Old Man Still running

Finally got home after driving 3,150 miles to and from Houston for my daughter's reception.  It was nice to spend a week traveling alone with my wife.  First time in 28 years without kids around.   I had planned to do some running, but only did a treadmill run in a hotel.  The weather was pretty cold each morning I wanted to go out, near zero. 

Once home, the weather was so nice that I went out running with the dog in the snow.  That dog sure loves snow.  Ran up into the foothills.  Gee, that was my first time on the trails since my 83 miles in the Grand Canyon.   I enjoyed it.  It is time to get back in shape and lose this holiday weight.

Driving by Huntsville State Park, north of Houston, really got me itching to run Rocky Raccoon 100 next month.  We'll see.

Lost an hour sleep last night due to an earthquake that hit just three miles north of my home.  It was 2.9 and only 0.2 miles deep.   It sounded like a truck drove through our house.  Our backyard goes up against Redwood Road so we always hear big trucks go by that rattle the windows a little, but this was different.  I heard the water pipes in the wall rattling like crazy.  I yelled out, "What was that?"   The dog also was startled and jumped up barking like crazy.  My wife said, "It must be an earthquake, the whole house was shaking."   That got me really worried because I knew Cedar City got hit by a 4.1 yesterday.  I wondered if they got hit by a really big one that we felt.  My daughter is down there at school.   My wife went back to sleep but I worried.  So I got up and checked the USG site on the internet.  Wow, it was centered in our town.   We also had one a few years ago that I didn't feel.  

Did miles on the treadmill this morning.   The knee still is an issue but not bad enough to go get an MRI.   The pain calms down after five miles.  It will be a worry until I do my next ultra to test it out.   I ruled out running Rocky Raccoon 100 next month.  It would cost me $500 minimum.  I just can't afford it now.

Treadmill

Treadmill

More treadmill.  After six miles I finally got warmed up and enjoyed the rest of the time.   Watched small airboats be launched onto the Utah Lake ice.  I guess it is time to go do some ice runs. 

Running motivation rather low with the cold weather and smog.  The knee is a worry and will likely limit me this year.   Just mild pain when I run and it goes away when I stop.   I need to test it out on a very long run to see if it swells.   Trying to lose weight.  Lost about four pounds of the holiday gain so far.

Race plans for 2010 still uncertain.  Right now I'm leaning NOT to try to get in Hardrock 100 this year.  The cost and time investment is just daunting.   I entered the Wasatch 100 lottery.   I'm really thinking of doing more adventure run this year instead of so many races.   I've been planning a week-long backpack trip with my buddies in August to the Uintas, Mount Lovenia area, very removte.   I've run through there once.   I'd love to run the Uinta trail end-to-end again sometime this year.

P.M.

I ran out on frozen Utah Lake with the dog.  It feels pretty solid, but not quite as thick as last year.  There is about two inches of snow on the surface.  In some places the ice would depress very slightly because of my weight causing a crack in the snow layer to appear, but not the ice.   I couldn't find any thin ice away from the shore.  There were plenty of tracks around including snow mobile tracks.   We ran about five miles.  The dog had a blast and probably ran ten miles total.  Check out the photo album on facebook.

Treadmill miles.   Its getting easier.  I stayed at marathon pace for most of it and never was breathing hard.

Well, I signed up for Rocky Raccoon 100 early next month in Texas.   Funny how that instantly gives me motivation to train harder.

Treadmill miles, good workout, boring.  Looks like two newbies, probably New Years Resolution workouters are being very consistent at coming into the rec room at 5 a.m., so I have some early company.   I've been too nice about not turning on the TV to sports stuff.  I'm getting too bored, I guess I will have to turn it on.  They don't have headphones set up for it.  I've resisted outdoor running this week because of the terrible smog, and down my my house at near the lake, morning temps have been about 5 degrees.

The knee seems to be behaving better, giving me hope that it can just be managed.  The pain is minor for ten miles.  My guess is I won't even notice it later into a 100-mile run because so many other things will be much more painful.   Got to love a sport were you prioritize pain.

Treadmill miles.  Listened to sports radio, that dulled the boredom better.  No knee pain today!.  I think the knee is recovering and getting stronger with consistent daily running.

Signed up for another 100.  Tahoe Rim 100 in July.  It's the USATF and RRCA 100-mile national championships.  Last year I won the 50+ age group.  I need to go defend the title.  Since I signed up for this race, I won't try to get in Hardrock 100 (also in July).   Maybe another year.

Treadmill miles, bunch of incline.

A mental endurance workout, 21 on the treadmill.   I saw three groups of people come and go from the rec center and I kept on going.  When I reached 10 miles, I had warmed up and felt fine, so I just kept on going.  Listened to podcasts of old-time radio, Jack Benny, watched Sports Center, and listened to music, looking out on frozen Utah Lake with the smog draping it.

The workout was a no-carb workout, so I burned some good calories.   My body is pretty used to running for three hours without food.   I've lost 7 pounds since New Years, and almost back down to my usual weight.  I would like to lose 5 more before RR100.   Mile knee pain still their. The pain goes down if their is less weight on it.  Hmmm, Maybe I should probably start working out with treking poles again, to get used to them again.  Those really help reduce the weight on knees. They could really help.   I also need more training with fast power hiking.  My walking pace is too slow.

Rocky Raccoon 100 is now the focus in less than three weeks.   It is a 20-mile loop that is run five times in Huntsville State Park, near Houston.  I ran it in 2005 and 2008.   I have yet to break 24 hours there, but I should if the knee holds up.

So, today, I ran 20 miles on the dreadmill. I ran the first 16 miles at marathon pace but then had to back off because the knee started to ache.  Shoot.  I backed off to 10:00 miles which is a more sustainable pace for RR100.  I finished my 20 miles in 2:45, which is much faster than I will do a loop at Rocky.  (My fastest loop there is 3:08). But my workout was pretty tough, because I threw in some tough inclines to punish me.   The treadmill thinks I climbed 3,000 feet and burned 3,500 calories.  It was pretty funny, at mile 16, the guy cleaning the rec room said, "you still here, how far are you going?"  I said I didn't know, but had gone 16 miles.   I heard gasps from the others working out.

I did this workout as another no-carb run.  I've been asked why I do no-carb workouts.  My theory is that it helps my body handle running stress better, and it can make the transition to fat-burning very easily.  For some people, when the body needs to start burning fat, they bonk (hit the wall).  So, my theory is it helps me.  But it also helps get lose some weight.  The danger of it, is that I get very comfortable running without calorie intake during 100s, and tend not to eat enough.   I really have to monitor that and try to take in 250-300 per hour during a race.   If I don't, after 14 hours or so I'm in danger of a major bonk.   That happened last year at Wasatch 100 and JJ100.  It then takes a couple hours or more to recover.   I pulled out  of it in both cases and finished fine.

Tough treadmill workout.   Ran steady at about 7:40-mile pace with 5% incline with some bursts to 10%.  Seven miles in less than an hour.  Felt good and strong.  The knee felt fine, I think it is getting stronger.

P.M.

Another treadmill workout similar to the morning.

Treadmill, 7:30 pace

This was my last long run before Rocky Raccoon 100 in two weeks.  28 miles of mental torture on the treadmill.   Started at 5 a.m. Actually, it wasn't too bad.  If I hit the treadmill first thing in the morning when I'm still sleepy, my mind doesn't get bored fast.   I guess I sleep run for the first hour of so.  I did keep the lights off at the rec center.   The first person showed up at about 6:45, so I had the place to myself for awhile.   People came and went, and I kept on running.

I hit the marathon mark around 3:40, felt fine and just kept going for a couple more miles.  The knee did  start to ache around mile 26, which is 10 mile further than last week.  So that is good.  It seems to be making progress. It was nice to spend four hours on the feet.   Things held up pretty good.

I did this as another no-carb run, so I was a little hungry at the end.  The view out on the lake was beautiful after the storm.  The were a cool bank of fog stretching up and down the lake, looking like a snowy hill in the middle of the lake.

I don't feel too guilty about not running outdoors in the cold.  I think running at 70-75 degrees is good for my training right now, because the last time I ran RR100, the heat in the 70s affected me.   Since I'm not running trails right now, I'm trying to do some ankle exercises now and then.

More Treadmill.  7:30 pace.   Did several 1/2 miles at 8-9% incline at that pace.  Got the heart pumping fast.

Planning on running my yearly 5K on Saturday at Saltair.   I'll be sucking wind because I don't do any speed training.  But still, last year I won the 50+ age division.  It makes me feel like a sprinter.

Since I plan to run a 5K on Saturday, I thought it was time to try to get my legs moving at 5K speed.  It has been months since I did anything approaching a 6-minute mile.  So I hopped on the treadmill and ran a 19:59 5K.  I fully understand it is a ton easier on the treadmill, but at least I got my legs moving.  It was really hard the first half mile but then the legs woke up and understood that I was making them turn over fast this morning.   I ended at a 6:10 pace.   After that, the rest of the workout seemed very easy, even a full mile at 7:30 pace with 9% incline.

Treadmill miles

Treadmill at 7:30 pace, some long stretches at 10%.

The day arrived!  This is the day each year when I pretend that I'm a road-runner.  Usually my only 5K for the year.  Last year I won the 50+ age group, but now a year older, I wondered what to expect.   I hate 5Ks.  I despise 5Ks.  They are too fast and I don't train for them.  They are too painful.  I just don't enjoy them.  But I go and torture myself anyway, to pretend that I'm some sort of fast track runner, for at least a day.

I loosened up with 4 miles on the treadmill early morning and then two more miles on the course.  It was nippy this year, below 30 and there was an annoying headwind for the first half.

My first mile was 6:19, about right, but the first half of mile 2 was torture with the headwind.  Stupid me, I should have tucked behind a large runner to block the wind.  I was just trying to hang on.   Mile 2 was a slow 7:00.   It never did feel like I was warmed up.  Usually it takes me 10 miles to really warm up.  No such luxury during a 5K.  I had noticed two old guys pass me about the half-way point, probably in my age group.  I tried and tried to keep up but failed.  Then with one mile to go another old guy caught up.  No way!  I refused to let him pass me.  No, I didn't trip him, but each time he caught up, I put on a burst of speed and put at least 10 yards on him.   Mile 3 was 6:45, better, but still pathetic.   With a tenth to go, the guy again caught up.  I put on a final burst of speed and did finish ahead of him.

20:46 or close to that.   About 23 seconds slower than last year. 3rd place in the 50-54 age group.  I know I have a sub-20 in me, but I would have to train for this distance and I just am not motivated enough to do that.  I can see that I can no longer just show up for these races and hope to win my age group.  To win, I will have to train for the distance.  Age just doesn't stop.

I went home and ran four more miles with the dog.    I now look forward to a more enjoyable distance -- 100 miles on Saturday in Texas.

walk with the dog