Ultra Running: Trials of the Trail 

Went  to the gym today to jump on the treadmill.  I was not sure if I would run a couple of miles or go for my current max of 1 hour.  I figured it would work itself out. 

I keep all my running clothes in a separate dresser in the laundry room, it makes it easier for me to keep everything for running in one location and when you have been running for as long as I have the volume of clothes and accessories requires it’s own home.  I pulled a random shirt out to wear and noticed it still had a tag on it, oh boy this is my shirt from White River …the race I dropped out at 27 miles the beginning of my forced interregnum from running.

It was a tough call but since I had finished the race last year, I decided it was not a federal crime to wear this shirt to the gym.  Bad memories and all.  My run was going fine I was at 3 miles and kind of losing interest in going further….that’s when it happened I saw my sole mate (running shoe sole that is). 

She got off a bike in front on me and I noticed she was trying to catch my glance.  I looked at her and there I saw it, she was wearing the same shirt from this years White River 50 mile race.  We exchanged more information in our returned smiles than any other person in the gym could understand.  We have more in common in our ultra world than even our spouses can grasp.  She shared enough spirit with me to give me the incentive to go for the hour instead of quitting at 3 easy.  I will assume that since she was a bike, she too is rehabbing an injury, wherever she is I will be secretly giving her my energy as a sole mate should

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 10/04/2008
• Time: 09:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 6.75 miles
• Average Pace: 8:53.33/mile
• Max Pace: 7:35.7/mile

We hosted a meet today for 3 other middle schools.  I went to the school early to mark the course and set-up.  I am counting this prep work and the meet itself as a workout.  Yes I am desperate to fill my log with workouts, but yes it really was a workout.  Pushing the 4 wheel chalker around the mile loop of grass and gravel put me in a full sweat and I actually felt my legs and glutes being worked.

For each of the races, girls and boys, I ran like the maniac coach I am from point to point on the course cheering the first to the last runner.  So much so that I almost logged this as a run, but  could lie to myself that much.

My kids ran tired today, it is the exact middle of the season and they are feeling it.  Our course is also .25 miles longer than the other course we have been on, and at race pace that is a long way for 12-13 year old bodies.  I will make sure to talk to the kids about building than tapering to the best performances at the district meet at the end of the season.

Workout:

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 10/02/2008
• Time: 03:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00

Here is a story about how to use the report feature of sweat365 to stop panic, embrace truths, and build a running base.

I am once again setting out to properly and effectively train to run the Western States 100 mile endurance run.  I spent the better part of the last year doing the same thing, to only have the race cancelled due to wildfires burning in N. California. As runner preparing for the biggest race in my running life (again) and coming off an injury that sidelined me for 2 months I was afraid. 

Yes I was in a full panic; until I pulled my report for October of 2007 from my archives.  This is where “embrace truths” comes in.  The total mileage that this “ultra runner” logged last October was 21.45 miles.  That is a tough one to swallow, the ugly truth that this site does not lie about the miles you log.  How did I go from such a sad showing last fall to being fully prepared to race 100 miles I one day by June? 

That leads me onto building a running base, and how I have already used Sweat365 as an instrument of inspiration.  I wrote in my blog that I would make October better than September, asking my friends to keep me accountable.   This morning instead convincing myself I would find time to run at some point in the day, I did something different.

I decided to take a look at the sweat365 and do whatever workout someone else had posted.  It was fun not knowing what workout would be in store for me, but I was game. On the home page there was a post of someone who had just done their morning run.  This was enough to get me out the door.

Once the decision was made to run before my day was taken over by work, I went longer than my cyber friend had gone to complete my longest run since my injury.  As soon as I came in the door I jumped onto the site and sent a thank you to the runner who inspired me to move.

No panic is left since I know I will easily top last year’s weak effort of 21 miles in October; what was I doing last year that seemed so much more important than running?  Oh I remember a week of that I was sitting on a beach in Mexico.  See me embrace that truth, watch me build my base.

Nice morning run to start the month off right.  Kept the pace easy.  All systems go to move forward with consistant training again.  I am glad that I chose not to have the knee surgery.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 10/01/2008
• Time: 07:30:00
• Total Time: 1:02:51.00
• Average Heart rate: 160
• Max Heart rate: 177
• Calories: 784
• Distance: 7 miles
• Average Pace: 8:58.92/mile
• Ascent: 1,422 ft
• Descent: 1,422 ft