Cooked in Death Valley

Death Valley Borax Marathon Race Report

PRE-RACE

            My race weekend started at the end of the school day on Friday.  I closed up my classroom, took my kids to their Mom and by 3:00PM I was off.  I had a 7 ½ hour drive Friday night from Paradise to Lone Pine, California.  I stopped in Reno for a quick to-go dinner and then a beautiful moonlit drive down the eastern side of the Sierras.  Lone Pine sits in the shadow of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous U.S.  But I didn’t get to appreciate the scenery.  I arranged for a wakeup call for 4:30 AM and went to sleep. 

            I woke up before the wakeup call but stayed horizontal until it was time.  Got ready and hit the complimentary breakfast for some coffee and a bagel.  I had 104 miles to drive into Death Valley that morning.  I had allowed 2 hours but made it to Furnace Creek Ranch in 1:45. 

 

Race registration was in the Corkscrew Saloon.  No race expo lines to deal with—basically walked in, was handed my bib and I was all set with nearly an hour to spare.

THE RACE

            There is a pre-race gathering in front of the start line.  The race director gives a little speech (a few jokes at the expense of the Rock-n-Roll marathons), provides race instructions, and leads the crowd in singing “America, the Beautiful.”  

The Marathoners get to start first (all 111 of us), followed by the Half Marathoners (165) and 10K runners (65).  At 8:06 AM, we counted down and off we went!  Since the course doesn’t allow headphones, I spent the first 6 miles singing “America, the Beautiful” in my head.  I stuck my starting paces pretty well—9:10, 9:16, 9:12, 9:07, 9:07, 9:14.

            At around the 6^th mile, the pleasant little breeze that had been blowing into our faces since the start of the race began to gradually increase.  By the time we got to the turnaround it had become a significant headwind.  I found myself pushing into the wind as it increased and pretty much kept to my goal pace (9:09, 9:11, 9:10, 9:16, 9:01, 9:07, 9:14)—this turned out to be a serious error.  More on that in a bit.  I sung to myself “I’ve Been Through the Desert on a Horse with no Name” during this leg.  I made the half in just a smidge over 2:00.  The turn-around was marked by a cone and a “TA” in red tape on the pavement.  The race director was at the turnaround chatting with the runners.

            As soon I turned around, I immediately felt the relief of getting the wind at my back instead of in my face.  For about a minute, I really enjoyed that.  After that minute I started to feel warm…too warm.  The wind was at my back and the desert sun in my face.  I think the next 6 miles were with a little Tom Petty, “Running Down a Dream .”  Sadly, that dream was already slipping away.  By miles 18 and 19 I knew that my time goals weren’t going to happen (9:13, 9:15, 9:19, 9:13, 11:03, 9:59).

            At this point in the race I started to go to that very bad place.  My head was down and I was hot!  Somewhere at this point in the race I was reminded of the Scripture (Psalm 121 in case you care), “I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord.”  So I lifted up my head and looked around at the hills that surround Death Valley.  This was where I began to keep my promise to myself to smile the last 6 miles.  

Smiling changed my reaction to the circumstances, but  I was still very hot.  I began to take walk breaks which were became longer until I was only taking short run breaks from my walking.  By the end of mile 23, I was no longer producing sweat and I became worried about heat exhaustion or worse.  Mile 24 lasted for an eternity.  You can see the finish line from a long way off—the trees at Furnace Creek are easy to spot—but it doesn’t seem to get any closer.   I reminded myself that it is better to finish slow that not at all.  In fact, I was here in Death Valley because I wanted to be there.  So, no pity party for me, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other.  I took pictures along the way and tried to take in the beauty of the desert landscape (12:25, 13:23, 12:15, 13:43, 18:47, 15:04, 17:32, 5:29).  I crossed the finished line in 4:45.50.

POST-RACE

            Rehydrating was my first priority.  I'm pretty sure that this is what I looked like at the finish:

I believe that I drank about 120 oz of water and Gatorade during the race.  I easily drank another 100 oz of fluid after the race and still it was over two hours before I felt like I would ever need to pee again.  The post-race atmosphere was very low-key, but in a good way.  No big festival-like environment, just a well-stocked table of drinks and snacks, and volunteers handing out race medals and t-shirts. 

Race highlights—I don’t think this one qualifies as a “destination race.”  A better term might be a “bragging rights’ race.  However, one of the highlights for me was meeting a lot of really experienced marathoners.  One guy considered himself a slacker because he had only run 30-some marathons.  There was a couple from Montreal who had worked their way through 50 states—twice!  I started the race with an Air Force Chaplain.  I go to meet fellow forumite Potranca at the finish line.  There was a woman who was running to honor fallen soldiers—she ran the entire race carrying a full size American flag—no small feat with the wind. 

Lessons learned:  1) running into the wind is to be treated with the same respect as running uphill.  Harder wind=steeper hill.  I definitely fried myself by keeping my goal pace into the headwind on the first half.  2) Dehydration is bad—I drank a lot a fluid but did not keep up with what my body needed.  The arid climate, sun and wind sucked every bit of moisture out of me.  3) 10 hours of driving the day before a marathon isn’t a great idea.  4) Goals are not always in your control, but goals are not everything.  If I run because I love to run, then there is always something to smile about, even if it’s hard (or perhaps, because it’s hard).

After I finally got rehydrated, I drove down to Badwater Basin (It would be a shame to go all that way and not see the actual lowest spot, right?) and then it was time to start the trek home.  I drove to Reno Saturday night and home the next morning.  Marathon #2 is in the books. 

Bonus pic:  Here is the cleanup crew if you fall out during the race. 

Rust Days

I've been comparing the last week of marathon training plans.  It's taper-time and I want to be clear on how much is enough and how much is too much rest.
For me it comes down to rest or rust.  I find overall that my legs are happier while regular runs but that days off tend to make me aware of tightness (IT Band) and pain (knees). 

This last week before the marathon looks like this:

Sat   1/28    10 miles (5 at marathon pace)
Sun  1/29   4.5 miles
Mon 1/30  2.7 miles (slowish pace)
Tues 1/31  6.1 miles (4 at marathon pace)
Wed 2/1    2 miles (maybe in the five fingers)
Thurs 2/2   3 miles (marathon pace)
Fri    2/3       2 miles (super easy)
Sat   2/4      DEATH VALLEY BORAX MARATHON!

So, I think I'll choose restful short runs over rust days this week. 

One Week 'til Death Valley

Woah, it's been a long time since I posted--I'll blame a combination of being really busy and forgetting my password (oops).
I am Tapering for Death Valley.  I finished the heart of my training with three 20 milers and a 21 miler.  I have averaged about 7 more miles per week this training cycle and feel like that's going to be a help on Saturday. 
Yesterday I completed my last double-digit run.  I did 10 miles with about half of that at marathon pace.
I'm thankful to be relatively healthy and am ready to see what marathon #2 holds in six more days.

Holiday Streak?

Runner's World is promoting the idea of streaking through the holidays.  No, this is not an invite to run naked.  Rather it is the challenge to run every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

I think I'm in.  My previous streak is a whopping 13 days.  I came down with a sore throat and it seemed wise to take a couple of days off this week.

On deck this week:  Run for Food 5K in Chico, CA.  No better way to start Thanksgiving.

Back In The Saddle Again

So I pretty much dropped off the face of the earth after the SF Marathon.  I spent a few weeks taking it easy, but then life got very busy, and I really had a hard time finding time to run. 
In late August, I was doing some non-voluntary running (a work thing--chasing a student who was running away) and ended up getting a stress fracture in my upper femur.  Ouch.  Could barely walk for a few days and definitely needed to take time off from running. 

Late October came and I finally got to start running again.  I was pleased and a little surprised at how quickly the fitness is coming back.  I am presently building up to 40 miles per week.  This time around I am going to emphasize running nearly every day and building a much better weekly mileage base.  My goal is to get up around 45-50 miles/week before my next marathon. 

Speaking of marathons, I am considering the Death Valley Borax Marathon in February as my next biggie, and I have a 5k on thanksgiving and a 10K in mid-December as short-term goals.

San Francisco Marathon Race Report

Drove into SF on Saturday and headed to the Expo.  They couldn’t find my bib, so I had to go to the solutions line and was issued a new bib.  They were very helpful, but the new bib was a disappointment because it didn’t have my name or proper wave placement—they gave me a pass to get into my desired wave.  Frankly, I thought the rest of the Expo was a bit of a dud.  Saturday night went to North Beach for some great pasta and the best beet salad I have ever eaten.  If you’re ever in SF, try Bocce Café.  Drove as much of the race course as possible Saturday night and my only reaction was Yikes!

I was a little worried about getting to the start line on Sunday morning as my hotel was across town, so I called for an early cab when I woke up.  Stood outside my hotel for a couple of minutes when a cab pulled up, so I made it to the start without any hassle and plenty early.  Sat around waiting for time to start.  Bart Yasso was announcing the race start and he did the countdown for each wave. 

 I was in Wave 5 because I wanted to run with the 4:00 Pace Group.  I was told that they typically start near the end of the wave, but they were right up front.  As we prepared for our start, I wasn’t prepared for the emotion of actually toeing the line at my first marathon.  Counted down and off we went.  I cruised into my goal pace for the first mile—aiming to do a 9:20 mile.  The 4:00 pace group pulled out irresponsibly fast—there is no way they were doing 9:09 or 9:10.  I figured they were trying to bank time ahead of the hills.  I actually never saw them again, but my wife said I was always just behind them (until the end).  My wife and kids were cheering for me at mile two.  At mile 4, there was a group from “Wear Blue” honoring fallen soldiers (the founder of the group was running a double marathon today, one for her, one for her late husband), that was an awesome spectacle.  The first few miles clicked by just great—9:14, 9:06, 9:11, 9:09, 9:08.

Mile five begins the climb up the steep hill that takes you from sea level up to the Golden Gate Bride.  Here is where the hill training really pays off.  I felt pretty good going for an even effort up the hill.  We made it up onto the bridge and it was so nice getting to run on the actual roadway of the Golden Gate Bridge.  We were only given a single lane of traffic in each direction so it was a little crowded, but not unbearable.  I caught up with a staff member of the official training program and just sort of paced off of her across the bridge and back.  Back across the bridge, the course heads down Lincoln past some amazing views of the coast.  Miles six through ten—9:33, 9:00, 8:50, 9:00, 9:05.

Next we headed toward Golden Gate Park.  Here the First Half Marathoners split off and then rejoin as they finish.  Then for a stretch it feel a little lonely as it is just the Full Marathoners.  Then all of a sudden I was overtaken by pace bikes and the lead runners of the Second Half Marathon.  This gets a little discouraging because you’re feeling slow and tired and being passed by fresher runners for the rest of the race.  Miles eleven through 15—8:44, 9:20, 9:07, (HM split-2:01:08), 8:46, 9:39.

My wife and kids were waiting at the 18 mile mark.  What an encouraging thing to have people cheering for you.  I also got a big boost by cheering for the 2^nd Half Pace groups as they went by.  This portion of the race takes your out of Golden Gate Park and onto Haight.  Miles 16 through 20—9:45, 8:10, 8:54, 8:56, 9:25.

Here Haight starts it’s huge descent which was steep enough to make it hard to actually run fast.  This was also new territory for me as my longest run prior to the race was 20.5 miles.  I started to fade here.  Getting passed by lots of 2^nd half Marathoners here.   This is by far some of the ugliest portions of the race as once you turn off Haight, the race winds through industrial portions of the City.  The funny thing was that the ugliness seemed to fit perfectly with how I was feeling.  I think I was one solid grimace through section.  I switched over to some better music here, but even the “Imperial March” aka Darth Vader’s theme, didn’t help much.  Miles 21 through 25—9:38, 9:36, 9:46, 10:24, 11:17.

At Mile 25 we run up to AT&T park (SF Giants’ Stadium) and we had planned to have my son run the race mile with me.  My wife and kids were waiting next to the stadium and my son joined me.  It was cool to have him along side me for that last mile.  11:23 and then 3:17 to the finish line.  Official finish time:  4:09:12!

Bart Yasso commented on my son helping me finish.  We headed through to get snacks, the awesome 3.5” coaster medal, finish line photos, and then began to wander around trying to connect back up with my wife and daughter.  About that time I began to feel faint, so we made a beeline for the medical tent to lie down for a while.  Reconnected with my family there and took in the finish line festivities.  First marathon done. 

What was I happy with?  I felt really good on the hills.  I was also able to run the whole thing only stopping for a couple of pictures and porta-potty visits.  I was also so glad that I wore my hydration belt.  That helped me fuel and hydrate on my terms.  What could have been better?  I did get a little fast on some of those early miles—which contributed to my fade at the end.  It just seemed a little hard with all the early hills to gauge the effort for an even race.  I was pretty close to my planned time at the half, but I could have run a slightly smarter race in the second half.

All in all a great first marathon experience.  Really captured the SF Marathon motto:  WORTH THE HURT!

Spy Planes, Wiretaps, and other Conspiracies

6.4 miles with 3 at tempo pace today.  It was a good run, but the highlight was my conversation the last mile.  I caught up with a guy in full backpacking gear and figured that he must have just came down from the backcountry. 

As we made our way down the trail, he told me his tale of woe.  As the tale of hardship went on, it began to include a deep-seated paranoia.  The Government was sending U2 spy planes to track him.  They were wire-tapping his pre-paid cell phones.  They had even fried his car's heater core by the strength of the satelites beaming his car's computer. 

That's the kind of run that makes you glad for your marbles.  Praying for this guy.  He needs a touch from Jesus' own hand.

Run for the Hills

Two back-to-back camping trips have given me an opportunity to get in some running at altitude.  The first one was a family camping trip.  Three days up at 5,600 feet.  Got in an 8 miler and then a 13 miler.  The hills i was running on gave me my first experience with oxygen debt since my reentry into running almost a year ago. 

As I ran the hills, I kept picturing myself on the hills in San Francisco.  Up from Crissy Field to the top of the Golden Gate, and down from the Haight to the Mission district. 

The second trip was a scout camp with my son.  A little lower at 4,200 feet, but still high enough to get some added benefit.

When I got home, my SF Marathon confirmation, bib number, and starting wave info was waiting in my inbox.  Woohoo!

Tapertown!

OK folks, I am officially in Tapertown!

This is the last few weeks before the marathon.  My final long run was a 20 miler from the top of Paradise down 1,600 feet to Bidwell Park in Chico.  It was hot and awesome!  I ended at the pool at One Mile and jumped in with my kids.  (they drove down, I didn't make them run). 

I was hoping that the pool would still be nice and cold, but it was already warming up so that it didn't serve any longer as an ice bath. 

The next three weeks will feature dramatically lowered volume, but hopefully keep the intensity up.

Taking the Minimalist Shoe Plunge

Had a visit from one of my favorite guys today--that's right the man in brown himself, the UPS guy.

He was delivering my new pair of Vibram Five Fingers.  I am officially going to start introducing a little minimalist shoe into my training.

After my regular intervals at the track today, I put them on (by the way, nobody tells you that it takes an hour and a half to get them on) and ran an inaugural 1/4 mile.  Felt good. 

They are a little snug, but I'm told that they break in and will feel better after a week or so.  To help with that transition, I'm wearing them around the rest of the day. 

Already had my first "five fingers" interaction.  As I'm putting them on a guy walking by does a double take, and asks where I got them and if they were Nike's.  Uh, I ordered them online and no they're not Nike's. 

My wife thinks I look like a robot with them on.

Last Day of May 10K

Well, today was the last day in May.  It seemed appropriate to do a 10K.  --That's right, the "Last Day of May 10K."  It wasn't an organized race or anything official, just me and my Garmin.

I had some errands to run in Chico, and figured as long as I was heading down there, I might as well get a run in the fantastic flat land, a welcome break from the the hills.  It was also a cold rainy day and somehow a run seemed more appetizing down where it's a few degrees warmer. 

I had a tempo run scheduled, but it just seemed right to go for a fast little jaunt.  Since I haven't run an organized 10K since high school, I thought it might be fun to do a time trial.  I managed to come in just over 50 minutes, 50:06 to be exact. 

500!

It happened on Sunday afternoon.  Somewhere out on the old railroad bed near Paradise Lake.  It might have been right after I passed the horse and rider.  It was about the same time that I took my GU gel.  I still had 5 more miles to go in my run that day.

Somewhere along the line, I passed an invisible line of great importance and also of no importance.  The line was the 500th mile that I've run this year.

Now I know there are many of you that say "big woop, I passed 500 two months ago."  I fully understand and that is why for for just about everyone else on the planet, Sunday's landmark was a non-event. 

However, there is one guy on the planet that thought it was a pretty big deal--me!  It's a big deal because I don't think I've ever ran 500 in a year (well, maybe in high school when I was on the long distance team).  And I certainly have never hit 500 in under 5 months' time.  So I'm pretty excited.

I think I'll ice my knee to celebrate!

The Creature from the Black Lagoon

Tempo run today.  The "Dreaded Eight Mile Tempo" or DEMT to be exact.  This is the nickname for this workout given by the followers of the F.I.R.S.T. training plan.  The DEMT is meant to be run at a pace that is slightly slower than your 10K pace.  For me, the goal tempo was about 8:30 min/mile.

Normally, you want to run a warm up mile before hitting your tempo pace, but today was an exception for me.  Even though the calendar says mid-May, we are having a little reoccurence of winter.  It was pouring rain and cold!  So I thought I might warm up faster by running faster.  I had chosen the dirt trail around part of Paradise Lake as my route today.  For the first couple of miles I managed to dodge the worst of the puddles, but by the time I hit mid-way it was a lost cause.  My shoes and socks were soaked, and I was spraying myself with mud with every step.

By the time I was done, I looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. 

Ridge Run 5K Race Report

Yesterday was the second annual Ridge Run 5K, benefiting Pine Ridge School in Magalia, CA. 

I got there at 8:30AM to register for the 9:00AM race.  I hadn't preregistered because I wasn't sure if my schedule would allow me to run the race.  There was also a hike to a local waterfall that some folks from church were planning. 

After registering, I said hi to to some acquaintances and then decided to go for a warm-up jog.  At this point, I realize that I have no clue what the race course is going to look like.  It was not published with the race info.  I had assumed that it would just follow the local roads for some sort of out and back.  As I began my warm-up I pass one of the school's P.E. teachers who offered to show me some of the course.  It turns out that there is a whole network of trails behind the school--touring through some really pretty pine forest.  I did about a mile of warm up and decided I had better get to the starting line. 

The other thing I found out from the P.E. guy was that there was no water provided on the course.  No biggie, it's just a 5K.  I'm a water kind of guy on runs, so I decided to bring water along, even though I would only take a few drinks.

At 9:00AM, they walk us down to the start line, briefly explained the course (I sort of quit listening here, because I wasn't familiar with the street names anyway and I figured only the first place runner really needed to know).  They did a quick head count and there were 64 runners toed up.  Away we went. 

I usually check out the runners near me and look for someone that I might aim to pick off during the run.  There was an gentleman about 20 years my senior who looked really ready to go.  He was wearing a bright red shirt and I thought he'd be easy to keep track of.  The course started with a loop around the parking lot and then a left turn on the road.  Red shirt guy took off like a rocket up the steep incline--I guess I'll pace off of someone else. 

The course followed the road for roughly the first mile and then turned onto the forest trail.  While the turn was marked with chalk and a cone, a runner two guys ahead missed it and went about 50 feet out of his way.  I hollered after him as I made the turn.  He caught up and passed me pretty quick.  The trail portion of the run was a pretty, but technical.  Lots of hills and some pretty sharp turns.  I almost rolled my ankle, but saved it just in time. 

The trail portion lasted for a little more than the next mile.  I think my poor GPS was getting poor signal in the dense forest, because the distance seemed to be off.  The course turned back out on the road and somehow meandered back to the same parking lot we started in.  It went through the parking lot and into a back school field and then briefly onto some more trails.  Since my GPS distance wasn't correct, I had no idea we were as close to the end as we were.  A final sprint to the finish!

My official time:  22:42, a new PR by 17 seconds.  I managed to come in 6th out of 64 and grabbed 2nd in my age group.  The guy in fifth place had been at the CareNet race two weeks ago and had been determined to beat me.  He ran a great race. 

After the 5K, they put on a 1/4 mile kids' race.  My son Ben lined up with about 20 kids under 10 years old.  He was about midway through the pack at the start.  When he came into view at the finish, he was in second.  So we ended the day with matching 2nd place medals.  Nice!

Rotate Your Shoes!

Apparently you're supposed to rotate your running shoes.  Who knew?

Problem #1 here is that running shoes are spendy.  Back in January, I went and got fitted for a pair of running shoes that would handle my unique feet.  I have a pronounced over-pronating stride, which means I roll from the outside of my heel to the inside on toes.  But to make matters worse, I have my robo-ankle.  I broke my right ankle in three places back in 2004 and had surgery.  I am now sporting a titanium plate and nine screws.  (So if I run screwy, that's why!)

After a thorough fitting I went with the Mizuno Wave Alchemy plus the Superfeet inserts.  After about 350 miles, that pair of shoes has started to feel a little flat.  So, I ordered two more pairs.  Yup, two pairs of identical shoes (well one has a red logo and the other and orange logo).

The plan here is to rotate the shoes.  It is supposed to give the shoes greater life by giving them a chance to fluff back up in between runs.  Sounds good to me. 

I track my running on RunningAhead.com by uplaoding my GPS data, but the site also allows me to track mileage on my shoes.  Ok--I know that's a little geeky, but I've long ago come to grips with that.

Pfitz Who?!

Pfitz, who's Pfitz? 

Oh yeah, he's the guy with the marathon training plans right out of Dachau.  I really tried to do Pfitz (I was looking at his 18/55 plan), but it was just too much too soon for me. 

While I've been floundering the last 6 or seven weeks, I realized that I have two problems:  I have pretty much been just running slow runs since my Half Marathon and I have been a slave to the "long run must occur on the weekend" theory.

Well this week I was able to tackle both issues.  I ran my long run on Tuesday.  As a Pastor, the weekends tend to be a little busy.  Working up to the Half Marathon, I could get away with squeezing in the long runs on weekends, but it's just not an option right now.

I also really missed speed and tempo work.  Thursday, I went out to the High School track and after warming up, I knocked out 6 X 800's--they felt great.  I think I really needed to step on the gas and blow the gunk out. 

What does all this mean for a training plan?  It means I'm going to follow the F.I.R.S.T. plan for a first marathon.  That would be the Furman Institute For Scientific Training.  Here's what I love about FIRST:  Just three: "Key Runs" a week--an interval, a tempo, and a long run.  In between these you are supposed to do two XT days--this week I worked in a 7 mile mountain bike ride and the other was a easy two-mile run. 
You can also do these key runs in whatever order works for you.  So this week, I did 3, 1, 2. 

7 miles tomorrow with 5 at tempo pace. 

CareNet Human Race 5K Race Report

Saturday was the Human Race 5K.  It was a really great event.

Can I just start by saying how great it is to run a race in your own town.  I left at 8:25 and showed up at 8:30 for sign-in.  They had a very well-staffed sign-in table to handle race sign-in and t-shirt pickup. 
The t-shirts were very well done and they had plenty in every size.
After signing in, I said hi to Linda Kalanquin, the Director of CareNet and looked for my friend Tom, who is a fellow pastor in our community.  Tom is a three-time marathoner and I hoped to see him at the event. 

The race was scheduled to start at 9:00, so I went for a little warm-up jog just before then.  I'm not much a warm-up guy, preferring usually to just warm-up as I go, but I figured that 5K was short enough to warrant a little warming up.  I got back from the warm-up and they had a few preliminary remarks--thanking the supporters, a quick story from a CareNet client, and then Tom shared a little--then off to start line.

A crowd of 40 or so participants lined up and away we went.  The course was 1.55 miles up the Paradise Memorial Trail and back.  They had volunteers doing traffic control at the three road crossings and a manned drink station at the turn-around point. 

I quickly took the lead position and most likely started out way too fast.  The trail goes uphill with a 254 foot elevation gain over the first 2.5K.  I was going too fast, but it felt ok.  The hardest part was actually being in the lead.  I am used to being able to cue my pace off of runners in front of me and it felt a little loose without that.  As I made the turn I passed my nearest competitor, a young lady who was about forty feet back.  I told her "you're gonna beat me."  She caught me a little ways down the road.  We ran together for a while, but it was clear that she had more speed and more gas in the tank, so I told her not to let the old man slow her down. 

She eventually took off and grabbed her first place finish.  I came in second overall and first place among the men.  It was a also a PR for me at 22:59.  I'm going to cherish the race, because it will probably be my only opportunity to lead the pack.

After crossing the finish line I congratulated the winner and went to grab some water at the snack tent.  I decided that I would just take a case of water over to the finish line and encourage the finishers with some water. 

What a fun day!  Can't wait until next year's event.

Three Week Vacation

Well, it appears that I took a three-week vacation from the blog. 

That roughly correlates with my running lately.  Let me explain what I've been up to.

The first full week of April I was out of town.  Had the opportunity to spend a week with my Dad in southern Nevada.  We had a great time but unfortunately, I only got in one two-mile run that week.  I had hoped that we'd get in a bunch of mountain biking, but our days were very full and tiring and we only managed one short ride.  So there is this henious 5-day gap in my training log.

I tried to get back in the saddle the next week.  I was out of town on business but managed to get in a quality run on Monday and Wednesday last week.  Unfortunately, then I ended up taking two days off followed by a lame two-mile run, and then another two days off.

Yikes, my training log is starting to have all the charm of a West Virginia smile.

So this week I am endeavoring to get back into a regular training schedule.  I managed to sneak in a 12 miler on Tuesday and a six-miler yesterday.  I found a great (new to me) trail to run on.  It is the old train tracks base that was used to bring lumber down from the forest.  Train tracks are gone leaving a nice smooth, steady climb and no cars to worry about.

This weekend, I'm entered in the HUMAN RACE 5K.  It is a benefit fun run for CareNet, a local pro-life crisis pregnancy center.  I think it is their inaugural 5K, so I'm not sure how well organized it will be or even if there will be a timer.  But, I really believe in the work this group is doing and I can time my own race on my Garmin.  Can't wait!  I am hoping for a new PR. 

Cravings and Foam Roller Terrorism

Today is a rest or XT day.  That means, I am doing some light flexibility work, some core strengthening stuff, spending some time on the foam roller and dusting off the unicycle.

I got through the flexibility and core work and my body sent a strong request:  "we would appreciate it very much if you would be so kind as to feed us a Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich, if it's not too much trouble, thank you ever so much."

Into the kitchen I go.

Ok, all the PB and Honey craving cells in my body gave out a collective "that's just what I wanted."  How do they know what they want?  I have no idea.  Most days I just try to eat a nice variety of things and let them get what they need that way.  Today, it was definitely PB & Honey on the menu.

Back to the foam roller.  These are the latest craze in the fitness world.  But it turns out that the technology for foam rollers isn't new at all.  It turns out that these have been around for some time.  Vikings used to foam roller their victims as they plundered and pillaged, giving rise to the haunting battle cry, "plundra plundring och använda skumgummirulle."  Later, they were used as a medieval torture device (ofergietan þæs hengen, broc þæm fám wealoa).  Lately, our high tech military satelites have captured images from remote al-quaida training facilities where jihadists practice foam roller terrorism (نهب نهب واستخدام الأسطوانة رغوة).  Seriously, these are great everyone should have one.

 Now, where did I put that unicycle?

Shorts Weather Has Come To Northern California

Get out your sunglasses folks, I'm wearing shorts!

Yes, after a really long patch of wintery weather, spring weather has arrived in Northern California.  Today called for 9 miles of General Aerobic (I know what you're thinking, the it was Colonel Aerobic last time you checked--well he's been promoted.

General Aerobic is Pfitzinger's term for pretty much easy running 15-20% slower that goal marathon pace. 

Out to Paradise Lake I go just daring the sun to darken my mighty white legs.

Had a nice run around the lake.  The trail is an out and back on the right (east) side of the lake.  It works out to a 9.35 mile run--perfect.

I enjoyed the trail today, even managed to keep my feet mostly dry.  No snow on the trail anymore, but there are still some very ambitious puddles (think 30-40 feet long and covereing the width of the trail). 

I did pick up a little friend on the run.  When I got in the car to head home, I looked down to find a tick taking a bite out of crime on my leg.  Fortunately, it hadn't had a chance to get embedded yeet, so I was able to pull it off with relative ease.  (Note to self--add tick repellant to the running gear).  I think it saw my bright white legs and thought it was the promised land.