Gorge Waterfalls 50K.

Gorge Waterfalls 50K.  my first ultra marathon trail run.  so much to say, its hard to even begin. 

it kind of hard to grasp, that its actually over.  7:23:20 sounds like a really long time, but it was gone in a flash.  it was over so quickly.  but even though i was in the zone and this went smoothly, it was actually a really hard run.  the distance was long (longer than i've ever gone before), the elevation gain was huge (my GPS watch calls it ~7400 ft of gain and ~7400 ft of loss), and the trail was very technical in lots of places (very rocky and sharp).  a few runners i paced for a while had volunteered at the 100k the day prior, and we talked about it while running.  so much of that race the day prior was before dawn, and i heard that there were a lot of bloody runners at the aid stations.  so i took it careful through the technical portions.  I was amazed by the variety of trail conditions.  one side of a mountain would be trapped in shadow - wet, misty, muddy, cool, ferns, deep forest.  then the other side would be baked by the sun - dry, arid, pine needles everywhere, hot.  from deep forest to open arid trail in the space of a few minutes.  it was just incredible.

the trail head

my time was not stellar, in fact it was kind of long for a 50k.  but every ultra is different, and this was a hard one.  my finish was about 198 out of about 300 (about 300 finished out of 380 registered, and I'm not sure how many DNFs there were, versus people just not showing).  not incredible, but the fact is, I was concentrating on enjoying it as much as possible while making each aid station with plenty of time to spare before the cut offs.  I left the 1st aid station maybe an hour before the cutoff, the 2nd aid station still about an hour before the cutoff, and the 3rd station about an hour and a half before the cutoff.  I finished the run with an hour and 37 minutes to spare.  and i felt strong and had energy left.  a lot of various pain (hips, quads, calfs, lower back), but lots of energy.  I owe this my refueling plan.  i only stopped at the aid stations long enough to fill my camelbak and grab my food.  then i would walk the next quarter mile while i ate, then back to running.

view of columbia river gorge and the Bonneville dam

my drop bags and gear bag plan worked out just fine.  I took an empty gear bag to the start (bus ride), so I could ditch some layers prior to starting.  so i wore pants and a long sleeve shirt and a jacket to stay warm during the wait.  I left the pants and jacket in my gear bag when we started.  then i left my long sleeve shirt in my drop bag at the 1st aid station.  I had packed my drop bags with everything i could need, no matter what the weather.  each bag had dry socks and a t-shirt, a PB&J sandwich, a bag of trail mix, 4 gu roctanes, and a kleen kanteen full of nuun water.  i even had a spare set of shoes at aid station 2.  honestly, the weather was perfect, and i never needed the socks, shoes, or shirt.  there were multiple stream crossing and some thick mud, but my feet stayed dry.  with aid stations every 9 miles or so, i felt it better not to run with a full camelbak (too much weight).  I only filled the bladder halfway.  then at each aid station i refilled the bladder with the nuun water in my drop bag (just to the halfway mark).  was the perfect amount of hydration for each leg.  i didn't even eat my third PB&J, and I only finished one of my bags of trail mix.  having more food and gel than i needed was better safe than sorry.  especially since i didn't need to carry the weight with me the whole way.

i ran as much as possible.  i ran every flat, every downhill, and every smooth uphill.  I walked the most extreme elevation gains, and i walked a few really rocky sections.  this plan worked for me, and i kept my average pace well under what i needed to avoid cutoffs times.  the pain really set in on the final 6 miles, after aid station 3.  in particular, from mile 25.4 to mile 27.6, it was a 1450 ft elevation gain (up alongside multnomah falls).  1450 ft in 2.2 miles, then back down the same amount.  on the way up, i power hiked, hands on thighs.  my lower back started to ache, my calfs and quads were screaming.  but i never stopped.  and when the trail crested and started back down, i ran again.  i had to dig deep to be able to start running again, running through the discomfort and ache.  just kept telling myself to just keep moving, just keep chipping away, just keep the forward momentum.

i definitely enjoyed the middle third of the race the most.  the trail was mostly singletrack, and things had been bunched up and a little crowded for the first 8-10 miles.  but the first aid station was a stop, and then the trail just opened up.  in a run of this distance, no two people are really going to run the exact same pace (unless they are trying to stay together).  if someone has a pace faster than you, they get ahead, and then they slowly open up that lead further and further.  likewise, after you pass someone, you tend to slowly creep further and further ahead.  so after everybody settles into their pace, the trail really opens up.  for this run, this came together after the first aid station.  i honestly felt like i didn't see another runner for miles.  just one every once in a while.  sometimes i felt so alone i was afraid i lost the trail, but i kept on going.  and it was always OK.  the only places the trail got crowded were the few major waterfalls that are kind of tourist attractions.  the race director begged us to please not shove any tourists off the cliffs, as he wanted to be able to get his permit again next year.

the first place on the trail where i had to run through tourists

So my training plan had me well prepared, my gear and drop bags worked great, and I had an awesome experience.  I just can't believe its done and gone.  I am so glad that i could pick this goal, choose this race, train as hard as I did, and finish as strong as i did.  this race was simultaneously the hardest most excruciating thing I have ever done, and also the most incredible running experience i have ever had.

technical portion of rocky trail.  needless to say, i walked it

54 miles in a week, over the peak now.

so feb was the peak month of training for my upcoming ultramarathon trail run.  I'm a numbers guy, right, so i added up a few stats. 

feb was exactly 4 weeks, sun 2/1 through sat 2/28, which makes stats easy.
in 28 days I ran 187 miles with 11,198 feet of elevation gain (and same loss)
in 28 days I burned 26,222 calories from running alone 
in one week, I ran 54 miles with 3258 feet of elevation gain (and same loss)
on 2/28, i ran a full marathon 26.2 (followed by a trail run the next day).
on 2/25, I ran 1,416 ft elevation gain (10x600m hill repeats)

54 miles in a week is the high water mark.  I have never done anything like this before, and i can't imagine i will ever do it again.  I am over the peak.  I can do this plan.  I can do this run.

the peak is coming

Last week i broke 50 miles.  fifty.  five zero.  in one week.  that's more miles than i have ever run in a week.  my saturday run alone was 24 miles, the longest training run i have ever done.  i am looking at this as an incredible accomplishment.  50 miles in a week felt an impossible feat, yet here i am.  its done and I'm still going.  and in general, i still feel pretty good.

but the kicker?  next week is gonna be more.  after this week's "recovery" (probably just over 40 miles for the week), next week will be the peak week of my training plan.  It should be approx 53-55 miles, with a full marathon on saturday.  wed will be 10x600m hill repeats.  10 hill repeats.  sounds awful.  it just feels unbelievable that i could casually contemplate the idea of a 53 mile training week with a full marathon saturday.  The peak is coming.  if i get through the next few weeks, i can anything i set my mind to.  it's that simple.  find a goal, create a plan, deal with failures along the way.

5 and a half weeks to go.  its gonna go off.

22 miles. eating and running. what a blast!

wow, what an eventful run on saturday.  or more importantly, what a smooth, uneventful run is more like it.  I am continuing in my deliberate methods to experiment, trial and error, to find the best practices to support my upcoming 50k.  Just like the 50k partner relay at Bridle Trails taught me a lot in how to pack my gear drop bags for the aid stations, saturday's 22 mile run taught me some new tricks to deal with re-fueling. 

distance runners talk about "hitting the wall" or "bonking".  your body can typically store enough easily accessible energy (glycogen) to burn for approx 18-20 miles.  then your body runs out, and needs to convert fat to energy.  this is *way* harder to do, and your body wants to say "nope, forget this".  your brain says "stop", you feel like hell, you get depressed, it all seems terrible, and you would give anything to just quit and lie down.  yeah, that's The Wall.  its coming, its just a matter of how long you can hold it off.

say your body burns roughly 800-900 calories an hour.  You are only really physically capable of absorbing 250 or so calories an hour.  so no matter what, you are on a downhill slide towards a crash.  then couple it with the fact that running forces blood flow to your muscles and extremities and basically shuts down your digestive system.  eat too heavy/hard, and you run the risk of throwing up, stomach cramps, and other GI issues that i just won't go into.  your typcial energy gels can be taken roughly every 20-30 minutes (depending on your tolerance level).  they are fast energy, super easy to digest, and roughly 100-150 calories each.  taking in these calories is just an attempt to stave off the inevitable, to prolong the time you have before you hit the wall and your brain turns inside out.  I have used gu roctane gels (added caffeine) for all my marathons, but i still always hit that wall, about 20 miles in, and its brutal.

and then comes the ultra.  I remember reading an article that described an ultramarathon as "“eating and drinking contests with a little exercise and scenery thrown in."  its seriously a calorie deficit activity, and you need to plan accordingly.  most ultras have pretty well stocked aid stations with a variety of food.  but you don't want race day to be the first time you try eating on the run.  could make for a miserable DNF with gut issues.  So for my last 3 really long runs (22, 24, 26), i am planning on carrying some real food and stopping, eating, then continuing.  Saturday was my 22 miler.  I convinced my good friend Jess to run this with me, and we hit the Centennial Trail in Snohomish.  long, flat, no traffic, easy miles.  11 miles in, we stopped, and i ate half a PB&J sandwich and about half a cup of trail mix (peanuts, almonds, cashews, raisins, M&Ms).  Then we ran out the remaining 11 miles.  I tell you what, this was fantastic.  of course my whole lower body body hurt like hell (hips, quads, hamstrings, knees, calfs, heels).  legs felt pretty bad.  but i never hit the wall.  i never felt like i needed to quit, or start walking, or wanted to get hit by a car just so i could get a ride back to the trailhead.  I definitely had some energy left in the tank when i finished.  now, there are several factors in this: we ran a little slower pace (to save energy - this was training for both of us, not a race day), i added this new method of fueling, and just having company helped keep me positive.  having someone to talk to for 3.75 hours of running helps keep you engaged and Jess and I had a good run.  but i am putting a lot of credit into eating halfway through.  I seriously didn't bonk, and i felt pretty damn good mentally/physically after we finished.  stiff and sore, but really no worse than i felt after the 16 i ran last saturday.  and nothing at all like how horrible i felt during long runs of comparable distance.  none of the mental anguish, no unreasonable desire to just give up and quit.

so on my upcoming Long Runs (2 weeks from now, and 4 weeks from now) i am going to continue with trying to introduce more food while i am out there.  i'm really excited about making this work.  I am looking forward to packing my gear bags for the aid stations in the 50K Gorge Waterfalls.  Combine my takeaways from Bridle Trail (the benefit of changing into clean/dry shirt, socks, shoes) and my new food strategies (eating solid foods every 10 miles or so), and I am going to give myself the best chance possible to finish this in a reasonable time.

1/21/15. the hilly run that didn't happen...

so I did not run my miles today.  the plan called for a 60 min "hilly run", and I didn't go.  I ran hard last week, 46.5 miles, my highest mileage week ever.  Over the weekend, when i had a saturday 20 mile run and a sunday 1 hour run, i was also volunteering/judging at a local crossfit competition.  more than 12 hours on my feet at the event, during which i took a break to run my miles, then got back on the floor.

I really ran myself down.  it feels like i have been fighting off a cold since sunday.  my throat felt funny last night, and i was a little congested when i woke up. all over sluggish feeling, and achy.  So when the alarm went off, i decided i needed the rest more than the miles.  in my head, i realize that missing a day, or even a week, will not likely have any effect on my general level of conditioning.  In all honesty, I  feel i could run a 50k tomorrow.  it would hurt, and it would take a long time, and recovery would be difficult, but i could do it.  the next 10 weeks are more about training to perform better, to run faster, to handle the elevation better, and to recover faster.  a few lost days will not hurt me.

but i am having trouble letting go of the run.  i am feeling guilty, and i am having regrets.  i worry about my training plan, and my upcoming 50k.  my confidence is a little shaken because i missed a training day.

I am just trying to tell myself that a few missed days to get over a cold are better than running my body into the ground, and facing an even longer recovery.  we'll see what tomorrow brings.  if i skip tomorrow, then Friday is a regular rest day, and i can jump right into the long run saturday, trail run sunday.  i hope i feel better soon. 

2015 Bridle Trails Winter Festival 50k trail run, pair relay

Ran the 2015 Bridle Trails Winter Festival trail run on Saturday night.  I did the 50k pair relay with my good friend Jess.  As per usual, i always get nervous before I run with Jess.  It's like she's a real runner and i'm some hack poser runner.  I feel the need to work hard to keep up my end of the bargain and not let her down.  It was a 50k pair relay, run in loops of 5.2 miles around the state park.  it could be split any way you wanted, handing off the bib/chip every loop.  One pair team had runner A do 3 loops, then runner B do 3 loops (15.6 miles each, 25k each, total of 50k for the team).  Another pair team had runner A do 1 lap, then runner B do 1 lap, then runner A did 2 loops and runner B did 2 loops.  We went with every other lap.  It was an experiment - we thought maybe having a lap on followed by a lap off would be easiest.  5.2 miles is not that far to run on trail, and having a good 45-55 minutes between laps to recover would be a good thing.

some variables to try and account for included the temperature (low 40s), the weather (mist/rain) the trail conditions (rumored to be wet/muddy/horseshitty), and the fact that the run was at late afternoon into night and it was going to get dark fast.  I packed practically as much gear for this one run as i did for my entire week in Berlin.  3 changes of running clothes (T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, socks, shoes), 2 jackets, 1 towel, GPS watch, Ipod, gloves, hat, headlamp, flashlight, buff, dinner/snacks, water, etc. 

it was actually a smaller event that i anticipated.  looking at the registered bib numbers, there were 97 solo 50k runners, 6 pair relays, and 7 team relays.  Jess brought a lawn chair, we set up our gear in a corner of the gear tent.  it worked well.  Jess took the first lap.  it was pretty crowded (the 5 and 10 mile runners doing 1 or 2 loops were pretty thick).  i took the second lap, when things really started to open up.  it was mostly light for my lap, and i was able to get the feel of the trail.  it was not very technical (mostly horse trails through the woods) but was fairly muddy.  after Jess took lap 3, my next lap was fully dark.  it was a little slower because i hit every bit of mud (no getting around it in the dark at speed).  it got pretty lonesome fast as we got down to only the 50k'ers out there.  i really felt alone for most of my run.  maybe passed 3-5 runners each lap, but never saw anybody in between.  for my final lap i chugged a noxplode and tried to open it up.  not a lot of gas in the tank, but my 3rd lap was only a minute or so slower than my first lap (when i was fresh and it was light out).

after every lap i ran, i was able to change into dry shirts, eat some food, drink some water, sit in the chair or stand next to the propane heater, and just generally recover.  I ate half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a cup or so of trail mix, and a Gu Roctane after each lap.  i wore one pair of shoes/socks for the first 2 laps, then switched out to the clean and dry pair for the final lap.  my new headlamp was just fine, i didn't bother to bring the flashlight. 

No, we did not win.  For dual teams, we came in 3rd.  The winning team was Uli Steidl and his wife Trish.  Uli has won the Seattle marathon something like 10 times.  The Steidls set the Bridle Trails 50k relay Course Record 10 years ago, and came back to set a new one on Saturday night.  They spanked us royally.  But the 2nd place team was only 14 minutes ahead of us (only about 30 seconds per mile faster).  The next team after us was about an hour longer than us.  So I think we held our own.  More importantly, though, we both had a blast.

so in retrospect I think the plan worked out as expected.  having some recovery time let me run each lap almost fresh.  i didn't see any real loss in performance from the 1st lap to the 3rd.  but it was difficult.  getting cold and stiff after each lap was cumulative.  my lower back was really aching by my final lap.  i got really stiff and sore, and i really felt it the next morning when i went out for my recovery run.  stiff/sore hips/hamstrings/lower back.  but in all this was a really fun run, and i had a great time.  i think i picked up some valuable experience that will help me pack my gear bags for the gear drop areas of the gorge waterfall 50k in march.

1/8/14. surprise. How about a dual relay 50K trail run on Saturday night?

all right, well sometimes a race just falls in your lap.

my good friend Jess emailed me about a 50K dual relay trail run coming up this weekend.  team of 2, take turns running a 5.2 mile loop of trail run, hand off the bib/tracker to your partner so they can run their lap.  50K, 31.1 miles total, 15.6 miles each.  6 laps total, 3 each.  it starts in late afternoon so it will rapidly get dark in the woods.  a relay trail run with headlamps and flashlights.  she brought the idea up tuesday afternoon, asking if i wanted to run with her in this saturday night race.  this is pretty short flow, and i'm more of a long term planner (pretty detail oriented).  so this is little out of character for me, but i'm gonna do it.

http://www.seattlerunningclub.org/Events/Bridle/bridle.html

I'm really excited, this should be a lot of fun.  its a little hard to plan for (and not much time for planning).  i have experience gearing up for a marathon.  i have plans on how I will equip my drop bags for the gorge waterfall 50k.  but planning for a 50k dual relay (25k each) where i will likely run an hour, rest an hour, run an hour, and so on, is kind of strange.  get real hot and sweaty, then stand around in the dark and cold for an hour, repeat 3 times.  I guess in addition to my headlamp and flashlight, I will need a gear bag with food, warm/dry clothes, 2nd pair of shoes, blanket, maybe even a camp chair.  since its going to be 3 separate runs, I'm actually thinking of maybe not wearing my camelbak or even carrying any water on the trail.  maybe I'll just stockpile some food and water at the waiting area.  but i couldn't resist going and buying a new headlamp last night.  i had done some comparison shopping back before christmas, and then decided i didn't really need it.  i had selected Black Diamond as the manufacturer, and then reviewed the Cosmo, the Spot, the Storm, and the Revolt. I considered brightness vs weight vs projection distance vs battery life.  No one product is the best at everything, but I selected the Spot as the best compromise.  130 lumens (on max), 70m beam distance (on max), 50 hr run time (on max), 3 AAA batteries, 3.25 ounces.  Ran over to REI last night and picked one up.  It's awesome.  i went into a dark room and compared the beam to my old headlamp (TJMaxx special).  it was like day and night.  I wore the Spot on my 8 mile run at 5am this morning, just to make sure there were no issues.  I used the light a few times, but mostly turned it off to save the batteries.  i was really just wearing it to see how it felt, adjust the strap, make sure i could stand it, etc.  You never want to try your new gear on race day.  The Spot seemed like it will work out fine.

this is going to be so awesome.  I'm getting really stoked just thinking about it.  50K trail dual relay at night, in 2 days...

1/7/15. wed. just another "hilly" run...

55 min "hilly" run.  I think i hit all the elevation change mukilteo has to offer.  it was as tough of a training run as i have ever done.  It was chilly (37 degrees), and it was really dark and foggy.  so dark and foggy, in fact, i had to slow down my downhill runs because I couldn't see the ground.  I was afraid I'd trip and sprawl into the road. 

i ran down the big hill from my house to the lighthouse park boat launch (and dipped my fingers in the Puget Sound), just so i could say i hit zero elevation (sea level), then i ran all the way up the speedway.  this is a long haul.  at the mukilteo lodge i turned left and ran up the hill I used to do my 400m hill repeats on (this is a really steep .25 mile, probably the steepest in town, worse than a 12% grade).  after an upper loop and down, i even ran up the hill by OV middle school.  my avg pace was *so* slow, due to all the uphill.  this was so hard.  Now I'm ravenous, and my entire lower body aches.  even the bottoms of my feet hurt, maybe from the downhill impact?

in retrospect, 740 feet of elevation gain doesn't sound like all that much.  but this was hard.  so hard.  looking at the elevation data, my long haul up the speedway was basically 600 ft of elevation gain in 2 miles.  just brutal.  wednesday runs (hill repeats alternate weeks with "hilly" runs) are really a workout.  fast becoming the day I worry about the most.  when wed goes to 70 minutes, all bets are off.

1325 in 2014

so i was reviewing my data from 2014.  I ran 1325 miles in 2014.  and 4 of those months were not even training months (avg'd less than 20 miles/week in Jan, Feb, Oct, Nov - the 2 months before and 2 months after Berlin training).  I remember every step of every mile.  distances, elevations, temperatures, miles.  From short runs to long runs, hill repeats to sprint intervals, peaceful relaxing trail runs to angry elevation mask grinds.  from Long Beach WA, to Mukilteo, to Myrtle Beach SC, to Berlin, Germany.  From early spring running on the foggy beaches of the OR/WA coastline, to late fall miles along the River Spree between East and West Berlin.  from cold and rainy and snowy to hot and humid.  midday broiling shirtless runs to 5am freezing trail runs with headlamps and flashlights.  It was a long, eventful year.  I'm proud of how it went - i set a goal to run in the Berlin Marathon, I ran my miles per plan, and I traveled alone, farther than i have ever gone, and ran it.

now i am about 4 weeks into my ultra plan, with 12 weeks to go.  things are settling into a rhythm, and i can kind of see the patterns.  every tues morning i run 50 minutes.  wed alternates hilly or hill repeats, and the duration increases each week.  every thurs morning i run 75 minutes.  every sat is the long run, right now it inches up by 2 miles a week.  every sunday is an hour on the trail.  I still hit the gym Mondays and Thursdays.  like i said, settling into a rhythm.  by my best estimates, my weekly mileage will top out at week 12 with about 50-55 miles.  that is just unbelievable.  I can't wait to see if I can keep it up.

so far so good.

12/16-17/14. tues, wed. 50 min easy pace, 3x600m hill repeats

tuesday.  up at 0440, out the door by 0453.  plan called for a 45-60 min easy pace run.  i ran for approx 25 minutes, turned around and looped back.  50:50 elapsed, roughly 8:41 min/mile moving pace, very comparable to last week's easy pace.  5.85 miles total.  it was pretty warm, and i felt pretty good.  I actually saw a lot of people out (relatively).  2 runners, 1 walker, 1 run/walker.  i usuallly have the sidewalks completely to myself.   when i was going to come up on someone and pass them, i tried to announce myself and give them some warning, rather than just  sneak up on them and startle them.  Just a day to put in some miles.

wed.  had a little trouble getting out of bed.  alarm at 0440, in bed until 0450, still out the door just after 0500.  plan was for hill repeats.  3x600m.  i didn't have a specific hill/distance mapped out, but i knew 600m is approx .40 miles.  So i picked the steepest downhill i could find from my house, with some length.  the hill i used to use for my 400m repeats is awesome, but levels off after that 400m.  so i ran to oldtown at the bottom of the hill (approx a mile from my door).  turned around, ran up it until the GPS watch said i covered .40 miles,  ran back down, and repeated.  but on the third climb, i just kept on going back up the hill towards home.  this run truly sucked.  worst. 5k. ever.  approx 500ft of elevation gain over the 3.15 miles. that hill from oldtown mukilteo up towards my neighborhood (lincoln ave) just sucks for an uphill run.  I guess I will keep this route for my hill climbs. I also contemplated just running up/down the hill from the ferry dock (muk speedway) but it just doesn't seem steep enough.  i wore my heart rate monitor.  I like to check out the heart rate data during intervals and hill repeats. my recovery seems to be impacted by the number of repeats.  the more repeats, my HR cannot return to the baseline.  this trend gets worse as intervals/repeats add up.  I think the ability to fully recover is a good measure of cardiovascular health.  it looks like i need some work..

12/13-14/14. Saturday-Sunday. Long road run, 1 hr trail run.

The plan has me running both weekend days.  typically a long run saturday, followed by a medium effort 1 hour run on sunday.  i have decided that as much as possible, i will do the long run on the road and the 1 hr run on the trail.  trail is quite a bit slower (due to elevation, trail conditions, etc).  I don't have the time to spare to do my long runs on trail, but this seems like a good compromise.  i feel that when training for a specific run (like trail), some of your time should be spent running on those conditions.  if i trained flat and level running for 16 weeks (like on a track) and then went to do my ultra, it would seriously kick my ass.  not that it won't kick my ass anyways, but hopefully less so if i run some trails as much as possible. 

saturday was 10 miles.  doesn't sound like much in the grand scheme of things, but 10 miles is still 10 miles.  nothing to brush off.  this is the first week of the plan, and starting with 10 on a saturday feels reasonable.  felt pretty good doing it.  ran the same looping route i ran last saturday.  i really ought to try and branch out and find some more variety to my local runs.  try something new. 

sunday was 1 hour on trail, ended up with just over 5 miles.  this was a good run.  the sun came out, and it was cold and clear (maybe 37 degrees).  just beautiful on the trail.  this might be the last week I can get away with running without pants (well, the second week in december is a pretty good hold out for shorts).  thanks to last weeks wind and rain storms, the trails were a mess.  really really muddy, and lots of trees/branches down across the trail.  i did my share of clearing the trail, and climbed over anything that was too big to move.  I felt good on the trail, and actually saw a lot of people (maybe 4-6 over the course of the hour).  I'm glad i could take the time to run on the trail.  I wish every run felt this good, and gave me such a sense of accomplishment.  although i have friends that say they want to try running some trails, when it comes time to give it a go it just doesn't seem to work out.  oh well, their loss - i'm going out no matter what.

so in retrospect, this was a 34 mile week.  in comparison, it took me until week 19 of my berlin plan before I hit 34 miles in week.  so if i call week 1 of this plan roughly comparable to week 19 of the berlin plan, i may have my hands full this time.

12/11/14. Thurs. 1:15 of running...

wow. that was a lot for a thursday morning.  the plan called for 1:15-1:30, at easy pace.  i ran 1:15:02.  2 seconds longer than i intended.  approx 8 miles.  i would venture to say that was my highest mileage thursday ever, and definitely my highest mileage 5am run.  in my peak Berlin training weeks i was only hitting 5 on thurs mornings.

so i will get into an issue that affects many distance runners, GI tract issues.  seriously, if you are afraid of TMI regarding bathroom issues, stop now and come back tomorrow.

scientifically, i have read that distance running causing additional blood flow to your extremities.  all the extra work requires blood flow to your legs, feet, swinging arms, etc.  a side effect is that blood flow is diverted from your digestive system.  without the ability to digest and absorb nutrients efficiently, your body wants to just get rid of the dead weight.  in layman's terms, i guess your whole digestive systems screams "i'm getting shaken up like hell, i can't do my job, get this shit out of here."  literally.

Not a problem on my typical early am mid-week short runs.  by the time my gut figures out what is going on (3-4 miles in) I am typically back home and getting on with my day.  not a problem on my weekend long runs, either.  I get up, drink some coffee, eat some breakfast, give my system a chance to move the mail.  no problems that 2-3 cups of coffee won't get going.

but my new training plan puts long runs in the early am on weekdays.  a recipe for disaster.  everything i ate the day before has had a chance to work its way through overnight in my sleep.  and then it hides in waiting, just waiting for the worst opportunity available.  twice this week i practically limped home in a cold sweat with the poopy cramps.  serious GI anguish.  waves of constriction and pressure, cold sweat while running.  audible intestinal distress.  this morning was the worst so far.    about 2.5 miles in, i starting thinking, "hmm, that's an uncomfortable feeling".  by 4 miles in, i was seriously feeling like i was having labor pains.  cold sweat. waves of pressure/pain. groaning out loud.  not sure i was going to make it to somewhere safe, warm, well-lit, and intended for the purpose. luckily I was able to run/hobble into the Y and desecrate the men's room.  nothing particularly out of the ordinary.  firm solid BM, practically no need to wipe, probably 5 pounds.  but a terribly close call.

i have a good mental inventory of available restrooms/water fountains on my loop runs, but there's not a lot of choices on my route at 5am. and honestly, when i get out of bed i am just not ready.  and i don't intend to get up at 4am three days a week, just so i can drink some coffee and purge before running.  I guess I'm either going to be visiting the Y most mornings, or start carrying some wet wipes in a ziplock in my jacket pocket (its best i not get into any more details of plan B).

12/10/14. wed. the "hilly" run

the plan called for a 45 min "hilly" run.  my neighborhood and town have plenty of local hills, that often i try to go out of my way to avoid.  lets just say that I have decided a "hilly" run was a horrible way to start the morning.  really.  this run wrecked me.  I can drop my shit and go run a half marathon, any time.  I might get sore in my legs and stiff and tight.  but it doesn't wreck me like this.  a few hours later I got all hungry and shaky and sore and tired.  this was a workout.  i guarantee my heart rate was way high for some time.  this was far more exertion than a normal run.

now, looking at the data, it doesn't look so tough.  it ended up being only about 600 feet of elevation gain (and 600 feet of elevation loss) over almost 5 miles, in 45 minutes.  trying to break this down, imagine running around a standard high school track (1/4 mile loop).  imagine every lap, the track has an elevation rise like going up a 3 story building and then back down 3 stories, in that quarter mile.  roughly 30 feet elevation gain and 30 feet elevation loss for every 1/4 mile, 20 times in a row.  it was horrible.  at one point, in the dark, the hill I was running up was so steep I actually stumbled because i didn't lift my foot high enough to step forward (like tripping going up stairs).  then on another downhill i rolled my ankle, which is still bothering me.  it was a sharp pain, and ached for a while.  I ran it off, and eventually it seemed better.  but it doesn't feel "right" and I'm a little worried about it.

but that was the "workout" run of the week.  this plan alternates wednesdays as "hilly" runs or hill intervals.  and the "hilly" run get successively longer by 5 minutes each week they come up.  all bad.  but good for their purpose, i guess.

12/9/14. Tuesday. AMMAP run. (as many miles as possible)

so today's run was a little new for me.  in an average week of this new plan, 3-4 of the 5 running days are for a set time, rather than a set mileage.  It is an interesting way to run.  my day called for 45-60 minutes at an easy pace.  So i figured I would set out in my general run direction, run for approx 25 minutes, then turn back and head home.  I guestimated that my typical avg pace of 8:30 min/mile ought to get me to about 5.9 miles.  So I decided to use my 6 mile loop, but to turn back if i hit 25 min before the typical loop turn-back.  there were some opportunities for error because my routes are loops, not really out and back.  so the second "half" is sometimes a little more than half, etc.  But i tried to be casual about it, just get out there and run, and not worry too much.  with a total time in mind, and an instruction to run "easy" i felt like i was running really slow, jogging even.  turns out this was in my head, because my avg pace was once again 8:30 min/mile.  I ran out until approx 25 minutes, then turned around and followed a different loop on the way back. when i hit the usual stopping point, about 2 tenths of a mile from home, i stopped.  i typically walk that last .20 miles as my "cool down".  plus it has a really awful hill that i hate to hit when i'm on my last legs.  When I stopped, I was at 49 minutes and at 5.77 miles.  pretty good adherence to the plan. 

it was really difficult to try and think about times while running.  I have run the same loops so many times, i have distances in my head.  how many miles to each landmark.  how many tenths of a mile between other landmarks.  but when i tried to estimate how long it would take me to get to each location i was all over the place.  time passed really slowly.  if i thought it would take me 5 minutes to get somewhere, it was more like 2 minutes.  it was weird.

i guess this style will allow me to tailor my plan week by week.  maybe staying on my feet for the set amount of time will help build the toughness and the endurance.  if i hit a super long sat training run for more than 20 miles and my body is trashed, my runs for a set time the next week may be lower mileage than the previous week.  as an example, I could see tuesdays being a faster 60 min run for 7 miles, or a slower 45 min run for 4.5 miles.  either of which would be "on plan".  it will be interesting to watch my mileage accumulation day by day, week by week, and see the totals.  with 16 weeks ahead of me, i just gotta trust that this will get me to the end.

12/8/14. Monday. here we go again.

today marks day 1 of week 1 of my ultra-marathon training plan.  This is a big deal to me personally.  This will be uncharted territory.  ultra-marathon trail run.  31.1 miles of trail (often technical), 6000 feet of elevation gain. this is a really big goal.  but I am going to try to approach this one a little differently than I did the Berlin Marathon.  this is no spectacle, no party trick.  No hoopla, no count down.  just running miles and working out per a plan, to get me to the finish line on March 29, 2015.  I just want to be able to do it.

Post Berlin.  I basically WOD'd for the month of October.  Then in November, I wanted to re-establish that base of mileage that would let me jump right into the running plan in december.  so for a few weeks i ran 4 days a week and worked out 3 days a week.  then i bumped it up to 5 days running and 3 days in the gym.  the last few weeks i have slowly increased the long run, to get it up into the half-marathon range.  I have been running long on road on saturdays, then for about an hour on trail on sundays.

Its kind of against my nature, but i am going to try to be more casual and organic with this training plan.  if it ever comes down to it and i can't make a training run, i'm going to try not to obsess about it.  I'm going to do my best, but I don't need to sweat it too bad when i need to tweak the plan.  if the coach can't make it too the gym in time to open it up, i'm not going to send nasty emails and complain about the inconvenience and the impact to my training plan. i'm going to try and roll with it and just keep going.  relentless forward progress.  it will all be OK in the end.

Ultramarathon training plans are not nearly as common and as easily found as marathon training plans.  and there's not a lot of feedback/reviews of the plans out there.  I chose the plan found at http://cdn.running.competitor.com/files/2012/11/46_nat_r1.pdf    I'm going to do the weekday runs and saturday long run on road, and the sunday hour run on trail.  I will move the Tues "core" to Monday morning (5:30am), because Tuesdays evening are hectic right now.  as far as what the plan calls "core" workouts, I am going to use the (2) strength workouts i put together for Berlin (leg muscles complementary to running, core/abs, upper body).  when the miles stack up, and my energy wanes, I may drop back down to calisthetics twice a week, then once a week.  but its a rough plan that i intend to base my running on.

I hit the gym this morning at 5:30am.  strict presses. pull ups. bench presses.  GHD sit ups. GHD back extensions.  nothing special, felt good.  in and out in about an hour.  we'll see how long i can keep with the weights.  I missed the barbell during Berlin training.

so here we go...

11/13/14. so i won the lottery again, or how i begin to plan for my first 50K.

so i won another lottery, but its an different situation this time.  it's long been a personal stretch goal of mine to run my first ultramarathon trail run.  I have thought about this one over and over the last few years, and just thought it was too far and not something i could ever do.  i remember when i ran my first mile on Tuesday, 5/17/2011 (walked most of it, actually).  Shortly thereafter, I read a book by Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner.  i was awestruck.  the ultra sounded like the coolest thing in the world, and it sounded like something i would never ever be able to do.  seriously.  i was not a athlete, I had never played a sport, I had never had fitness as a priority, and i hadn't run a mile since my senior year in high school (when 1 mile was required to pass gym class and graduate).  an ultramarathon?  might as well say that at age 41 i decided to become an astronaut and fly to the moon.  unrealistic at best. 

But after what i've done the last several years, I'm kind of feeling like anybody, with proper training, can run a marathon.  I'm living, breathing, running, proof of that.  but now i want to see if i can go farther.  so anything over 26.2 miles is technically an ultra, but 50km is the first real increment that is recognized as an ultra.  i won the registration lottery and i'm registered for the Gorge Waterfalls 50K trail run in Oregon, March 29, 2015 (next spring). it runs 50km point to point along the columbia river gorge, lots of technical single track trails, approx 6000 feet of positive elevation gain, by and through a bunch of waterfalls.  it looks like an incredible experience.  this ultra trail run is no World Marathon Majors.  its limited to about 250 runners.  its 50km (31.1 miles), through the woods, trails, and waterfalls, lots of elevation gain.  i am not going to worry about time, or pace, or place.  this is totally for the hell of it, and totally for me.  I'm not going to create a bunch of pressure for this event, no countdown, no frenzy.  its this simple - I want to test my strength and my endurance and my will, and i want to do it on the most memorable ultramarathon trail run i can find.  I'm doing this for me and i want to have a great run.  i want to enjoy this, as much as you can enjoy running in the woods for somewhere between 6-9 hours.

its not to say i won't have a training plan.  and i will likely end up running more miles per week than i did preparing for Berlin.  but there won't be any self-inflicted pressure/concerns regarding a PR when its my first ultra.  plus, every ultra event is different.  you can't compare Lord Hill to Grand Ridge to Cougar Mountain to Orcas Island to the Gorge Waterfall.  they all ultras, but they are all different.  different trails, different elevation gains, different circumstances.  the only common factor is the net distance.  I am going to run 50K, i don't care how long it takes to finish, and i am going to do this for me.

but even so, i still have that feeling, the one where you feel like you are on a roller coaster, just about to top the crest of the hill, and you can see the free fall coming fast.  so exciting.

the run: http://www.rainshadowrunning.com/gorge-waterfalls-50k.html

a course preview video (this is awesome) : http://vimeo.com/109987928

9/28/14. The Berlin Marathon.

that's it, my training plan is complete and my race is run.  i started this journal to track my progress, and now i'm done.  so it seems right to finish one more entry.

my trip was absolutely awesome.  exploring berlin on foot for a week was one of the most incredible adventures I have ever had.  the city is so full of history and character that i could have buried myself in it for a month and not seen it all.  but in the time i gave myself, i covered a lot of ground and i really got to see some incredible places.  I feel so incredibly fortunate to have done this.  truly this was an experience i will remember and treasure forever.

my race.  well, i didn't make a new PR.  i trained for so long and so hard, to the exclusion of so much else in my life, and i just couldn't do it.  when my GPS said i hit 26.2 miles, I was already at 3:55:04 (3 and a half minutes longer than my PR), and then it took me until 3:59:38 to actually cross the finish line.  I was very disappointed in myself.  with all my incremental test races along my training plan, i constantly set new PRs.  I have been running faster and stronger than i have ever run before, and i truly felt i was physically and mentally capable of setting a new PR in Berlin.  i felt strong, and i felt good, but i guess my training couldn't overcome the situation.  with over 40,000 registered runners, it was the most crowded clusterf*ck i have every taken part in.  there were 8 start corrals, but they actually started the run in only 3 waves.  3 waves for over 40,000 runners.  and as the race stretched out, when you would expect the field to open up and give you the opportunity to really start running, the course also narrowed down.  oftentimes the course seemed to be narrowed down to a single lane of road.  so i was stuck in a wave based on my previous PR, and i ended up finishing in a consistent manner.  there was constant running video taken at multiple points during the whole marathon.  they created a custom video link for each runner, based on their splits with relation to the mileage location of the camera.  long story short, here is a screen capture of the 25k mark (15.5 miles), just to show you how crowded it was.  you can see me just trapped, boxed in.  seriously, thats more than halfway through the marathon, and it was still jam-packed around me. 

that picture is what my entire run felt like.  when you're tired and it hurts to keep going, it gets harder and harder to push your way through people and more difficult to try to go out of your way to circle around them.  in fact, the last 3-5 miles were the worst.  people were dropping out, just coming to a dead stop right in the middle of the lane.  i full on physically ran into people that just stopped in front of me.  at the last refreshment point, i was forced to slow down to a walk because of the choke point.  so i grabbed a water, walked/pushed my through the crowd, and started running again.  it was an awesome course, and it was a beautiful day for a run, but it was just hard. 

but the big picture is my life, not one race.  when i entered the lottery for Berlin, and won the right to register, i set 2 goals for myself.  my bare minimum was to finish another full marathon staying at least sub 4 hours, and i set myself a strech goal of setting a new PR.  i didn't reach my stretch goal, but i am calling myself a success.  the only person i can't beat is myself.  i have learned that running on 2 drastically different courses just can't be compared.  a slightly downhill trail run in virgin PNW woods with a field of 200 runners can't be compared to a fairly level World Majors urban road run with 40,000 runners.  i feel like a better athlete and a better person for having done this.  win or lose, setting a goal for myself, creating and following a plan to get there, and dealing with the roadblocks and failures along the way just makes me a better and stronger person.  it was hard for me not to hit a PR, especially with so many friends and fmaily watching and rooting for me.  and if you don't know me well, i am my own worst critic.  so when i felt like i failed, i decided to look back i what i have done in the last year.  setting a true stretch goal, one that felt physically impossible, working so hard, and sacrificing so much.  at least i f*cking tried, and I am proud of myself with this outcome.  I am am better person for having done this, than if i was too have done nothing over the last 11 months.  I'm 44 years old, and i'm healthier and fitter than i have ever been in my entire life.  i have no reason to stop now.

so what's next?  i don't feel like i need to run another World Marathon Majors event.  I did it, and it was incredible, but I don't need to do it again.  knowing that i just can't run faster, i guess whats left is to go farther?  so a little rest and recovery.  then back to the gym, maybe try to make up for some of my lost muscle mass.  spend some time working out with my friends again.  and next year?  maybe 2015 will be the year of the 50K ultramarathon trail run.  full on.  thanks for following me.

9/27/14. Saturday. The last 2 miles...

Well, that's it. I ran my last 2 miles. That's as far as Hal will get me. The rest of the way, I am on my own.

There was a breakfast run from the castle to the Olympic stadium this morning with a breakfast provided. But it was longer than my plan called for, and would have left me about 10km from the hotel. Nothing insurmountable, but I felt it wasn't worth it. I have done too much walking around and exploring the last few days and my legs are already knotted up and sore. Best to stick to the plan and run my short last run.

The roads near the marathon route are closed off this morning because they are having an in-line skating version of the marathon today. I guess it's a big deal, but not quite as big as the marathon itself. So I ran a very scenic river walk path along the river Spree. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and cool, maybe 55 degrees at most.  Just fantastic conditions. Not crowded at all.  I just wanted to keep on going and see what was around the next bend. Over and over. When I hit the 1 mile mark, it was difficult to turn back. I know I will likely never have the chance to see what was around the next curve in the river. Such is life.

I felt pretty good running.  Winded myself a little, but I think I was running too fast. The excitement and the taper made me just want to go go go. I should have no trouble with this tomorrow though.  With 40000 people running, probably 30000 of them in front of me, I will have no chance to burn up out of the gate.  I anticipate at least 15-20 km of elbow to elbow crowd.  I hope it moves along at a pace faster than a walk. I really do so much better on my own.

This is the last entry in my training journal, before then hammer comes down.  This has been an incredible experience, and the last 11 months have just rocketed by. I can't believe I'm here, and I can't believe it's come down to this.  Less than 24 hours until I give it my all.

Part animal, part machine, remain calm, prepare to destroy.

Just a wake-up. 0 miles to the start line.

9/24/14. 4 miles in germany.

Yeah, 4 miles. That only counts the run. Then I walked and walked and walked. I couldnt help myself. I would see something cool ahead I wanted to see and start walking. And then something else. And again. And again. Berlin is such a bizarre mix of building and architecture. Crazy 60s Bauhaus apartment complex next to a castle? Brand new high tech glass and steel sprouting out of the top of a huge old stone building. The Brandenburg gate. The victory statue, which brought tears to my eyes when I ran past it. I probably walked 15 miles, which was a mistake. I'm tired and my legs/back/knees are sore. No more siteseeing. It's only Wednesday. I can still recover.  Although its Wednesday night, and I haven't slept since Monday night back in mukilteo. I'm about to collapse. 

Tomorrow is the expo. I'll learn to take the subway. Then no extra walking and seeing things. Friday I have no plans. That could be a problem. Then Saturday, 2 mile run. 

3 and a wake up. 2 more miles to the start line. 

9/23/14. last 4 miles on US soil.

that's it.  i ran my last 4 miles on US soil.  this is about to get very real, very quickly.  like when i roll out in about 30 minutes, that kind of real.

got a lot on my mind.
1) goddam root canal.  i thought i was done, and last night's appnt was just a check up.  when i sat down, i said "so what are we in for today?".  to my dismay, the answer was "the 2nd half of the procedure, so prepare to get numbed up".  that was hell. 8 shots of novacain. more drilling, scraping, packing, filling.  another Rx for antibiotics and pain-killers.  head and tooth are throbbing again. how can i relax and taper and prep and recover when my body keep getting this dental trauma.  argh!
2) my best friend in the world is in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, related to a sports injury a few weeks back.  that's serious, but i know he's in the right place.  hey, i know you probably won't be reading this, but if you do, you know that I did all of this, in fact i did any any of this, because you asked me to.  thanks for the USMC Mud Run. 

oh well.  the cards are dealt, now i play my hand.  off on an adventure, on foreign soil, running solo. 

4 and a wake-up. 6 miles to the start line.