4 months ago
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Indoor Shoes
Back to work after a 3 week break so its back to the treadmill at lunch. 5K at a 6:00 pace today. It was easier to get going a felt pretty good. Did a weigh in afterwards and I am tipping the scaled at 176 lbs which is more or less where I have been through 2013.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Running Loops
Its hot so I loaded up the ATV with Beer, Water and Ice and drove over the big hill parking then the ATV became an aide station whilst I ran my 0.870 K loop 11 times logging 9.6K on the trail today. Back to work to tomorrow ... its been 3 weeks since I ran on a treadmill.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Wow Run
The "recovery run" turned out to be a "wow run". Its hard to believe that after all the runs that I have done a little 11.3K Run around the neighborhood can fire you up and make you excited.
First ...new shoes. Not just any new shoes these are my first pair of Montrails the " Mountain Masochist II". Montrail very graciously gave me these shoes as for Running a 50K Ultra inside the Owen Sound Runners Den on their short track during the "Grand Re-Opening". I have been dying to take these new kicks for a ride but with 4 back to back Ultras in 4 weeks there was no opportunity to "try something new". I have been looking at these shoes even trying them on a few times...first thought were "fast" and "good foot support". I say fast because of the heal design. The mid sole is more akin to a road shoe with a bit more flex for a better launch off the toe. The support was right under my arch and I suspected would really help my Metatarsal issues. I was a little leery of how they would perform on the nasty parts of the Bruce Trail ...maybe not quite the rock plate that I so often look for. So once I put these puppy's on they felt great. The foot started to act up a bit but I was able to relax into the shoe and it became quite comfortable with no added support. It was really hot and I am still recovering from Limerblost but first impression was very favorable..... glad to have these guys in my running arsenal .
The other thing that got me fired up today was running my new trails. Did a little 4.7K Gravel Road / Tractor Trail / Trail then ran the "easy" part of my new trail. As it turns out there is a .870 K loop at back of my 1.6K loop. Its 90% shade most of the day and has about a +/- 60 meter change with no monster hills more gradual. The elevation is according to the Garmin so I have a suspicion that its not all that accurate but averaged over time I may get a better idea. I loved the loop , all double track , few hazards and I will eventually totally eliminate them soon. I am going to add a little .130 K flat , narrow single track side trail to make it an even K ...very excited. I am also going to look into a timing system capable of counting loops and also multiple runners....see where I am going with this!
Enough of the blah blah blah...time to hit the pool with a Ice Cold OV.
First ...new shoes. Not just any new shoes these are my first pair of Montrails the " Mountain Masochist II". Montrail very graciously gave me these shoes as for Running a 50K Ultra inside the Owen Sound Runners Den on their short track during the "Grand Re-Opening". I have been dying to take these new kicks for a ride but with 4 back to back Ultras in 4 weeks there was no opportunity to "try something new". I have been looking at these shoes even trying them on a few times...first thought were "fast" and "good foot support". I say fast because of the heal design. The mid sole is more akin to a road shoe with a bit more flex for a better launch off the toe. The support was right under my arch and I suspected would really help my Metatarsal issues. I was a little leery of how they would perform on the nasty parts of the Bruce Trail ...maybe not quite the rock plate that I so often look for. So once I put these puppy's on they felt great. The foot started to act up a bit but I was able to relax into the shoe and it became quite comfortable with no added support. It was really hot and I am still recovering from Limerblost but first impression was very favorable..... glad to have these guys in my running arsenal .
Montrail also gave me some recovery sandals the "Molokai" These are the ones that you put on the oven then form them to your feet. Let just say everyone who has ever laced up should be so lucky as to have a pair of these to slip into.
The other thing that got me fired up today was running my new trails. Did a little 4.7K Gravel Road / Tractor Trail / Trail then ran the "easy" part of my new trail. As it turns out there is a .870 K loop at back of my 1.6K loop. Its 90% shade most of the day and has about a +/- 60 meter change with no monster hills more gradual. The elevation is according to the Garmin so I have a suspicion that its not all that accurate but averaged over time I may get a better idea. I loved the loop , all double track , few hazards and I will eventually totally eliminate them soon. I am going to add a little .130 K flat , narrow single track side trail to make it an even K ...very excited. I am also going to look into a timing system capable of counting loops and also multiple runners....see where I am going with this!
Enough of the blah blah blah...time to hit the pool with a Ice Cold OV.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Limberlost Challenge - July 13, 2013
Once again Limberlost lived up to its name and was quite a "Challenge". Wrapped up 4 Ultras in 4 weekends finishing the race in 9hrs18min44sec my slowest time at this venue! The course had a short new section adding a few hundred meters or so to the race making it 57km vs the advertised 56km. Last year I was 9hrs14min25sec so I would have beat last years time if the course were shorter ....ha ha it really doesn't matter!!!!
Slept great the night before getting up at 3:30 am then out the door by 4 am arriving at the race 3 hours later. Temps were comfortable when we started out at 8:00 am. It was going to get mid to upper 20s but the air was drier then it has been and the course is 90%+ shaded. Felt great through the first loop. I left the Garmin at home and was guessing somewhere around 1hrs45min but tripped the lap clock at 1hrs55min ...there goes a sub 8 hour day! I was hydrating well and taking my S Caps but I failed to start on the calories. All of the OUS races I have done this year had Gels available so I only took 4 with me for the times I needed it between aide stations or if they ran out. I wasn't expecting Gels on the first loop but was looking for them in lap 2 but there were none to be had! So I am 3+hours in somewhere around 21K and have not had even a single calorie. I knew that I made a fatal mistake but I also knew that I could make up the calorie deficit so I started stuffing my face with as much as I could get in! Struggled to find the 2nd gear through the last 7K of the second loop. The "Deer Flies" were absolutely horrible as the temps increased. I though they were bad at home but they were beyond annoying driving me batty. I had thoughts of packing it in after the 2nd loop but knowing that there were much longer days. Heading out on the 3rd loop I was still moving OK but I would quickly get out of breath and the heart would be racing a sure sign of metabolizing body mass vs burning the easy glycogen. After 29 Ks I had my first Gel of the day. Hitting AS1 I stuffed myself with giant M&Ms then grabbed a handful of pretzels. I was getting a pain across my shoulders and the occasional sharp stabbing pain mid back. I haven't had this sensation in a long long time and I was pretty confident it was a result of my under fueling ... " Hello , this is your heart speaking ... please stop". The third loop felt like it was my last one and seemed to take forever. The RDs pre-race blah blah blah said that the course cane be rather "grueling"... this was the days ear worm. Over and over and over again that stupid word echoed through my skull gruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelingvgruelingvgruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggrueling
Oh and the other wonderful thoughts were the other words the RD mentioned, three laps were 42.9km therefore anyone doing a 42.2 would end up running an Ultra that day. Gelled again half way through the third loop , ate as much as I could and started on Coke ... not the real thing but good enough. Another rather discouraging finishing #3 was getting lapped but a whole lot of folks finishing close to the 7 hour mark and having the AS folks commenting on my last lap and having to fire back "One more to go". Heading out on the fourth and final loop I Gelled again and was starting to feel better. The pain across my shoulder has subsided and I was no longer breathing like a fish out of water. So I cranked up the tunes feeling and moving much better and then WHAM .... down I went. Nailed a small stump that stopped me dead in my tracks. It was a soft landing in a bed of Spruce Needles which of course stuck very well to sweat soaked me! I have been wearing Metatarsal supports that more or less sit under the arch of the foot. Theses things stay put but the strike caused the cushion to move up under my toes so I had no choice but to stop , remove my shoe then preposition it. I was a little discouraged after the fall but walked it off. Getting to AS1 seemed to take forever but it was a great mile stone knowing there was a little less then 10K to go. I more or less was running pain free again and was breathing much better and running all but the steeper inclines. I finally felt like I was starting to get ahead of my fueling and was happy that that kept going overcoming the "Grueling" course. Finished feeling a little hot , little hungry but a whole lot of satisfied to have got er done.
Today , Monday I feel pretty good. There is no muscle pain whatsoever. The Right Knee is acting up again feeling rather stiff and and looking a but swollen. Its making the grinding noise again but there is Zero pain and once I get moving it the sound goes away and it doesn't feel stiff.
I have no races planned until the Dirty Girls Aug 9th. I am working this weekend so there will be no "long one" , that will have to wait until mid next week. Most likely do a "recovery run " tomorrow.
Slept great the night before getting up at 3:30 am then out the door by 4 am arriving at the race 3 hours later. Temps were comfortable when we started out at 8:00 am. It was going to get mid to upper 20s but the air was drier then it has been and the course is 90%+ shaded. Felt great through the first loop. I left the Garmin at home and was guessing somewhere around 1hrs45min but tripped the lap clock at 1hrs55min ...there goes a sub 8 hour day! I was hydrating well and taking my S Caps but I failed to start on the calories. All of the OUS races I have done this year had Gels available so I only took 4 with me for the times I needed it between aide stations or if they ran out. I wasn't expecting Gels on the first loop but was looking for them in lap 2 but there were none to be had! So I am 3+hours in somewhere around 21K and have not had even a single calorie. I knew that I made a fatal mistake but I also knew that I could make up the calorie deficit so I started stuffing my face with as much as I could get in! Struggled to find the 2nd gear through the last 7K of the second loop. The "Deer Flies" were absolutely horrible as the temps increased. I though they were bad at home but they were beyond annoying driving me batty. I had thoughts of packing it in after the 2nd loop but knowing that there were much longer days. Heading out on the 3rd loop I was still moving OK but I would quickly get out of breath and the heart would be racing a sure sign of metabolizing body mass vs burning the easy glycogen. After 29 Ks I had my first Gel of the day. Hitting AS1 I stuffed myself with giant M&Ms then grabbed a handful of pretzels. I was getting a pain across my shoulders and the occasional sharp stabbing pain mid back. I haven't had this sensation in a long long time and I was pretty confident it was a result of my under fueling ... " Hello , this is your heart speaking ... please stop". The third loop felt like it was my last one and seemed to take forever. The RDs pre-race blah blah blah said that the course cane be rather "grueling"... this was the days ear worm. Over and over and over again that stupid word echoed through my skull gruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelingvgruelingvgruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggruelinggrueling
Oh and the other wonderful thoughts were the other words the RD mentioned, three laps were 42.9km therefore anyone doing a 42.2 would end up running an Ultra that day. Gelled again half way through the third loop , ate as much as I could and started on Coke ... not the real thing but good enough. Another rather discouraging finishing #3 was getting lapped but a whole lot of folks finishing close to the 7 hour mark and having the AS folks commenting on my last lap and having to fire back "One more to go". Heading out on the fourth and final loop I Gelled again and was starting to feel better. The pain across my shoulder has subsided and I was no longer breathing like a fish out of water. So I cranked up the tunes feeling and moving much better and then WHAM .... down I went. Nailed a small stump that stopped me dead in my tracks. It was a soft landing in a bed of Spruce Needles which of course stuck very well to sweat soaked me! I have been wearing Metatarsal supports that more or less sit under the arch of the foot. Theses things stay put but the strike caused the cushion to move up under my toes so I had no choice but to stop , remove my shoe then preposition it. I was a little discouraged after the fall but walked it off. Getting to AS1 seemed to take forever but it was a great mile stone knowing there was a little less then 10K to go. I more or less was running pain free again and was breathing much better and running all but the steeper inclines. I finally felt like I was starting to get ahead of my fueling and was happy that that kept going overcoming the "Grueling" course. Finished feeling a little hot , little hungry but a whole lot of satisfied to have got er done.
Today , Monday I feel pretty good. There is no muscle pain whatsoever. The Right Knee is acting up again feeling rather stiff and and looking a but swollen. Its making the grinding noise again but there is Zero pain and once I get moving it the sound goes away and it doesn't feel stiff.
I have no races planned until the Dirty Girls Aug 9th. I am working this weekend so there will be no "long one" , that will have to wait until mid next week. Most likely do a "recovery run " tomorrow.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Loop done, Limberlost tomorrow
1.6K +/- 110 meters loop trail is completed. Up next is some tweaking and breaking it in.
Limberlost 56K Ultra tomorrow, 4th consecutive weekend for a 50+K Ultra. Right knee has been weird. After Creemore it was swollen and stiff but recovered bu Monday. Last night and this morning it clicked going downstairs and sounded like grinding sand going down. This could be a factor tomorrow but I have a suspicion
its just one of those things you just run through.
1.6K loop Elevation Profile ...
1.6K loop ...
Limberlost 56K Ultra tomorrow, 4th consecutive weekend for a 50+K Ultra. Right knee has been weird. After Creemore it was swollen and stiff but recovered bu Monday. Last night and this morning it clicked going downstairs and sounded like grinding sand going down. This could be a factor tomorrow but I have a suspicion
its just one of those things you just run through.
1.6K loop Elevation Profile ...
1.6K loop ...
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