Runners: Tearing up the Track, Trail, and Treadmill 6/29/2009 - 7/5/2009

[ab1ht]

New week, new opportunities...

[ab1ht]

Had a lovely run in Cambridge (MA) on Sunday

2009 New Charles River Run

I wore my TNT siglet since I always find myself going alone to these events. Identifying myself as a TNT person tends to attract other TNT people and start conversations. This time around, I met someone about half way through the 7.5M race who is in their first season and training for the same event that I did last year.

We pushed each other and finished at the same time with a time of 1:09:20. That translates to a 9:14 pace, which is FLYING for a penguin like me...

P.S. Dean, TNT is a great way to meet women who like to run

[Fitterly]

Thanks for the thread start Paul! Glad you enjoyed the race! Your time was wonderful. I didn't realize that about women and TNT

Deb, yeah wedding planning is stressful. I definitely have enough time to exercise because I stopped working my two jobs. (well I stopped one of them). After getting my advanced degree I actually kind of felt like I was always on overdrive with my teaching and working and my long commute... now that I've stopped that I have so much more energy to do more! So that's good. Lots of details keep changing but I'm going with the flow as I can.

Deb, your mileage plan sounds good. You're definitely ready for a marathon! You'll do awesome. Back to back runs were always rough for me. If I did too many miles in a row like that I'd send my body into shock. I always did my loooong then a recovery run of about 3-4 miles after. An 8 miler after a 16 miler is difficult and very advanced in my opinion.

Bill, I hope you had a nice time helping out with the race. The temps yesterday here were horrible and it's officially a hot summer now! We've had wonderfull temperate weather all the way up until this weekend. In fact, when I went out running yesterday the air looked like it did when I ran this one 4th of July race-- it had this nasty haze to it that was like nasty HOT heat + humidity. Now I've lived on the east coast and I've never seen weird moisture like that before. I hope that everyone running yesterday was safe!

Anyone doing a 4th of July race? I think I want to do a 5k and a 10k. I wouldn't race them, I'd do both just to get some mileage in before a YUMMY barbeque at my future MIL's!!!

off to take care of wedding emails

[debbiedo]

There is a July 4th 5K here for Autism but I am working and it would be tight finishing the race and going to work. Plus I would be a sweaty mess.

Anyways I am not racing much these says. I do have two races coming up. Both will be more like training runs since they are half marathons. We aren't tapering or anything for these. Our miles still build.

I did 12.2 or so miles yesterday and 6 today. I was only going to do 5 but I added another road in to my run. This route has some hills and alot of grades that going up but not really hills when you think of a hill. I sweat out over 2.5 pounds. That is alot for the time I ran but I was retaining alot of fluid this morning.

I am off to work. Then I am off till Friday.

Paul, sounds like a great race and you are fast!!!!! I see lots of TNT training going on her when we are at Capital Crescent Trail. They have a large group. My brother did it a few years ago for his one and only marathon. He never trained in sunlight and the day of the race he was not used to the sun and he got a burn. It as the Nike Women's Marathon. He walked the majority of the last 10 miles but he did it.

Better go to work.

[westside]

Volunteering at States is just about as much fun as running the race and without the stress. I hope to get some photos uploaded soon but here is a slideshow from the Sacramento Bee.
Photo Galleries - sacbee.com

A lot of ordinary people run and finish this race. Like a marathon, training and preperation for the race goes without saying. Training for and running a marathon is about eliminating variables through training. You can't eliminate all variables in ultramarathon so it's about controlling variables through problem solving during the race but often variables spin out of control. This race had a 60% finishing rate.

[debbiedo]

thanks for sharing the photos Bill. Did I really see snow and ice? I can't imagine going across a river.

[Fitterly]

Wow....


love these photos. they make my heart race...

sighhhh looks awesome!!!

[Fitterly]

Okay I'm registered for a 10k on July 4th. Now I just need to bandit-run the 5k and I'm all set!

[ab1ht]

That 100-miler looks awesome! Personally, I'd go just to see the pre-dawn stars. Note Scorpius at the right of frame one. Yeah, I'm a geek.

So who wants to run that one with me?

[Fitterly]

I just got done responding and my entire CPU crashed with a horrid virus. I'm on my laptop now...

[westside]

Here's a You Tube video from Matt Harts Blog on Western States runner Gary Hart. About in the middle of the page. This was his first 100 and the video starts off by showing him on the final part of the climb up Devils Thumb, mile 47.8. He was in 6th place at the time.


Matt Hart's Blog - Tales of Endurance


The next part shows him at mile 80. His feet blistered before then and he ended up walking the last 8 hours of the race to finish 46th but he FINISHED. That's his dad trying to pull him over for a pit stop. Gotta like his spirit.

[mrgarak]

Paul - Great job in your race! I've thought of doing the TNT thing, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I imagine it is a great way to meet people.

Jen - Good for you doing a race on July 4th. I'm kind of cutting back with my first summer triathlon on the 12th.

Bill - Thank you for sharing the photos. Some of those shots were epic. I can't imagine doing a 100 mile race.

Deb - Looks like you are getting some great training in.

Yesterday I did a combo triathlon workout consisting of the following:

41 minute swim
16 + mile bike ride
45 minutes of running (over 5 miles)

I felt great and I'm getting pumped for the Randolph Lake Triathlon on July 12. I also signed up for two more. One is on my birthday in North Wildwood and has an ocean swim. The best part is the hotel I am staying at is right at the start. I can just hop out of bed and do the race.

Hope everyone is having a great day.

Dean

[westside]

Dean and Paul,

You guys should find and join a Trail Runners Group. I joined the Folsom Trail Runners group earlier this year, just for the heck of it and it's put together by this woman. Well there are over 350 members now and it's 5 to 1, women to men or close to it. I can't believe it, not that I'm about to do anything about it It must be something about going out in the woods in large numbers.

[Fitterly]

I am wiped out lately. Due to budget cuts my former manager was laid off and I took on her projects. She left me a bunch of incomplete work. I finished almost all of my work. At the rate of pay she was getting, trust me, I would have had it all DONE.

I am totally losing inches from running!!! It took a while for my body to kick in but it's working. I'm also totally tired from running a lot and not taking enough days off. I took yesterday off and I totally feel like I could take another day off today.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wedding planning is coming along! And, yesterday, I quit my second job due to not wanting to go crazy. I don't have time to teach grad school at night to be honest.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[ab1ht]

Originally Posted by Fitterly

I am totally losing inches from running!!! It took a while for my body to kick in but it's working.

That's awesome. I wish I could say the same these days. I think the ETOH is stopping me. Confession... I've gotten really used to that drink in the evenings and I think the cumulative effect is starting to catch up with me.

[debbiedo]

home from Syracuse. Spent the night after our flight was cancelled. got to airport only to find we didn't have seats on flight USAir booked us on because it was over sold. Took next flight out and just got home. Have two vouchers for $250 round trip flights. I am sure we will use on future trips to Syracuse to see MIL. She is better then I expected. Frail and thin but her mind and spirit unchanged. Hard to see her shrinking so rapidly. Her poor heart is going to give out eventually. It is hard to leave her.

Jen good for you for quitting the job. You do have a full plate and the wedding planning is time consuming.

I wish lost inches. My weight is stable I guess. I will see when I get on the scale tomorrow.

I have hard big hill work out tonight. We do the Mormon Temple Hill and it is long and steep. I think we do it twice. I ran Monday so hopefully my legs are ready for it.

[mrgarak]

Today was a swim with some fast laps in the lake. The weather cooperated and I was able to dive in. I'm counting the days until July 12.

Jen - Excellent job losing inches! That's one of the things I love so much about running and other cardio.

Bill - There are not too many runners clubs near me. The one I coach for is mainly kids, but we have a few adults in tow. There is another local club, but their meetings and group runs are on evenings I work. It can't hurt to keep it in mind because who knows if the job situation will change.

Waves hi Deb and Paul.

Dean

[debbiedo]

Last night was the Mormon Temple Hill Workout. It was different then the way I have done it the past. We did the Mormon Temple hill twice but they do another long hill to twice. We start at the bottom of the longer but not as steep hill and go up a good mile and then down the Mormom Temple Hill and turn around and go back up the killer one and down the long hill and turn around and do it all again. They send the faster pace groups off first and the groups wait at the top of the Mormon Temple hill and cheer every one and high five them on till all get to the top.I finished a bit short of 7 miles so I added an extra .7 on with another women in my pace group. The two of us did the whole thing twice. There were other easier options but we did the longer and harder one( only two of us from my pace group). I need the miles and so did Karen. Plus I think it will benefit me later. I need to build my legs and endurance. I also can now run only 6 miles tonight and not try for 7. I don't think anyone will want to do 7 with me. I will be going slow tonight as my legs will be tired for sure.

The hills are also a major cardio stress. You can't go fast for sure. I can fly down but my pace group was going slow the first time down. The second time there were two of us and others from faster pace groups so I just took off. One guy told me I wasn't lifting my feet and when I did my pace went up dramatically. I never realized I wasn't lifting my feet.

Dean you will do great in your Tri. Is it a sprint tri???

I know it is hard to run with others when you have work at different then the 9-5 or day hours. I experience this but luckily I can make it all work since I choose my shifts.

[Fitterly]

Hiya guys!

OMG I passed out at 10 pm on the couch dead asleep. I didn't even more a bit. My work life is tremendously stressful. I am taking on the projects of someone who was truly incompetent! It is really scary to know all of this unfinished business was taking place right in front of our eyes! This woman left all of her CRAP, her unfinished projects and took the office key with her! We had to call her yesterday to get it. More over, she really has not moved a single thing from her office. Unbelievable!!! I had to call the big chief yesterday and ask about the status of a few projects worth thousands of dollars. Okay, tens of thousands... the chief's understanding was that they were taken care of by this person. Oh not so! And of course, everything is due yesterday.

Anyhow.... about the inch loss. It actually is a 1/2 inch in my waist!!! I also lost some from my hip area too. The last time I measured was 6/21 so it's been a while.

Paul alcohol affects it. I do not think 1 drink is the culprit my friend. It is the two-three drinks. Then once you're a bit buzzed your ability to monitor your appetite goes out the window.

I also attribute my losses to running! Running is amazing and awesome.

Deb, your training program is really impressive. It is quality training with a ton of support and morale. Honestly when you report about it, it just sounds so ideal. Even my local running program which this "famous" coach I had was not that good. He was kind of lazy and just picked and chose who he wanted to focus on for running. That's when I turned to Bill for help. Bill is the man Deb. If you ever feel like you don't fit the mold they're giving you, ask Bill.

Dean, man that's wonderful you're doing a sprint! I really really REALLY do want to do one. I love the idea of running and then biking. Swimming is relaxing but when I swam at the last race it was really hard and I thought I would drown for a sec there. GOOD GOING MAN!

Bill, I hope your late nights on the trek have passed and you're recovered. Did anyone post more race photos?

The weather here has been hot and my #1 goal on my firecracker race is to run within healthy limits with the heat.

Seriously we always talk about meeting up for a race. I think it's silly we haven't. Why are we not all registering and running a race together? Tsk tsk.

[debbiedo]

My training program is good because there are often options. More miles or less.

My club is the best. It truly is a place for every pace. You see all kinds of runners in my program too. There are heavy runner, young and old and super fit fast runners. There are those who have done this many times over and those like me that are training for their first marathon.It is funny because the program is First Time Marathon Program (FTM)but people come back every year. I am sure we will loose some to XMP(experienced) that starts in a few weeks. Many stay.

Jen, sorry work is so hard right now. It will all work out. More work for you though.Good job on the inches. I don't measure. I go by how I feel and how my clothes fit and of course the numbers on the scale. The numbers don't budge but I do feel fitter and better eating smarter.

[westside]

Jen, I'm recovered from my all nighter and I've been catching up on some of the stories from some of the runners. Western States turned out to be an interesting race this year.

Two runners from Japan and UK took second and third and the east coast showed up this year with Kevin Sullivan and Leigh Schmidt taking spots in the top 10. The two most favored runners Scott Jurek, the seven time champ, dropped at the half way point and Dave Mackey dropped at the river. Mackey had a cold virus that caught up with him during the race and Jurek was fighting plaintar faciaitis.

There are always interesting stories from runners in the middle and back of the pack. I was following about 15 or so runners that I knew and about half or a little more finished the race. One was struck down and timed out with blistered feet, another had stomach problems, couldn't hold down food or water and one had a torn calf muscle that he thought was a bad cramp and ran 30-40 miles on it. He was finally carried off the trail on a stretcher. Then there is this one runner I know who had finished the race before but was scared leading up to the start because she didn't have much chance to train. She was running a lot of 25 mile weeks and coming off an old ankle injury and she just ended up cruising through the whole race and finished.

I think there is some luck needed with just finishing this race. The race is unbelievably long. Most runners will get torn down and dragged along the bottom and then have to rebuild themselves while moving forward. This process can happen within a short timeframe of maybe an hour or it can go on for while, maybe 3,4 6 hours or longer. It's one of those races where if you just keep pushing forward, things eventually get better, usually sometime around the second sunrise. The point to point distance over the mountains above the tree line, into the heat, waking up at the lower elevations in the grassy oak woodlands, all while battling aid station cutoffs and the 30 hour clock. It's really an epic experience.

[debbiedo]

Bill I can't even imagine. Many do the JFK 50 miler here and I don't know how they do it. My friend Sunny did it a few years ago with the flu.I don't think they have to ford streams the way it was in the photo.

[westside]

This runner friend of mine Paul, the guy with the torn calf muscle. When he finally couldn't move anymore he sat down on the side of the trail. This was around mile 83 at around 5 am. When other runners passed him, he wouldn't tell any of the runners he was hurt and that he was just taking some rocks out of his shoes. He knew the other were struggling just to get to the finish. I was at the finish line around 8 am and the volunteer coordinator came up to me and asked if I knew how to get to the ALT aid station. I said yes and drove with this other friend of mine who had a van to pick up some stranded runners. When I arrived, there was Paul laying on a tarp with his lower leg in a splint and bandaged. He was able to hobble around at the finish line and got some more medical attention.

[debbiedo]

ran 7.4 mile. Got there early and did a mile on the trail. It is a rocky surface but I tried to stay on the softer edges. Came back and did 6.4 with a man who comes some weeks. Nothing too hard. My legs felt fine considering the hill work. 32 miles this week.I am getting this in only 4 days of running. May have to add a 5th day as the miles ramp up.

[mrgarak]

Yesterday I ran 46 minutes in the muddy trails following another rain storm. I am so sick of the rain in this area. Today was a 33 minute swim which I finished in the nick of time. Yep, another rain/thunderstorm hit. At least I'm getting my workouts in, so I shouldn't complain.

I'm at work now and hoping it will be a quiet evening. Happy 4th to all!

Dean

[Fitterly]

Morning everyone

HAPPY 4th~!!!!!!!

I LOVE AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!


So, I ran the Firecracker run 10k and decided that I couldn't run the 5k too because they were simultaneous races. I did not realize it was going to go up hill for two miles of the race. It was a pretty tough run and the down hill was on the return but there were enough variations of up and down hill on the way back that it was pretty tough. There were also no mile markers and I did not use my garmin on principle so I had no idea how many miles I had left.

Right now we're watching the Nathan's hot dog eat-off on T.V.

anyhow, I did the worst I've ever done and that's because I don't do any speed work, I don't eat enough for performance, and it was stupidly hot out. I took a succeed cap before the race and I should have taken two because I lost 4 pounds in sweat. Anaheim is known for pretty hot temps. At 5:15 am it was 82 degrees inside of our apartment. There were some nice breezes at the race, but it was generally pretty hot for me.

I'm not sure if I even ran a sub 9 min mile to be honest! This is a new thing for me in racing, but honestly I am very untrained. I wanted to see how only doing slow distance would help me. I think I found out what happens now! Note: speedwork and tempo runs are extremely helpful. In the past 4-5 months I may have done 3 workouts where I did 200 meter sprints other than that nothing structured.

I wish I could post a profile of the race but I can't find one. Oh well, take my word for it when I say it was hilly. I probably did about average and that's about how my body feels!

Okay, so after the wedding I know what I need to do and where to go to ramp up the running. The good news is that it felt much shorter than I expected. I could have put in another 2 miles. So that's good.

HAPPY 4th!!!!!

[debbiedo]

off to run 13 miles. was up late with company and too much wine so hope I don't suffer today.

Jen, I had my worst 10K ever in April. It was slower then my 10 milers and my half marathions but I had to get over it and move on to my next phase of training. I realized I can't do a race every 2 weeks. I also realized the training run the week before the race messed me up because 12.4 miles of concrete just doens't work for me. My legs were not there for me and the heat was horrible. I just had to run slow and make it to the end or quit and I don't quit.

[debbiedo]

Home from my 13.29 mile run. did it a bit faster at 10:49 average. This run doesn't have big hills. way back has some up but it is upgrade but not what I would call a hill. The bridges are more of a hill but short. I pushed the last mile and felt strong.

I didn't sleep much and need a nap but should get some things done here first.

[ab1ht]

Ah, yes. Alcohol followed by a long run. Had my melon ball with dinner last night. Mild head ache this morning. Breakfast, asprin, water, and a 10 mile run.

Actually felt pretty good as long as I didn't try to go too fast

[debbiedo]

I had a large full glass of wine followed by not enough sleep. My run was fine but I have been tired all day and took a nap. now off to celebrate my son's
27th birthday. I can't be old enough to have a 27 year old.