Goals and Dreams

I’m only racing once this year.  I might pop into a few races here and there, as I did with Boston, but I’m only racing the Leadville 100.  It’s a goal I’ve had for a long time, so I wanted to give it the attention I thought it deserved. 

Training started slow, but in the past couple of months, it has gone as well as could be expected.  I know that I am a significantly better runner than I was a year, or even six months, ago.  I have lots of evidence to support that statement stored in my fancy little Garmin watch.   But as I am only racing once, I occasionally wonder what would happen if I were to fall short of the goal, the big buckle, or, God forbid, fail to finish for some reason. 

There would be nothing to show, outside of my watch and my memories, for the time I’ve put into this crazy race. And at 50 hours-plus a month over the course of many months, that's a lot of damned time.

I know there are some who say that you never consider the possibility of failure.  But I like to consider the full spectrum of possibilities in any endeavor.  And so it is with Leadville.

Here’s what I’ve concluded:

Life isn’t about getting what you want, or achieving a goal, or even finding happiness. It’s about the process you go about in search of any or all of those things.  Once you achieve a goal, no matter how important or consequential the goal may have been, you are still the same person you were before you achieved the goal.  You still have the same feisty human neurochemistry.  You may not have the same goals and dreams that you had before you achieved your goal, but you still have the same instinct to pursue a goal that you always had.

If you ignore that human instinct that needs the pursuit of a dream after you achieve your goal, you may end up less happy after achieving a goal than you were before you achieved it.  I'm not saying you shouldn't have goals.  You absolutely should.  And you should use relentless dogged determination to achieve them.  But ultimately, what’s important isn’t the goal itself, but rather the process you go through in pursuit of the goal.

And so, while I’m tingling with anticipation at the prospect of achieving a goal I’ve had since I was stage-diving at Fishbone concerts as a teenager, I know that all this training, all this time, and all this energy isn’t just about running 100 miles in the mountains in 20-some hours this August.   The training and growth is the end-all of this experience.  And the race is just the party where we will celebrate having done it.

           But, that said, I still want that effing buckle.      

No news is good news

Training for Leadville has been going well -- although, with a 100-mile race, it's always difficult to know if you're doing enough.  In May, I've run (or hiked with HR between 140-150) between 11 and 15 hours each week, with mileage ranging from the mid-60s to the mid-90s, and elevation gain fairly constant around 8-12K each week.  The training plan has been relegated to a landfill somewhere, but that's ok. This is probably the best block of training I've ever had, which is a nice contrast to my fortunes with running over the previous six months (which was dictated by a training plan).   

Given how badly training went from January to March, I'm happy with my progress. Last week, I went to visit my sister in Boise.  On Sunday, I ran my first sub-7 mile on flat or rolling terrain with my HR below 150 the whole time.  Then, the next mile I did it again.  Then, on Tuesday, I did a recovery run, and my HR was below 140 for a sub-7 minute mile on gently rolling hills. In contrast, when I first started measuring my HR less than two years ago, my pace averaged about 8:20-8:30 per mile for sub-150s.  Boise is at lowish elevation, but that's still very encouraging for me.

Then, on Thursday, I went up to Leadville for a couple of days where my average pace was closer to 12 minutes a mile.  Definitely good for a dose of humility. 

Regardless, I believe that when your training is going well, you should be getting feedback on your runs that shows you're improving.  And I think I'm finally getting there. So, yay for me, I guess.

Then yesterday, I started doing speed work for the first time since, well, um, my sophomore year of college, I think.  I ran a sub-20 5K as a progressive effort tempo run, with HR at 155-165-175 for each mile. That translated into a 6:45-6:33-5:52, with a little kick in the last .1 for good measure.  I'm pretty sure that was my first sub-20 in 15 years. So yeah, I've been slow for a long time. I'm actually kind of looking forward to more of these workouts.  I think it'll be a fun way to mix things up.  

I'm not breaking any land-speed records by any means, and Kilian Jornet probably doesn't need to be concerned just yet, but I'm making progress at my own pace, and that's all I'm really looking to do out there.  There's no guarantee that any of this will translate into a big buckle or even a finish at Leadville.  You need a little bit of luck and a whole lot of resolve to actually get it done in a 100-mile race.  But if I can stay healthy and keep going on this path, if I don't get it done, it won't be because of lack of fitness. 

Looking forward to the challenge!

Blowing up the training plan!

Last week, I started training for the Leadville 100.  It's a race I've wanted to run since I was a sophomore in high school.  More concretely, I've been training specifically with this race in mind since early 2009, when I pretty much re-started running from scratch (I was well over 200 lbs at the time).  And I like to plan.  So I've had a training plan set out for this three month stretch for a long time.

And then, last Thursday, just four days into the plan, I blew it up.  I had set out to go on about a three-hour run.  Up Chimney Gulch, down around Apex, and then back.  But my body wasn't responding.  Just two miles into the run, my pace was two minutes a mile slower than it had been on the same loop just two weeks prior, and my heart rate was just as high, if not higher.  I'm not sure if it was because I recover slowly from races (true), that it was a little hot, or that I had been sleeping badly, but regardless, I didn't have it.  So I turned around. The next day, I didn't have it either. So I went on two easy four mile runs, rather push a longer run and delay my recovery further.

Yesterday, I ran for two and a half hours around lair o' the bear, and I felt great. So I went on another easy run yesterday afternoon.  I'll go on a couple of easy runs today and then do two hours tomorrow morning if I still feel decent.

What's the conclusion behind all of this?  Not sure, but this is what my gut is telling me. To be successful at ultras, you need to run a lot.  A lot a lot.  The more volume you can do without injuring yourself or overtraining, the better. But when and how to do that lots of running should be dictated by how your body feels, rather than the calendar.  Some days you'll have and some days you won't. 

From now on, I'm just going to put my ear to my legs before and during every run and see what they can give me. Because between now and Leadville, they're in charge.

Boston et al

I'm at Boston Logan. Travelocity led me to believe I would be leaving for Denver at 10:40 am, but it turns out I won't be leaving until 3pm. So this seems as good a time as any to catch up on the blogging. Yesterday's race was pretty bleh. I ran 3:16, and that hurt a little more than I'd like to admit.

It doesn't bother me that I ran slowly. I told people all week I was thinking something in the 3:15-3:20 range. It was hot, I hadn't trained properly, and the last two weeks I've had the worst habits with diet and sleep that I've had in a year. I knew I wasn't going fast yesterday. I was the only person I saw in the race who consciously started in a slower corral than his qualifying time permitted. I planned to go slowly, and I was determined to avoid running 6:15 miles from the gun. I started off with a downhill mile in the 7:10 range, and it just felt so easy. And every mile until about the half (1:32) felt the same. At that stage I figured what the hey, I was on target for a negative split and a decent day on a modest effort. But right around 15, I just started feeling nauseous and then had a horrific stomach cramp. I couldn't tell you the last time I had a serious stomach cramp. From there I was strong on the ups and weak on the downs. Around 20 some BC kids offered me a beer, and I figured that since the race was already in the toilet I might as well hit the sauce. It tasted pretty good, but didn't exactly help the stomach issues. So I mailed it in for the last six.

I don't mind that I ran slow, but I'm disconcerted by how weak I was in the second half. I thought I was in shape where a 3:15 would be relaxed and pleasant, heat or no. Guess I was wrong.

I suppose this is the kick in the pants I needed to stay humble and hungry going in LT100 training this summer, which I'm planning to begin in earnest next Monday. I want a big buckle and maybe more, but yesterday makes me think Ive got some work to do to put myself in a position to get there. That's ok. I've got time. Just got to re-focus and get it done.

Progress of sorts

Last week, I was feeling sluggish, and I started to sense PF pain in both feet, so I decided to take a day off and then do a super easy day on Friday. On Saturday, I ran 13 miles, first half in 7:30s, with 7:00s until mile 10, finishing the last 5K with a 6:35, 6:27, 6:19, and then 5:15 pace for the last .1. Hardly a land-speed record, but since it was the first time I had dipped below 7 minutes a mile in 2012, it felt good to get the legs moving. When I signed up for Boston, I had originally hoped to run sub-2:55 (perhaps even sub-2:50) . But that was before I hurt my hamstring. I had given up on any sort of goal, but this run made me wonder if I still might have a chance of pulling that off. I kind of think that I'm stupid to even consider it, seeing as how I'm averaging around 35 miles a week in 2012, but if I can get three good weeks of training in now before the race, I might push it in Boston after all, at least to see if I can better my 2:59 from last fall.

Took Sunday off, too, for good measure. Had a good combo run/uphill treadmill workout yesterday. This morning I ran 11 miles in 1:21, keeping my HR below 150, which is better than I could do at any time last fall. I feel as I'm rounding into shape, despite unimpressive volume. If I can stay healthy, I'm optimistic about Leadville late in the summer. Sure wouldn't mind picking up one of them bigger buckles, and setting at least a 28-minute PR in the distance. I might even do a few non-ultra tune ups before then.

Perhaps Mt. Evans in June. I'd like to think I'd have an outside shot at a top-10 finish. But that's probably getting ahead of myself, considering I have had only a few weeks of marginally healthy running all year.

Comme si comme ca

53 miles, 7500 vertical on the week, just shy of 8.5 hours moving on the feet. PF isn't terrible, but isn't fully healed. Hamstring isn't bad, but occasionally it feels troublesome. I'm mixing it up with the shoes. I've got a pair of clown Hokas and a pair of NB minimus, and a bunch of shoes in between, and I'm alternating between them all, never wearing a pair of shoes more than twice in a week. That seems to be the most effective way to keep the injuries away for now.

My gym has a fancy treadmill that lets you go as high as 30 percent incline. I spent my morning on that and got about 3K vertical in an hour while keeping the HR below 152. Then I went and jogged 3 miles at 8:30 pace as a cool down. Not a bad way to get the blood pumping. Not as fun as actually going up into the foothills, but time constraints with work make this a more sensible alternative for me most days.

Almost a runner again

Last week: 46 miles, with approximately 10K elevation gain. About 7.5 hours running, plus 2 hours cross training on the bike and in the water. I feel decent. This morning, I ran 10 miles, and I wasn't even limping when I finished.

Only issue? I'm sore. Real sore. I ran 9 miles up and around the lesser Green Mountain on Saturday, and holy crap, I really hurt. Not from injuries, but from sores calves, quads, and glutes. I guess it makes sense. While I'm doing plenty of elevation on the mill, I haven't run down a hill in five months. Re-introducing my body to running in the wild is going to take some time.

And for your viewing pleasure, break-dancing sharks and turtles.