Ultra Running: Trials of the Trail 

Felt the need for speed and also had a limited time to workout while my daughter was in dance class.  I know I am training for long brutal slow 24 + hour event of the Western States 100 miler, but I kind of want to keep some speed for half marathons too. 

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/29/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 00:42:47.00
• Distance: 5.8 miles
• Average Pace: 7:22.8/mile

Sarah is a great friend and we went out together today and hit the trails.  She is everything I am not.  Sarah is artistic, gentle, organic eater, single-no children, and urbanite.  Our friendship is true if not unlikely.

I was pretty sore from the effort put forth yesterday.  The first mile was awkward and I am sure I looked a bit odd in my duck inspired hobble.  The nice thing is that the aches were worked out in the initial minutes.  We wanted to run out and back to the car for an hour grab some water and a snack and go back out for a second hour. 

Neither Sarah nor I are what can be considered as navigationally talented.  We ran up the trail and across to an adjacent trailhead, it took us about 45 minute to cover the distance.  So we had set ourselves up to miss our refueling at the hour mark. No worries, we would be back at the car by 90 minutes.  NOT.  We kept taking wrong turns on the trail; we actually found some beautiful trails that I have never run before.  I was glad for the beauty of the Spring flowers in bloom as the bonk hit at 2 hours.  Luckily by then we recognized our original trail and were less than a mile away.

I enjoyed the run and this afternoon hosted a party for my daughters in celebration of their recent successes.   Beth, 18 was accepted into the Prosthetics program at the University of Washington and Olivia, 14 was chosen for a support position on the high school dance team for her freshman year next year.  We had 6 of Beth’s roommates surprise her by coming home for the party and Olivia had 2 of her friends over.  A very nice Sunday indeed.

Now I have to get back into the weekday mindset and turn my back on the ultra runner and focus on work for the next 5 days.  Such is my life, and it is a good one.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/27/2008
• Time: 07:30:00
• Total Time: 2:08:36.00
• Distance: 11.5 miles
• Average Pace: 11:10.39/mile

Ran Northwest Trail Runs event atSquak Mountain today.  This particular race is a ½ marathon.  The trails were in great shape with only a few muddy patches and very well marked.  The runners were blessed with beautiful weather; we actually saw the sun a rare visitor to the Pacific Northwest these days.  The course is wonderfully difficult that climbs about 3300 feet.  On the trip up the steep trail I took to a power hike to running pattern.  This is a technique that I will pout to good use during the Western States 100.  I decided that I would go out with a more than comfortable effort pushing a little through the initial climbs.  This event also included a 10k option so I decided to go out with a woman who was doing the 10k; I knew this would keep me on pace for a good trail half. 

Last night just out of curiosity I looked at last years finish times.  The course record was set last year at 2:33:10   Not ever running this particular trail before I had no idea how this time would correlate to other trail run times.  That’s the real beauty of trail running: time is only relevant to that race on that day.  I run sometimes on another mountain near Squak called Mt. Si.  By looking at the elevation of the race I figured I could translate my Mt. Si training run times to this course.  I predicted a time of 2:40, maybe better if everything was perfect, maybe slower if things weren’t.

After splitting from the 10k group, I thought I was either 1^st or 2^nd woman.  I ran miles 4-8 with a young lawyer and we talked politics to kill time and take on the climbs. Even though our politics didn’t match up we enjoyed each others presence, company & support on the trail.  At 8 miles he started to bonk, this was the longest trail race he had attempted.   I gave him some sips of my electrolyte drink and he sucked on a GU as I lost him on the next ascent. 

There was an aid station was at 9.5 miles so I took a GU and looked at my watch, if my math was right I was on pace to break the course record.  This was a big surprise but I decided to go for it!  I thought there may be a woman in front of me, and I wanted to catch her.  I ran like the wind down the winding descent off Squak.  At every switchback I looked ahead to see if I could see any other runners. I never saw another person. 

As I came out of the forest to complete the last 400 meter loop before ending at the parking lot I refused to look at my watch.  I had no idea if I would hit the course record.  I slowed to a more comfortable pace for that last loop.    At the parking lot there was a guy in a lawn chair writing our numbers and the clocktime, a nice simple finish for a lovely day on the trail.

Unofficial Result: First woman, new course record 2:27:39

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/26/2008
• Time: 10:00:00
• Total Time: 2:27:39.00
• Distance: 13.1 miles
• Average Pace: 11:16.69/mile
• Ascent: 3,300 ft
• Descent: 3,300 ft

I was feeling rather guilty about not running yesterday until I started my run this morning.  My legs thanked me for the extra rest day with a spirited trek around Mukilteo. 

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/24/2008
• Time: 08:00:00
• Total Time: 00:48:06.00
• Distance: 5.9 miles
• Average Pace: 8:09.13/mile

Feeling great after putting in 8 miles tonight.  It feels like the best run I have had in recent weeks.  It was one of those runs that you are working hard enough to push towards a heart rate max, but feels relatively easy.  I was practicing my breathing and was able to use my breathe to relax.  I chanted some new mantras, as well.  The first 2 miles I did in 8:30 pace, I brought the pace down with each half mile until the 7^th mile which I ran at 7:20 pace.

My energy level was great.  Maybe it is the new focus on eating proper foods for fueling my body.   I am eating lots of brown rice, chicken, beans and steak.  I wore a different pair of shoes, yes a forgotten pair of Saucony.  So the problem of bloody toes and painful feet was gone today.  Sometimes it just all comes together.  I needed a good day.

I will run

What do you do when a workout is a complete disappointment and you know the reason is your own ill-preparedness? My goal was to go out and get 20-25 miles at a comfortable pace.  This type of run will have to no doubt be the way I spend each of the upcoming Sundays before running Western States.  So I was surprised by my body’s reaction to the run only 57 minutes into the run.  My feet hurt terribly, I was oddly tired, bored, and struggling to keep a rhythm that normal comes easily to me.

I had brought my water bottle with me filled with an electrolyte replacement drink and I had it drained by the hour mark, not a good sign as I was 4 miles away from the 7-11 I planned to stop at for a fresh Gatorade.  This was my first hint of my mistakes that nearly guaranteed a bad run.

My mistakes: First I ran at the gym last night and per my usual I was drenched in sweat upon the completion of my run.  I did not do much to replenish with fluids once home.  Then came my cursed night sweats.  I sweat all through the night most nights.  I have always thought this was because of my high metabolism, at any rate I usually have to get up and change shirts.  So this only complicated my dehydrated state.

Secondly, my shoes are so tired!  My feet hurt from first step.  I have too many miles on my road shoes.  Once home I took my shoes off to see blood on my sock, not a fun sight.

I am worried that today is a sad reality check that when I run my 100 mile race I will encounter all these issues.  I need to remember today and be glad that I ran another 8 miles after I did not want to run another step.  I did not get my 20, but I got an invaluable lesson: even when you think you can do 20 miles easily you have to respect the distance.  Tomorrow is another  day for a fresh outlook.  I am drinking plenty tonight!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/20/2008
• Time: 14:00:00
• Total Time: 2:09:51.00
• Distance: 14.6 miles
• Average Pace: 8:53.33/mile

The weather here is bizarre.  It snowed & hailed for 24 hours hours, making outdoor running not very appealing.  This, according to the weather people is the latest there has been snow here since 1976. 

Today I made the decision to pull out my old Pritikin diet book.  This eating plan worked very well for me when I was training for my first marathon.  I do not have the discipline to adjure to it completely, but the core food staples are excellent for endurance athletes.  So for brunch I had brown rice and chicken.  I cooked my chicken with turmeric to liven up the dish.  Very tasty.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/19/2008
• Time: 17:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 7.5 miles
• Average Pace: 8:00/mile

quick run before long travel day

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/18/2008
• Time: 12:00:00
• Total Time: 00:40:00.00
• Distance: 4.43 miles
• Average Pace: 9:02.17/mile

Quick run after long travel day.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 04/16/2008
• Time: 17:30:00
• Total Time: 00:32:41.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 8:10.46/mile