for these. I think the shoes really help me feel my way to improved running economy. I'd like to push it, but I don't want to get myself into real trouble before the obstacle course this weekend. I'll wait for those first steps of the day, as always.
I finally sorted out some of my recent power clean problems. I've been focused so much on getting my feet to pop out that I was shorting my pull. I went to pull 215, and missed my first one, hit my second and missed another. About this time with some observations from my lifting partner I began to realize where I was breaking down. I pulled the next two cleanly without issue, making a point to complete the pull with full back extension before dropping under the bar and popping my feet out. I guess sometimes you just need to slow down and take your time. At least it makes sense now, as I couldn't understand how my pull could get weaker, while my deadlift would move up.
I moved up on the deadlifts, as well. Sticking to my 5lbs a workout to keep me on track to regain my previous form. I've been feeling strong in my legs and back lately. Which is kind of surprising with my ever increasing running volume. Although I've been on a reduced lifting volume thanks to skipping my Friday squats two weeks in a row along with a bunch of missed bench days.
My left foot is aching a bit tonight. I was really hoping to pull off another genuine trail run in the NB Minimus Trail MT10. I've only managed one so far, as I continue to use them for my Tuesday interval workouts. The intervals are probably the hardest workouts for my feet and calves, but I prefer the added feel I get from the MT10 for these. I think the shoes really help me feel my way to improved running economy. I'd like to push it, but I don't want to get myself into real trouble before the obstacle course this weekend. I'll wait for those first steps of the day, as always.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I guess I have a little ways to go before I hit that 4 minute mile...
3/22 run 50 mins (2x1600m 1x800m repeats) on American Tobacco Trail soft side in New Balance MT10 Minimus Trail w/ Injinji socks
1600m
1. 8:15 HR avg 159
2. 8:37 HR avg 169
800m
3. 4:09 HR avg 167
HR avg 141 max 176 (average heart rate includes warm-up, cool-down and rest intervals)
I'm still sorting out my warm-up transition into my first interval, but I felt better this time. I think for shorter intervals I need to start off with some sprints and then a slow jog before my first repeat. The +1 and my brother came with and it was all I could do to keep up with +1 at the start of the first 1600m. She's still recovering from a half marathon this past weekend too! My times aren't as close as I would have hoped. Oddly enough, I actually thought my 2nd 1600m was faster and I might have held back a little. This was my first time doing 1600m repeats, so I really tried to pace myself as I screwed up my first 800m last week. The +1 remarked on how hard it is to run on this side of the American Tobacco Trail and that made me feel a bit better about my lackluster times. I guess rocky terrain and minimal footwear will do that to you, but I figure this is the best way to improve my trail performance.
My knees are still swollen from Saturday, but they didn't bother me on the run. My left foot felt kind of raw in the beginning, but it seemed to work itself out. Once I get fluid in my knees it always takes forever to completely work its way out. I'm just hoping to run through it this time, as it's not too bad yet. I am concerned about my lifting tomorrow. Hopefully things will improve overnight.
Today I mowed the lawn for the first time since last summer. To give you some background, I have this ancient 36" Exmark walk behind. It weighs a couple hundred pounds and is a real beast to maneuver thanks to some very touchy hand controls and no brakes. I could really notice a difference in the level of effort I had to put forth, so maybe there is something to this running stuff. It could also be that I didn't wear my normal dust mask though...
1600m
1. 8:15 HR avg 159
2. 8:37 HR avg 169
800m
3. 4:09 HR avg 167
HR avg 141 max 176 (average heart rate includes warm-up, cool-down and rest intervals)
I'm still sorting out my warm-up transition into my first interval, but I felt better this time. I think for shorter intervals I need to start off with some sprints and then a slow jog before my first repeat. The +1 and my brother came with and it was all I could do to keep up with +1 at the start of the first 1600m. She's still recovering from a half marathon this past weekend too! My times aren't as close as I would have hoped. Oddly enough, I actually thought my 2nd 1600m was faster and I might have held back a little. This was my first time doing 1600m repeats, so I really tried to pace myself as I screwed up my first 800m last week. The +1 remarked on how hard it is to run on this side of the American Tobacco Trail and that made me feel a bit better about my lackluster times. I guess rocky terrain and minimal footwear will do that to you, but I figure this is the best way to improve my trail performance.
My knees are still swollen from Saturday, but they didn't bother me on the run. My left foot felt kind of raw in the beginning, but it seemed to work itself out. Once I get fluid in my knees it always takes forever to completely work its way out. I'm just hoping to run through it this time, as it's not too bad yet. I am concerned about my lifting tomorrow. Hopefully things will improve overnight.
Today I mowed the lawn for the first time since last summer. To give you some background, I have this ancient 36" Exmark walk behind. It weighs a couple hundred pounds and is a real beast to maneuver thanks to some very touchy hand controls and no brakes. I could really notice a difference in the level of effort I had to put forth, so maybe there is something to this running stuff. It could also be that I didn't wear my normal dust mask though...
Monday, March 21, 2011
Week of the O-run
3/21 lift box squat 3x315 towel bench 3x230 plus snatches 3x75,85,100 pull-ups with +55lbs
I was really happy with my progress today. I struggled with 305 on the box squat 4 weeks ago and today I did 315 without an assist. I only did two sets on the bench due to my shoulder bothering me again. Added 5lbs on the pull-ups as we've been using 50lbs for at least two months now. Managed to hit all my snatches on both sides.
I wanted to do some full squats for warm-ups, but my knees are still a bit too swollen from running to do them. This coming weekend is the O-run, which should be fun and hopefully not too taxing on me. I still have to get in a long run that weekend.
I was really happy with my progress today. I struggled with 305 on the box squat 4 weeks ago and today I did 315 without an assist. I only did two sets on the bench due to my shoulder bothering me again. Added 5lbs on the pull-ups as we've been using 50lbs for at least two months now. Managed to hit all my snatches on both sides.
I wanted to do some full squats for warm-ups, but my knees are still a bit too swollen from running to do them. This coming weekend is the O-run, which should be fun and hopefully not too taxing on me. I still have to get in a long run that weekend.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Way too long Run
3/19 run 1hr 55mins on Company Mill & Loblolly @ Umstead in MT101's with left foot taped
HR avg 166 max 178
I made sure to get started extra early today at exactly 11am sharp.... sadly this is early for me, but I did get up at 9am to make this start time. I was worried about the heat (high of 74), not to mention how clogged the trails can get on a beautiful Saturday. My goal was to do 100 minutes, which is what I would have liked to have hit for the distance I covered, but the heat and accumulated fatigue of the week got the better of me and my pace slowed to a crawl at the end. I started with an out and back on Company mill equal to about 35 minutes, hit the water fountain to refill one of my bottles. Ran across the parking lot and started making my way down Loblolly. I took a Thermotab around 55 mins in and did about half a gel as well. This was my first time to ever use a gel. Thankfully I didn't inhale it. They are kind of gross, but WOW, I certainly got some life back in my legs. I did the other half around the 80 min mark on my return trip and took my other Thermotab. The gel definitely put some spring back in my step. I guess I really need more calories on these runs. I think I will start using a gel every 30 minutes if I have to run more than an hour.
This run wasn't as hard as last weekend, in part, because I decided I would focus on my heart rate and not worry so much about my pace. I didn't want to wreck myself completely for the rest of the weekend. My feet decided to breakdown on this run, with blisters on the ends of a few toes on both feet and my ongoing monster blister behind the ball of my left foot. I think this is due to my feet swelling, which allowed my shoes to eat my toes on the downhills. I could also feel the pain in my knees more than I have in awhile. I've changed up my SAM-e dosage to 400mg every other day. I really think my knees would look like grapefruits right now if I wasn't taking the SAM-e. It's given me a few stomach issues, which I hope to resolve by taking it every other day instead of daily.
Next weekend is the Palmetto State O-run, which is a 4 mile obstacle course, even though I need to get in one more long run before I cutback. My plan is to move the long run to Tuesday. I'm not sure how well this will work if we lift on Monday and Tuesday, but I don't have any better ideas yet. This is all assuming I'm healthy enough to do another long run. My feet and knees would prefer to start tapering now.
HR avg 166 max 178
I made sure to get started extra early today at exactly 11am sharp.... sadly this is early for me, but I did get up at 9am to make this start time. I was worried about the heat (high of 74), not to mention how clogged the trails can get on a beautiful Saturday. My goal was to do 100 minutes, which is what I would have liked to have hit for the distance I covered, but the heat and accumulated fatigue of the week got the better of me and my pace slowed to a crawl at the end. I started with an out and back on Company mill equal to about 35 minutes, hit the water fountain to refill one of my bottles. Ran across the parking lot and started making my way down Loblolly. I took a Thermotab around 55 mins in and did about half a gel as well. This was my first time to ever use a gel. Thankfully I didn't inhale it. They are kind of gross, but WOW, I certainly got some life back in my legs. I did the other half around the 80 min mark on my return trip and took my other Thermotab. The gel definitely put some spring back in my step. I guess I really need more calories on these runs. I think I will start using a gel every 30 minutes if I have to run more than an hour.
This run wasn't as hard as last weekend, in part, because I decided I would focus on my heart rate and not worry so much about my pace. I didn't want to wreck myself completely for the rest of the weekend. My feet decided to breakdown on this run, with blisters on the ends of a few toes on both feet and my ongoing monster blister behind the ball of my left foot. I think this is due to my feet swelling, which allowed my shoes to eat my toes on the downhills. I could also feel the pain in my knees more than I have in awhile. I've changed up my SAM-e dosage to 400mg every other day. I really think my knees would look like grapefruits right now if I wasn't taking the SAM-e. It's given me a few stomach issues, which I hope to resolve by taking it every other day instead of daily.
Next weekend is the Palmetto State O-run, which is a 4 mile obstacle course, even though I need to get in one more long run before I cutback. My plan is to move the long run to Tuesday. I'm not sure how well this will work if we lift on Monday and Tuesday, but I don't have any better ideas yet. This is all assuming I'm healthy enough to do another long run. My feet and knees would prefer to start tapering now.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Feelin the Heat
3/17 run 30 mins on Sal's Branch @ Umstead in New Balance MT101's (no tape)
HR avg 165 max 177
I wanted to wear my MT10's but I think I was pushing my recovery limits by skipping the tape. This was another hard run. I don't know if it's the warm weather (69 degrees) or residual soreness, but I feel like I'm struggling the whole time. I did push the pace and shaved about a minute and a half off my time for one loop (24:26). The turn at Big Lake always marks the beginning of the hardest part of the course for me. I think it's the mild uphill grade, plus the accumulated fatigue, but this is the part of the course where my heart rate climbs and my pace slows.
In other news, I'm starting to notice variance of greater than 10% from my Garmin 405 on the same course. Admittedly, this is under some serious tree cover. My Timex seems to be much more consistent on the same course from one workout to the next. It seems as though the Garmin will read longer than the Timex one week and shorter, the next. I've also heard that the April firmware update for the Timex Global Trainer will add the ability to configure distance based workouts. This is my only major complaint with the Timex and the reason I picked up the Garmin in the first place. I will probably continue to wear two watches though...
I hope I can cruise for at least part of my Saturday run. I need to start having some good long runs, otherwise I don't see myself surviving a 12 miler. Looking at the weather, I think I need to get up early and run before the temperature starts to climb. I think my perceived effort level rises sharply with ambient temps, at least that's my theory.
I also did a little bit of lifting today with my lifting partner. This was his first day back after having a CT-guided sternoclavicular joint injection to help with his shoulder issues. I passed on the squats today and did some ab work, push-ups, dips, rotator cuff bands and 80lb kettlebell swings. I'll be squatting solo on Friday, as he's out of town.
HR avg 165 max 177
I wanted to wear my MT10's but I think I was pushing my recovery limits by skipping the tape. This was another hard run. I don't know if it's the warm weather (69 degrees) or residual soreness, but I feel like I'm struggling the whole time. I did push the pace and shaved about a minute and a half off my time for one loop (24:26). The turn at Big Lake always marks the beginning of the hardest part of the course for me. I think it's the mild uphill grade, plus the accumulated fatigue, but this is the part of the course where my heart rate climbs and my pace slows.
In other news, I'm starting to notice variance of greater than 10% from my Garmin 405 on the same course. Admittedly, this is under some serious tree cover. My Timex seems to be much more consistent on the same course from one workout to the next. It seems as though the Garmin will read longer than the Timex one week and shorter, the next. I've also heard that the April firmware update for the Timex Global Trainer will add the ability to configure distance based workouts. This is my only major complaint with the Timex and the reason I picked up the Garmin in the first place. I will probably continue to wear two watches though...
I hope I can cruise for at least part of my Saturday run. I need to start having some good long runs, otherwise I don't see myself surviving a 12 miler. Looking at the weather, I think I need to get up early and run before the temperature starts to climb. I think my perceived effort level rises sharply with ambient temps, at least that's my theory.
I also did a little bit of lifting today with my lifting partner. This was his first day back after having a CT-guided sternoclavicular joint injection to help with his shoulder issues. I passed on the squats today and did some ab work, push-ups, dips, rotator cuff bands and 80lb kettlebell swings. I'll be squatting solo on Friday, as he's out of town.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Solo 4,4,2 day
3/16 lift power clean 2x225 deadlift 2x390 plus curls, abs and rotator cuff work
I went ahead and did my regular Wednesday workout solo. No records were broken, but I felt good and didn't miss any lifts. I have to do squats and run tomorrow, so maybe it wasn't the best idea, but I hate missing a workout. My cleans felt weak again, but my deadlift feels strong, so I'm not sure what that is about. I had some bad visions of back injury on 4,4,2 day, as this is they day I hurt it before, so I resisted the desire to move up and kept the weight the same.
I can feel the residual soreness from my intervals yesterday and I'm not sure how that is going to play out over the rest of the week. I wonder if I'm slowly adding to a recovery deficit that is going to bite me in the ass on a day in the near future. Something in my diet has been giving me some stomach pains lately and it's screwing up my eating habits and causing me to rethink each item I put in my mouth. I think it might be one of my vitamins, as I switched brands of glucosamine or perhaps it's a cumulative effect of the SAM-e.
I went ahead and did my regular Wednesday workout solo. No records were broken, but I felt good and didn't miss any lifts. I have to do squats and run tomorrow, so maybe it wasn't the best idea, but I hate missing a workout. My cleans felt weak again, but my deadlift feels strong, so I'm not sure what that is about. I had some bad visions of back injury on 4,4,2 day, as this is they day I hurt it before, so I resisted the desire to move up and kept the weight the same.
I can feel the residual soreness from my intervals yesterday and I'm not sure how that is going to play out over the rest of the week. I wonder if I'm slowly adding to a recovery deficit that is going to bite me in the ass on a day in the near future. Something in my diet has been giving me some stomach pains lately and it's screwing up my eating habits and causing me to rethink each item I put in my mouth. I think it might be one of my vitamins, as I switched brands of glucosamine or perhaps it's a cumulative effect of the SAM-e.
Less Slow, More Fast
3/15 run 60 mins (5x800m repeats) on American Tobacco Trail soft side in New Balance MT10 Minimus Trail w/ Injinji socks
800m
1. 4:17 *technical issues... HR avg 164
2. 4:02 HR avg 163
3. 3:54 HR avg 167
4. 3:58 HR avg 166
5. 4:01 HR avg 166
HR avg 147 max 177 (average heart rate includes warm-up, cool-down and rest intervals)
I screwed up my first interval by stopping too soon trying to figure out why my Garmin was showing the wrong data. Turns out I had flipped it to the wrong screen. The other intervals went well. I find I have higher perceived effort with increased turnover as opposed to increased power output. I learned this from spinning, where, heart rate being equal, increased cadence feels much harder than higher resistance with a slower cadence to me. This could also relate to the specificity of my training, where I'm used to grinding up hills with my heart rate soaring, as opposed to kicking up the pace on extended flats. I was shooting for 4 minutes and I stayed on target. I like to think the terrain and minimal footwear slows me down a bit, but probably not as much as I would like to think. I could definitely feel some residual soreness in my calves from the start. Thankfully my left foot blisters and raw spot didn't bother me at all! I think the MT10's might be almost broken in at this point. I want to hit some more technical terrain with them again, but only if my foot is up to it. I continue to play the edge with my ongoing plantar fasciitis issues in my left foot. Taping up when necessary and wearing my MT10's when I'm feeling healthy.
Interval days are the only time I include a warm-up and cool-down period, but I keep it active by doing butt kicks, high knee to opposite elbow and skipping drills. I'm wondering if it might be worth adding an active cool-down into my other running days. My lifting will be off schedule for the rest of the week, so I will either have to double up on Thursday with running and lifting or run again tomorrow. I haven't decided how I want to do it yet.
800m
1. 4:17 *technical issues... HR avg 164
2. 4:02 HR avg 163
3. 3:54 HR avg 167
4. 3:58 HR avg 166
5. 4:01 HR avg 166
HR avg 147 max 177 (average heart rate includes warm-up, cool-down and rest intervals)
I screwed up my first interval by stopping too soon trying to figure out why my Garmin was showing the wrong data. Turns out I had flipped it to the wrong screen. The other intervals went well. I find I have higher perceived effort with increased turnover as opposed to increased power output. I learned this from spinning, where, heart rate being equal, increased cadence feels much harder than higher resistance with a slower cadence to me. This could also relate to the specificity of my training, where I'm used to grinding up hills with my heart rate soaring, as opposed to kicking up the pace on extended flats. I was shooting for 4 minutes and I stayed on target. I like to think the terrain and minimal footwear slows me down a bit, but probably not as much as I would like to think. I could definitely feel some residual soreness in my calves from the start. Thankfully my left foot blisters and raw spot didn't bother me at all! I think the MT10's might be almost broken in at this point. I want to hit some more technical terrain with them again, but only if my foot is up to it. I continue to play the edge with my ongoing plantar fasciitis issues in my left foot. Taping up when necessary and wearing my MT10's when I'm feeling healthy.
Interval days are the only time I include a warm-up and cool-down period, but I keep it active by doing butt kicks, high knee to opposite elbow and skipping drills. I'm wondering if it might be worth adding an active cool-down into my other running days. My lifting will be off schedule for the rest of the week, so I will either have to double up on Thursday with running and lifting or run again tomorrow. I haven't decided how I want to do it yet.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Baby Steps
3/14 lift box squat 6x290 towel bench 6x225 plus snatches 3,1x100 pull-ups w/50lb kb and rotator cuff band work.
I think missing my lifting session on Friday contributed to my poor run, so I was eager to get back to some strength work on Monday. I'm always surprised at how much pain and stiffness I have in my knees post-run and today was no exception. I wanted to do some full squat warm-ups before getting on the box, but I couldn't bring myself to bend my knees all the way. The box squats went well. They were near my limit and the higher reps helped to work out my knees. I made another 5lb increase on my top set. I decided to try benching again as my shoulder is pain free outside of lifting. I could still feel some instability, but the dagger like pain was gone. I only did 3 sets and kept the weights light. My snatches were suffering today and I believe this is directly related to missing my workout on Friday and the extended recovery from the increased running. I felt especially weak on my left side, probably related to benching again. Pull-ups have been feeling strong and I think doing curls occasionally has helped to clear up my forearm tendinitis almost completely.
My left foot is somewhat jacked from my run on Saturday, and I'm not sure how to tackle this for my speed work tomorrow. I have a giant raw spot directly behind the ball of my foot on the arch side and the issue between the digits where they started eating each other. I'd like to wear my New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus again, but I'm not sure if my foot will be healed enough to handle the added work. I'm going to wait and see how those first steps of the day feel.
I think missing my lifting session on Friday contributed to my poor run, so I was eager to get back to some strength work on Monday. I'm always surprised at how much pain and stiffness I have in my knees post-run and today was no exception. I wanted to do some full squat warm-ups before getting on the box, but I couldn't bring myself to bend my knees all the way. The box squats went well. They were near my limit and the higher reps helped to work out my knees. I made another 5lb increase on my top set. I decided to try benching again as my shoulder is pain free outside of lifting. I could still feel some instability, but the dagger like pain was gone. I only did 3 sets and kept the weights light. My snatches were suffering today and I believe this is directly related to missing my workout on Friday and the extended recovery from the increased running. I felt especially weak on my left side, probably related to benching again. Pull-ups have been feeling strong and I think doing curls occasionally has helped to clear up my forearm tendinitis almost completely.
My left foot is somewhat jacked from my run on Saturday, and I'm not sure how to tackle this for my speed work tomorrow. I have a giant raw spot directly behind the ball of my foot on the arch side and the issue between the digits where they started eating each other. I'd like to wear my New Balance MT10 Trail Minimus again, but I'm not sure if my foot will be healed enough to handle the added work. I'm going to wait and see how those first steps of the day feel.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Doing Sycamore with Less
3/12 run 82 mins on Sycamore Trail @ Umstead in New Balance MT101's with left foot taped
HR avg 168 max 178
Everything felt wrong from the first step. My body had no desire to move, it was as if my forward motion was entirely the result of my mental resolve. I'm thinking it was the jump from two to three runs this week. In the past my body would breakdown if I tried to run 3 days, so I would spin or ride my bike on one of my short run days. I knew I wasn't fully recovered going into the long run today, but I didn't realize how tired my body was until I had begun the act of running. Maybe the higher temperatures had something to do with it. The temperature was around 66, so I brought a couple Thermotabs with me after talking with the +1, as she ran in the morning on Company Mill and Sycamore. All I could think about during my run was how excited she was after her run and how much fun she had, yet here I was having a horrible time wishing I could lie down, go to sleep and wake up like it never happened. I remember checking my watch only to find I hadn't even covered 2 miles and the thought of having to complete over 7 made me want to turn around and go home.
I had my trusty dual handhelds, one with water and the other with my carb/bcaa drink. I couldn't decide if I was drinking too much or too little. It seemed like what little energy I had would be sucked out every time the sun hit my back. My stomach felt off the entire time and my poor breakfast choice didn't help (quinoa with blueberries, blackberries, pecans and a little maple syrup plus 2 hard boiled eggs). I should have eaten something less fibrous and bulky, I think. I tried taking the first Thermotab around 20 mins in and I don't know if it made things better or worse. I took the second Thermotab around 45 mins as I was approaching a hiker. The only problem is I didn't get a big enough gulp of water and ended up inhaling the Thermotab instead of swallowing it. So here I am about 10 yards behind this poor woman and I must have made the most horrible gagging/wheezing noise, as she jumped and immediately turned just in time to seem me cough up the pill into my hand. I wheezed out a "sorry" as I passed. I never broke my stride during all this, although it felt like more of a death march than a stride.
This was my first time running all of Sycamore. I've done around 70 mins on this trail back in January and walked out the rest, but I've never run the whole lollipop until today. The sad part is my pace was only 2 secs a mile faster than my January run. I wish I hadn't looked up that bit of data. Hopefully I have gotten faster and I just had a bad day. My bad day continued when I got back to the car as I found my left sock was nice shade of crimson. Apparently my toes decided to do their best impression of an Uruguayan rugby team and tried to eat each other during the run. Also, despite my best efforts to keep the taping job as smooth and seamless as possible, I got the worst blister on the edge of my arch. I normally get a small one here, but today was a new record. I'm going to see if placing a piece of tape over this area before my regular tape job might help. Both my knees feel like bags of rocks right now and I'm wishing I had compression tights instead of socks.
HR avg 168 max 178
Everything felt wrong from the first step. My body had no desire to move, it was as if my forward motion was entirely the result of my mental resolve. I'm thinking it was the jump from two to three runs this week. In the past my body would breakdown if I tried to run 3 days, so I would spin or ride my bike on one of my short run days. I knew I wasn't fully recovered going into the long run today, but I didn't realize how tired my body was until I had begun the act of running. Maybe the higher temperatures had something to do with it. The temperature was around 66, so I brought a couple Thermotabs with me after talking with the +1, as she ran in the morning on Company Mill and Sycamore. All I could think about during my run was how excited she was after her run and how much fun she had, yet here I was having a horrible time wishing I could lie down, go to sleep and wake up like it never happened. I remember checking my watch only to find I hadn't even covered 2 miles and the thought of having to complete over 7 made me want to turn around and go home.
I had my trusty dual handhelds, one with water and the other with my carb/bcaa drink. I couldn't decide if I was drinking too much or too little. It seemed like what little energy I had would be sucked out every time the sun hit my back. My stomach felt off the entire time and my poor breakfast choice didn't help (quinoa with blueberries, blackberries, pecans and a little maple syrup plus 2 hard boiled eggs). I should have eaten something less fibrous and bulky, I think. I tried taking the first Thermotab around 20 mins in and I don't know if it made things better or worse. I took the second Thermotab around 45 mins as I was approaching a hiker. The only problem is I didn't get a big enough gulp of water and ended up inhaling the Thermotab instead of swallowing it. So here I am about 10 yards behind this poor woman and I must have made the most horrible gagging/wheezing noise, as she jumped and immediately turned just in time to seem me cough up the pill into my hand. I wheezed out a "sorry" as I passed. I never broke my stride during all this, although it felt like more of a death march than a stride.
This was my first time running all of Sycamore. I've done around 70 mins on this trail back in January and walked out the rest, but I've never run the whole lollipop until today. The sad part is my pace was only 2 secs a mile faster than my January run. I wish I hadn't looked up that bit of data. Hopefully I have gotten faster and I just had a bad day. My bad day continued when I got back to the car as I found my left sock was nice shade of crimson. Apparently my toes decided to do their best impression of an Uruguayan rugby team and tried to eat each other during the run. Also, despite my best efforts to keep the taping job as smooth and seamless as possible, I got the worst blister on the edge of my arch. I normally get a small one here, but today was a new record. I'm going to see if placing a piece of tape over this area before my regular tape job might help. Both my knees feel like bags of rocks right now and I'm wishing I had compression tights instead of socks.
Too Much work
3/11 work and lots of it
Got stuck with way too much work to do on a Friday and never got a workout in. After what I went through on Saturday...I think it was for the best.
Got stuck with way too much work to do on a Friday and never got a workout in. After what I went through on Saturday...I think it was for the best.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Drippy Drippy
3/10 run 36 mins on Sal's Branch @ Umstead in New Balance MT101 with left foot taped in the middle of a massive rainstorm
HR avg 161 max 176
My goal was to do at least 3 miles and I think I ended up with 3.3 miles depending on which GPS watch you believe (Timex or Garmin 405). I couldn't drop the hammer in part due to the conditions (pouring rain and standing water everywhere) or my already sore lower legs. I also ran the trail in the opposite direction. This is my first time running Sal's Branch counterclockwise. I'm not sure why I haven't done it before today. I think if the trail was dry and I had run clockwise, like normal, I could have gotten into the high 10's. Since it was pouring down rain, I wore my REI Airflyte Running Jacket but with temperatures in the low 60's, I went shirtless underneath. This turned out to be a good strategy as I still ended up with the jacket mostly open, but I did leave my Mizuno headband on the whole time. It did a good job keeping the rain from dripping down into my eyes. The Jacket is awesome, it's incredibly thin and lightweight but blocks out all the wind and rain. It breaths better than anything else I've tried that's waterproof/windproof.
Apparently I'm not the only person dumb enough to run in a downpour as I crossed paths with another runner two times. She was going in the opposite direction and it look like she was seriously booking. I'm glad we weren't running the same way or she probably would have lapped me. Ok, I'm exaggerating and it could be the speed differential between us combined with the poor visibility, at least I hope that's what it was...
My left foot was pretty sore on this one and my calves were still aching from the speed work on Tuesday. I'm glad I taped up lefty and wore my MT101's, plus I didn't want to get my new MT10's all wet and muddy! I put on my Zensah mantyhose when I stopped back by the house before heading out to get groceries and pickup dinner. Yes, I have no shame and wear them in public with shorts and flip flops. I'm hoping they will work some of their magic and give me a pair of fresh legs for my Saturday long run. This week will be a big jump in total running time and I would really like to stay healthy, but I need these long runs if I plan to survive the 12 miler.
HR avg 161 max 176
My goal was to do at least 3 miles and I think I ended up with 3.3 miles depending on which GPS watch you believe (Timex or Garmin 405). I couldn't drop the hammer in part due to the conditions (pouring rain and standing water everywhere) or my already sore lower legs. I also ran the trail in the opposite direction. This is my first time running Sal's Branch counterclockwise. I'm not sure why I haven't done it before today. I think if the trail was dry and I had run clockwise, like normal, I could have gotten into the high 10's. Since it was pouring down rain, I wore my REI Airflyte Running Jacket but with temperatures in the low 60's, I went shirtless underneath. This turned out to be a good strategy as I still ended up with the jacket mostly open, but I did leave my Mizuno headband on the whole time. It did a good job keeping the rain from dripping down into my eyes. The Jacket is awesome, it's incredibly thin and lightweight but blocks out all the wind and rain. It breaths better than anything else I've tried that's waterproof/windproof.
Apparently I'm not the only person dumb enough to run in a downpour as I crossed paths with another runner two times. She was going in the opposite direction and it look like she was seriously booking. I'm glad we weren't running the same way or she probably would have lapped me. Ok, I'm exaggerating and it could be the speed differential between us combined with the poor visibility, at least I hope that's what it was...
My left foot was pretty sore on this one and my calves were still aching from the speed work on Tuesday. I'm glad I taped up lefty and wore my MT101's, plus I didn't want to get my new MT10's all wet and muddy! I put on my Zensah mantyhose when I stopped back by the house before heading out to get groceries and pickup dinner. Yes, I have no shame and wear them in public with shorts and flip flops. I'm hoping they will work some of their magic and give me a pair of fresh legs for my Saturday long run. This week will be a big jump in total running time and I would really like to stay healthy, but I need these long runs if I plan to survive the 12 miler.
400
3/9 lift power clean 1x235 (almost on my 3rd attempt) deadlift 1x400
My legs are tired from the speed work yesterday, but thankfully my knees aren't hurting as badly as they normally do after a run. I think there might be something to this SAM-e stuff! Today 4 of the 5 sets were over 300lbs on the deadlift. This will put me right at a 405 single for the month of April, which is the same month last year that I injured my back. I'm still not 100% on my squats, but the deadlift is where I hurt myself.
My power cleans today went ok. I shouldn't have tried for that extra 5lbs. I got it to my shoulders but I didn't have my balance and had to dump the weight. This was on my 3rd attempt and I was out of gas after that. My feet were moving well and I was able to get under the bar without too much trouble, but it was another week of subpar pulls. My explosiveness through the pulling phase of the lift isn't where it needs to be right now. I did little bit of rotator cuff work with the bands and called it a day. My shoulder has stopped bothering me in daily life, but I'm still hesitant to start pressing with it again. I'm thinking next Monday will be a good day to test it out.
My legs are tired from the speed work yesterday, but thankfully my knees aren't hurting as badly as they normally do after a run. I think there might be something to this SAM-e stuff! Today 4 of the 5 sets were over 300lbs on the deadlift. This will put me right at a 405 single for the month of April, which is the same month last year that I injured my back. I'm still not 100% on my squats, but the deadlift is where I hurt myself.
My power cleans today went ok. I shouldn't have tried for that extra 5lbs. I got it to my shoulders but I didn't have my balance and had to dump the weight. This was on my 3rd attempt and I was out of gas after that. My feet were moving well and I was able to get under the bar without too much trouble, but it was another week of subpar pulls. My explosiveness through the pulling phase of the lift isn't where it needs to be right now. I did little bit of rotator cuff work with the bands and called it a day. My shoulder has stopped bothering me in daily life, but I'm still hesitant to start pressing with it again. I'm thinking next Monday will be a good day to test it out.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Need for Speed Work
3/8 run 54 mins (7x400m repeats) on American Tobacco Trail soft side in New Balance MT10 Minimus Trail w/ Injinji socks
400m times
1. 1:48 HR avg 168
2. 1:42 HR avg 164
3. 1:48 HR avg 167
4. 1:49 HR avg 164
5. 1:41 HR avg 166
6. 1:49 HR avg 166
7. 1:42 HR avg 166
HR avg 141 max 177
Total time includes 400m rest intervals, warm-up and cool down. I figured I would list out my 400m times so I can start tracking my progress on the intervals. I need to tighten up the numbers, but overall I'm very pleased with how it went for my first ever track interval workout. I'm not sure how much faster I would be on an actual track in real shoes, but I don't really care at this point. My goal is to improve my speed and performance for trail running and obstacle courses. I've got 3 events coming up in the next 5 weeks, which is kind of scary, but also very motivating.
Now, you might notice there are only 7 repeats, which is an odd number. I was supposed to do 8, but I was trying to unlock the screen on my Garmin 405 and it thought I was hitting the lap button, resulting in a skipped interval. I couldn't figure out how to go back, so i just skipped one. I figured it's better to err on the side of caution when doing a workout for the first time in shoes I'm wearing for the second time. I also walked the rest intervals, in part to minimize the stress on my feet and in part because I felt like taking it easy...there, I said it.
I guess this is a good time to discuss something else. If you are the one person who actually reads this blog, you know I use the Timex Global Trainer GPS watch to handle my data recording. Well, didn't I just say Garmin 405? Yes, I did. Once I decided to start including distance based interval workouts, I immediately grabbed my Timex Global Trainer and tried to figure out how to setup the intervals. I had done time based intervals on the watch before and figured it would be just as easy. This is where I discovered the biggest shortcoming of the Timex Global Trainer, in my opinion. There is no way to setup distance based intervals. You can configure time based intervals and associated heart rate zones only. If anyone out there knows a way to do it, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! So I was stuck with two options. Either go to a real track or get a device that can do distance intervals. Yes, I realize I could just monitor the distance on my Timex and hit the lap button each time, but this is way too much for me to think about when I'm working on breathing and staying upright. I'd rather just run until I hear a beep, walk until I hear another beep and not have to think about anything else. So I picked up a used Garmin 405 for cheap on Craigslist (everybody hates the touch sensitive bezel). I've been wearing both watches for my last three runs and I've discovered some cool things along the way.
1. You can have two GPS watches reading from the same ANT+ heart rate strap (Timex) at the same time. So far both watches are reading dead on for the same peaks and averages for heart rate.
2. The distance reported by both watches are closer than I would have thought based on reviews I have read. This could be due to the latest firmware updates.
Garmin 405 sw:2.70 gps:2.10
Timex Global Trainer sw version:2.94
Distances recorded on my last 3 runs:
2.39 Garmin 405
2.35 Timex Global Trainer
*5.45 Garmin 405 *I might have paused the watch for bathroom break, not sure
*5.64 Timex Global Trainer
4.33 Garmin 405
4.28 Timex Global Trainer
3. Whatever algorithm the Timex uses for calorie consumption gives me WAY more calories than the 405. Now, I know the 405 uses only a very basic speed/distance/weight based formula to calculate calories consumption, whereas the 405CX uses the Firstbeat Algorithm (1st generation of their heart rate based algorithm). The Timex Global Trainer has a rather advanced activity setup screen that allows you configure things like activity level, type, gear weight, and power output. It then uses this data combined with your user profile and heart rate data to calculate calories consumed. I'm not going to get into the debate about heart rate and what part it may or may not play in calorie consumption here, but I figured this data would be helpful to someone who is trying to compare devices. The Timex Global Trainer doesn't support New Leaf Test data profiles, which the 405 does. If you have no idea what I'm talking about that is probably a good thing.
I few more thoughts on the New Balance Minimus Trail MT10. I still need more time in them before I can write a full review, but so far everything is going well. I wore a pair of Injinji socks with them today. I also put a bit of Body Glide on my right heel and the edges of my big toes. I haven't developed any new blisters, so I think break-in is going well. I'll have a better feel after my tempo run on Thursday. It was nice to really dig in with them on my speed work today. They offer great feel and feedback for faster runs with minimal ground contact times.
400m times
1. 1:48 HR avg 168
2. 1:42 HR avg 164
3. 1:48 HR avg 167
4. 1:49 HR avg 164
5. 1:41 HR avg 166
6. 1:49 HR avg 166
7. 1:42 HR avg 166
HR avg 141 max 177
Total time includes 400m rest intervals, warm-up and cool down. I figured I would list out my 400m times so I can start tracking my progress on the intervals. I need to tighten up the numbers, but overall I'm very pleased with how it went for my first ever track interval workout. I'm not sure how much faster I would be on an actual track in real shoes, but I don't really care at this point. My goal is to improve my speed and performance for trail running and obstacle courses. I've got 3 events coming up in the next 5 weeks, which is kind of scary, but also very motivating.
Now, you might notice there are only 7 repeats, which is an odd number. I was supposed to do 8, but I was trying to unlock the screen on my Garmin 405 and it thought I was hitting the lap button, resulting in a skipped interval. I couldn't figure out how to go back, so i just skipped one. I figured it's better to err on the side of caution when doing a workout for the first time in shoes I'm wearing for the second time. I also walked the rest intervals, in part to minimize the stress on my feet and in part because I felt like taking it easy...there, I said it.
I guess this is a good time to discuss something else. If you are the one person who actually reads this blog, you know I use the Timex Global Trainer GPS watch to handle my data recording. Well, didn't I just say Garmin 405? Yes, I did. Once I decided to start including distance based interval workouts, I immediately grabbed my Timex Global Trainer and tried to figure out how to setup the intervals. I had done time based intervals on the watch before and figured it would be just as easy. This is where I discovered the biggest shortcoming of the Timex Global Trainer, in my opinion. There is no way to setup distance based intervals. You can configure time based intervals and associated heart rate zones only. If anyone out there knows a way to do it, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! So I was stuck with two options. Either go to a real track or get a device that can do distance intervals. Yes, I realize I could just monitor the distance on my Timex and hit the lap button each time, but this is way too much for me to think about when I'm working on breathing and staying upright. I'd rather just run until I hear a beep, walk until I hear another beep and not have to think about anything else. So I picked up a used Garmin 405 for cheap on Craigslist (everybody hates the touch sensitive bezel). I've been wearing both watches for my last three runs and I've discovered some cool things along the way.
1. You can have two GPS watches reading from the same ANT+ heart rate strap (Timex) at the same time. So far both watches are reading dead on for the same peaks and averages for heart rate.
2. The distance reported by both watches are closer than I would have thought based on reviews I have read. This could be due to the latest firmware updates.
Garmin 405 sw:2.70 gps:2.10
Timex Global Trainer sw version:2.94
Distances recorded on my last 3 runs:
2.39 Garmin 405
2.35 Timex Global Trainer
*5.45 Garmin 405 *I might have paused the watch for bathroom break, not sure
*5.64 Timex Global Trainer
4.33 Garmin 405
4.28 Timex Global Trainer
3. Whatever algorithm the Timex uses for calorie consumption gives me WAY more calories than the 405. Now, I know the 405 uses only a very basic speed/distance/weight based formula to calculate calories consumption, whereas the 405CX uses the Firstbeat Algorithm (1st generation of their heart rate based algorithm). The Timex Global Trainer has a rather advanced activity setup screen that allows you configure things like activity level, type, gear weight, and power output. It then uses this data combined with your user profile and heart rate data to calculate calories consumed. I'm not going to get into the debate about heart rate and what part it may or may not play in calorie consumption here, but I figured this data would be helpful to someone who is trying to compare devices. The Timex Global Trainer doesn't support New Leaf Test data profiles, which the 405 does. If you have no idea what I'm talking about that is probably a good thing.
I few more thoughts on the New Balance Minimus Trail MT10. I still need more time in them before I can write a full review, but so far everything is going well. I wore a pair of Injinji socks with them today. I also put a bit of Body Glide on my right heel and the edges of my big toes. I haven't developed any new blisters, so I think break-in is going well. I'll have a better feel after my tempo run on Thursday. It was nice to really dig in with them on my speed work today. They offer great feel and feedback for faster runs with minimal ground contact times.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday Progress Report
3/7 lift box squat 1x315 plus snatches 3x75,85,100 on both sides, pull-ups with 50lb kettlebell and a set of 21's
Shoulder was really bothering me last night. I could feel it on the squats with the weight across my shoulders for the first time. I think perhaps I had some shoulder fatigue issues from running the other day (I run with 2 handheld 20oz bottles). Didn't really bother me on the snatches though. I did a little bit of band work for my rotator cuff. It feels pretty good tonight, maybe it's going to start getting better.
Shoulder was really bothering me last night. I could feel it on the squats with the weight across my shoulders for the first time. I think perhaps I had some shoulder fatigue issues from running the other day (I run with 2 handheld 20oz bottles). Didn't really bother me on the snatches though. I did a little bit of band work for my rotator cuff. It feels pretty good tonight, maybe it's going to start getting better.
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