Saturday, January 8, 2011

Day 38 - Woo Hoo Snow!

What a great feeling it was seeing the snow starting to fall at 1 a.m. then waking up at 5:45 a.m. with everything covered. That is not what time I usually go to bed but I started fooling around with some pics from our trip and before I realized it was very late. I could not wait to go out in it.  I got to spend about 25 min. shoveling it before work. Shoveling snow in my driveway is a great little work out before work.

I got out for my walk a little earlier today right around 11 a.m. The snow was great to see on the ground and made my walk some much fun. Seeing everything covered in snow I now really can't wait to run in it in the mountain. With no running today because of the 50k tomorrow. I won't make it to the mountain until Sunday:( Searching for trails that weren't hiked on is what I will be looking for.


Walk at work 1-7-2011

Walk at work 1-7-2011

With no school, friend things or running tonight the family and I went to Red Lobster for supper. We had a gift card from the holidays that we could not wait to use. The service and food is always so good and consistent there. Then we headed right back home for the wife to make the cookies for the the 50k and me to get my stuff ready.


1-6-2011 - 2.8 miles - 37:07 - walk


Friday, January 7, 2011

Day 37 - Maybe 10 plus runners


I'm still battling my cold but should be ok for Saturdays 50k. Maybe if I would take something it would go away like my wife tells me. I’m not a medicine fan and never will be. My first MMT was in 2007 and that was the last time I took any medicine (2 Advil – during (never again) 1 Aleave - after) other than a couple of cough drops over the years nothing since that race. If I can make it to the race this year without any medicine it will be 4 years med free. This cold is going down with a fight from me!

It seems like ever since I mentioned about how much of a pain an mp3 or music player can be for me I have been using it more now than ever. Today I used it again on my walk and was using the Pandora app on my phone. It leaves you pick a music group (I have AC/DC right now) then it creates a radio station with songs with that group and other groups similar to the one you picked. This is a fun app for your phone or computer if you want to listen to something different on you next run, walk or hike.

I was looking at the final entrants and wait list runners for the MMT 100. Right now it looks like there could be over 10 runners from the Pagoda Pacers to start the event if everyone stays healthy and other runners drop which some usually do. With that many runners, pacers and crews this is going to be one heck of a run fest this year!

Pagoda Pacer group photo from 2010 MMT 100 (Photo by: Bobby Gill)
Tonight my legs felt good before the run so I thought it was a good time to push a little harder. The temps were nice and no wind. I took off running and hit 6:36 on my first mile. That felt great but I knew I had to back off a little. The next 5 I slowed down and wound up with a 7 min. average pace for the first 6 miles. The last 4 I really slowed because I didn’t want to do more damage for the night and finished the last 4 miles with an 8:39 pace. Great night of running and if I didn’t have the 50k this weekend I think I could of went all night.

1-6-2011 - 2.8 miles - 36:41 - walk
1-6-2011 - 10 miles - 1st 6 miles - 42:00 / Last 4 miles - 34:36 - Total = 1:16:36 - run





Thursday, January 6, 2011

Day 36 - Getting there

After a night of not that much sleep I woke up feeling tired and coughing. The morning got better and I started feeling a change for the better - at least for now. Hopefully I will feel good enough for the 50k that I will be running on Saturday. One thing with running for long periods of time you learn to push through things you never would of before. Just like when you have a cold you feel bad but you have to keep moving and it will get better soon. Ultra running is so much like life – you have your ups and downs – just keep moving forward and you will be fine.

My walk was windy today and I could feel it blowing through my other vest that is not wind proof. It is amazing what wind proofing can do for a coat. The energy level is still not there to push my walks. I’m getting better every day but not 100%. 


Tonight I felt like I could throw down a good run. I went with an 8 mile loop and it went really well. I ran a 7:30 first mile which felt good. I tried to stay with that pace and not run any faster. 7:25 was my final pace for the 8 mile loop and I didn’t feel exhausted after I was finished. Tonight I also saw 2 people walking what look like was for exercise. I know that might sound funny but I don’t see that many people walking in my town exercising – at least when I am out running through it.

Today I leave you with a really cool video from another ultra runner Karl Meltzer from Utah. But first I have a little story of my own about Karl. My friend Dan and I got to meet Karl on his Appalachian Trail run in 2008. You could track him on his website and I knew he should be in our area that morning. I ran over to Hawk Mountain Road to run a couple of miles with him. I waited and waited and waited some more. Well I was thinking he already went through and I missed him. I went home and forgot about it for a while. Later that day I thought I would try and go to a different section of the Appalachian Trail to meet him. I got in my car and made a left out of my drive way and looked a head about 50 yards and there was an RV pulled off the side of the road with someone talking to a neighbor. When I went by I looked over and there was Karl’s RV. I got out of my car and went over and told them I was looking for them earlier in the day. His crew was looking for directions to the Hamburg Reservoir – yeah I know where that is I said and I showed them the way there. On our way there I called Dan and he met me at the reservoir. We got to talk to his crew for awhile and they said Karl should be coming through in a couple of minutes. We asked them if they needed anything and they requested some adult beverages. After a quick trip to the local pizza shop I was back and we were all walking up to where the AT runs through to meet Karl with some of the beverages. In no time we look up and there was Karl. From there he decided to do one more 6 mile section before the day was over. He quickly got what he needed for his next section and he was off with beverage in hand. The crew invited Dan and I to the next section to wait for him. When we got there they were already cooking his supper and had everything ready for him. When Karl arrived he was ready to eat and do a little carbo loading. We talked to him for a little and then we headed out. That day Karl ran I think 55 miles. The reason why I missed him in the morning was he started running the wrong way and arrived at that spot a lot later then he was suppose to. The signs around here read like the picture below. We were told when he started running he thought he was heading towards Georgia. He didn’t realize it until the sun stated to come up that he was not. The sign reads Appalachian Trail – Maine to Georgia. Which Georgia on the sign has an “N” below it which means is goes north – kind of confusing.





Appalachian Trail Sign



 
Melter Luge 2011

1-5-2011 - 2.8 miles - 39:17 - walk
1-5-2011 - 8 miles - 59:17 - run

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Day 35 - Blahhh

The sunrise was awesome today. I got this pic with my phone and again in no time the amazing colors were gone. This is one thing to look forward to in the winter when the only colors seem to be are browns, grays and sometimes white:) Only a couple of months and the green will start shooting up from the ground. I really appreciate the change of the seasons more now running in the mountains year-round. It is so cool to see the changes in the mountains on a daily basics.


Sunrise 1-5-2011

I’m still not feeling the best today but I decided to go for my walk. I didn’t walk as fast as I normally try to. Just to be out moving forward was my goal. It did warm up and that felt great. I passed one guy on my walk today maybe he was out for a New Year’s Resolution walk.



On my way home after work the sunset was just as cool as the sunrise today. I did get one pic but it looked so much better than the picture shows. Once being home for awhile I knew tonight I was going to have to take off from running. My cold is not getting any better and I feel drained. I decided to bag the run and try and get some sleep.


Sunset 1-5-2011
1-4-2011 - 2.8 miles - 37:32 - walk

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Day 34 - Feeling a little better

I woke up today feeling a little better. I still have the nose thing going on and I will leave it at that. I checked the temps before I went for my walk and it said 32º F and feels like 24º F. It sure felt like 24º F with the wind in my face for about 15 min. It was great to be back walking at lunch. I kind of missed it after being away last week.

It was a lot easier leaving for my run tonight at 6:30. I feel like I am getting some energy back and that is a good thing. The weather was perfect for running tonight. The route was all on road and it was fun to be back running on one of my regular courses. I had the headphones on tonight and was listening to some old nostalgia radio stations for about 6 miles then I need to play some faster music. Then Kickstart my Heart came on by Motley Crue and I just took off running. It was like my legs had a mind of their own and I just held on. The next song slowed a little and I was back to my regular pace for the rest of the run. Those quick burst of fast running to a great song are some much fun.


Below is a picture of one of my favorite quick meals I make after some longer runs. You can use any ingredients you like. Sometimes I will add black beans, fresh tomatoes or avocados. Avocados are added after baking.



1-3-2011 - 2.8 miles - 36:59 - walk
1-3-2011 - 10.50 miles - 1:26 - run

Monday, January 3, 2011

Day 33 - One of those days

Today was one of those days I didn’t want to get out of bed. My throat was very sore and my nose was stuffy. It’s been a while since I had a cold and I guess it is my turn:( One thing I did notice over the years of running my colds don't last as long compared to when I didn't run. I waited until the afternoon to go out for a run. It was not going well I felt cold and I didn’t want to go. I thought I should at least get my running clothes on and see how I feel. Once the clothes were on I started to warm up and felt a little better. I headed out the door around 3 wearing my New Balance 101's. I only wore them on one run and my legs got pretty beat up on the roads. Today I was going up to run in the mountain to see how they stick on the rocks. Being a very minimalist shoe your feet really feel naked in them especially on the rocks. They stuck pretty well on the rocks but I won’t be using them all the time. I can only imagine how you foot will feel when you kick a rock on the front, side or a stick tries to go through the side - not good. Lucky for me I didn’t do that today. With the amount of rock running I do I can't risk running with very little protection on my feet. Now it is off to rest.


1-2-2011 - 8 miles - 1:25 - run



Sunday, January 2, 2011

Day 32 - Happy New Year 2011

January 1, 2010 - That means 4 months to go of training. It seems like yesterday I just started training for this race. Time is moving fast. Before today I only ran 1 time in the last 7 days. Disney vacations will do that to you. We had a great time and kept busy the whole vacation. We were usually up by 7:30/8 a.m. and out the door by 9 a.m. and back in bed by 11 p.m. With that schedule there was not a lot of time for running  - at least I wasn't making anytime for it. The weather was in the high 30's with 30 mph winds and no sun some of the days. I felt colder then the low 20's back home before we left. The girls should make great ultra runners staying on their feet for that long and we never came back to the room once we left in the morning until we got back at night.

Today I thought I better try and catch up for the running I missed last week. I know you can't do that but I was going to try. The first run I was out the door by 11 a.m. It warmed up really fast today and it felt great. I headed right to the mountain. The run was up on my favorite parts of the mountain - Pulpit Rock and down to the Blue Rocks. There where a lot of hikers out today and I wished everyone I saw a "Happy New Year". It felt great to be back on the mountain.


The view from the Blue Rocks Campground

The view from the Blue Rocks Campground looking up at Pulpit Rock

The girls where heading to the movies so this was my chance for another run. I left around 6:50 and it was very warm night. No one is out so I have the whole town to myself. I finished with 9 miles and just over 20 for the day. Off to bed for a good night of rest. Happy New Year!

1-1-2011 - 11.25 miles - 2:15 - run
1-1-2011 - 9 miles - 1:18 - run