Week Ending 7.29.12

Monday - AM - 45 min stairs, Lunch - Gym, PM - 4 miles

Tuesday - AM - 45 min stairs, PM - 6 miles

Wednesday - 45 min stairs

Thursday - AM - 6 miles, PM - Knee injury

Friday - 0

Saturday - 12 miles - Knee responded nicely but did get a little tight towards end and I shut the run down.  What seemed really bad on Friday turned out to be a false alarm.  I've never had knee pain that intense but it seemed to fade almost as fast as it started.

Sunday - 0 - Knee was still a little off feeling from the Saturday run.

Total - 28 miles plus 2.5 hours of stairs

I felt really good this week and was going to do another 6 - 8 miles on Thursday evening but tweaked my knee at a church event for the kids.  The little guy some how managed to dive bomb himself into my knee just perfectly and I crumpled to the floor.  Then I could hardly walk on Friday and feared the worse.  However, things were totally different come Saturday and I was able to get in 12 miles.

Knee!!

What a major bummer.... My best hope is that things are not as bad as they appear.

Week Ending 7.22.12

Monday - 0

Tuesday - Gym - Bench / Pullups / Bike

Wednesday - 45 min stairs - hamstring a bit tight

Thursday - 4 miles - hamstring still tight

Friday - 0

Saturday - 0

Sunday - 12 miles, Rowlett Creek Preserve, Luna Sandals - hamstring felt much better

Total - 16 miles and 45 min stairs

This ended up being an unplanned down week but I figure it is better to get the hamstring right than keep pushing it.  A few extra miles now won't make any difference come October but a lingering hamstring issue could really set me back.  The extra rest seemed to really help and everything felt good yesterday and I was able to get in a solid gym session today (deads, press, pullups) and then 45 min of stairs.

I've added the Capt'n Karl's Colorado Bend 60k to my schedule and will probably also be adding the Rough Creek 40 mile.  I will take both of these as glorified training runs with the main focus being to continue to refine everything for Cactus Rose 100. 

Welcome Go Long, Get Strong Readers

I apologize to anyone who has accidentally found their way over here by clicking around on Go Long, Get Strong. This blog probably isn't what you are looking for or what anyone is looking for!  But I will take a few seconds to talk about my current lifting strategy.

I'm currently following the Greyskull LP (2x5, 1x5+) 2 day a week fat burn routine.  I do bench and squat on Monday and press and deads on Friday.  I then do pullups 4 or 5 days a week and typically do a wide, narrow, reverse rotation.  I've been steadily adding to my lifts and have been pleased with my progress so far.

The Strongest Man in the World

This article is a great read for anyone interested in people doing more than is thought possible:

“I see guys accomplish things that are just blowing my mind”

But most American schools have long since replaced their free weights with machines. “It’s a national disgrace,” Arthur Drechsler, of USA Weightlifting, told me. “If you want to fight childhood obesity or increase fitness, no sport can transform you as much as weight lifting—look at Tommy Kono. And it’s one of the safest things you can do. We don’t have spinal-cord injuries. We don’t have head injuries. They just don’t happen. But weight lifting is not part of the public schools.”

By the time his back was straight, his eyes were burning and blood was streaming from his nose, into his mouth and down his chin. But the lift was good.

I have no interest in being a strongman but I believe that we share the same drive.  We all want to find where our outer limits lay, how far out we can push that limit, and what might be on the other side.

El Scorcho 50k

I heard about El Scorcho through a buddy and Doom and I decided to give it a go.  I signed up but really didn’t put much thought or planning into it after that and was basically just taking it as long training run.  I’ve been pretty consistent in my training over the past couple of months but have not really cranked up the volume. 

I’ve put a good bit of training time into stair climbing and you can see some of my thoughts on that here.  I’ve also been trying to get in some more focused gym sessions to add some strength to my lower body and try to maintain some kind of upper body strength.  I knew that I had lost a good bit of strength during the process of dropping from 240 down to 199 and that I would only lose more as I try to get down to around 180 for Cactus Rose.

I could tell that the combo of stair climbing, weight lifting, and trail running was taking a bit of a toll on my legs.  I didn’t plan a taper and figured that just backing off a tad and taking a day or two off would be plenty for a 50k.  The only thing that kind of worried me heading into the race was that I strained my left hamstring during a lifting session 8 days prior to the race.  My longest run b/w that strain and the race was 8 miles and my hamstring tightened up during that run but I was able to walk if off and finish the run on a strong note.  This one nagging concern would ultimately be my main problem during the race. 

Doom and I discussed some logistics via text msg during the week and he had mapped out a plan to finish the race in just under 5:00 hrs.  That seemed reasonable to me and I figured that I would just fall in behind him and try to keep up.  Doom also had some thoughts on adjusting sleep patterns but I wasn’t planning on altering anything.  If my hamstring was a nagging concern, then staying up all night was a major concern but I figured that I would just wing it.  Doom was eventually talked out of his plans by the legends on The List and we would both start the race about equally rested.

From this End to the Other

I decided to use the metroplex train system to get out to Ft Worth because I didn’t want to have to make the 60ish mile drive back home after the race.  It was decided that my wife and kids would make the early morning drive out to see me finish and drive us back home.  Doom, his wife, and dad picked me up at the train station in Ft Worth at about 9:30 pm and we were setting up camp at the Start/Finish line about 4 hours after I left my house.  

Union Station - Are You Sure Y'all Are Open?

We milled around, talked to a few people, used the port-o-john, and just tried to kill 2 hours until the race started.  It was also discovered during this time that Doom forgot his Garmin and that his master pacing plan to get us to the finish line in under 5:00 hours was now out the window!  This didn’t faze me but I could tell that Doom was bit unnerved by this.

Later There Were People Here

Then at midnight we were off and racing.  I was a bit worried that running a 5k loop 10 times would get old but the course was pretty interesting and they had aid stations setup frequently enough that something was always going on.  We made it through the 1^st loop and saw that we were just slightly behind sub-5:00 hr pace and picked things up on the next few loops.  We cruised through 20k pretty effortlessly and were right on the pace – without a Garmin!  

Then we started the 5^th loop and things started to come undone.  It was now 2:00 am, which is really late for me, and my hamstring started to tighten up pretty quickly.  This was really aggravating because I had kind of let my guard down and decided around the 3^rd loop that the hamstring wasn’t going to be an issue and that taking a week off from lifting was all that I needed.  Things went downhill pretty fast and I finally had to tell Doom that I needed to walk for a bit.  This was pretty deflating and I felt bad b/c Doom was running a really strong race and was right on pace for his goal time.  He stopped and walked with me for a bit and then we picked up the pace and started running.  We continued this routine for the remainder of the 5^th loop and most of the 6^th until my hamstring finally loosened up. 

However, Doom started having his own issues by the time my hamstring loosened up and he needed to walk a bit and his paced was slowed to a shuffle.  I was really starting to feel good about halfway through the 7^th loop but I wasn’t about to leave Doom when he could have easily left me earlier in the race.  We came up with the mantra that the 8^th loop would be easy because the 9^th loop was the final loop of the race and the 10^th loop would be our victory lap.  Doom soured on this after a bit (even though it was his brain child!) and I could tell that he was really starting to suffer on the 9^th loop. 

We cruised into our make shift aid station and Doom took a seat and had the look on his face of a runner that wasn’t getting back up.  I was a bit concerned but knew he was really tough and wouldn’t take a DNF.  I went ahead and started the 10^th loop without him and told him to just catch up with me.  I walked for a bit expecting him to catch up with me but decided to go ahead and run it on in after about 5 minutes of walking.  I was constantly passing people on this last lap and I was in rather high spirits but no one else seemed to be much for talking (go figure!).  

King of DNF Confused by Finisher Award Process

 

I made it back around to the Start/Finish line and received some fancy hardware - this was all rather confusing to the King of the DNF.  I waited with Doom’s dad and wife for him to finish and then shot off a quick text to my wife and she informed me they were still about an hour away.  I didn’t mind the wait and enjoyed hanging out and cheering on the 80ish runners that finished after me.

This was a great very well run race and I will for sure be back next year.  This is a very fast course and I plan to really focus on training for this race.  I think something in the area of 4:30 – 4:45 should be attainable for someone with my limited running skills.  


And a huge thanks to Doom, his wife, and his dad for all their hospitality!

Oh Noz Doom!

My Phone Tells Me Funny Stuff

I Got Up Early for This?!

It Is Pointy!

Yea!

Week Ending 7.15.12

Monday - 45 min stairs

Tuesday - 6 miles

Wednesday - 45 min stairs

Thursday - 4 miles

Friday - 0

Saturday PM/Sunday AM - El Scorcho 50k  - This race was a lot of fun and I will write up a bit more on it later in the week.  Major thanks to Doom, his wife, and Dad for all their hospitality - picking me up at the train station, dropping me off to get my packet, sending updates to my wife, offering up beer, etc.  Also, thanks to my amazing wife and family for getting up before the sun to make the drive out to pick me up.

Grilling Up Some Recovery

Total - 41 miles plus 1.5 hours of stairs

I wanted to front load this week a bit more but things were pretty hectic and there just wasn't time to turn any days into doubles. I basically took El Scorcho as the 1st longer run of my Cactus Rose 100 training.  I plan to get in one 30+ mile run every couple of weeks from here on out and will try to average 100+ mpw for September.

I didn't do any lifting this week but will be back in the gym tomorrow.  I had some issues with my hamstring during El Scorcho and I am pretty sure that is related to lifting.  I tweaked my hamstring a couple of weeks ago but it never bothered me on any training runs, other than just being tight.  I want to ensure there isn't a repeat at Cactus Rose and I will probably cut my lifting off about a month before the race.

Week Ending 7.8.12

Monday - 30 min stairs AM, Gym - bench / squat PM

Tuesday - 45 min stairs

Wednesday - 12 miles, MT 110, Rowlett Creek Preserve

Thursday - 7 miles, MT 110, Rowlett Creek Preserve 

Friday - Gym - Press / Dead

Saturday - My legs were trashed from the dead lifts on Friday and I put off my 20 mile run until the evening and then it stormed in the evening.  Oh well, we got in a nice day at the pool and a delicious lunch before the storms rolled in.

Sunday - 8 miles

Total - 27 miles and 1.25 hours of stairs.

Another less than impressive week of running.  I've had a really nice rhythm going the last few weeks but have not turned that into higher mileage.  My legs have felt really strong on my runs and the stairs are getting easier and easier.  I'm not too worried about things right now and will be pretty satisfied with my progress, if I can hammer out a couple of 70 or 80 mile weeks as we head into August.  I am going to try and get in at least 1 double North Shore for about 40 miles in August and maybe something cool away from the heat of Texas.
 

Finding a Line

For me, it seems that running is all about rhythm and that rhythm can be elusive at times.  Right now I seem to be falling into a nice rhythm but have a 50k race coming up next weekend.  I know from experience, that a taper is probably the wise thing to do at this point but that would totally wreck my rhythm.  I have almost no interest in this race other than the fact that I will get to see some friends. I am sure I will regret not tapering around mile 20 or so but I want to keep the ball rolling and maintain that line that is heading towards Cactus Rose 100.

Also, if I can justify the need to over carbo load via beer this week, since I am not tapering!

Like a Fine Wine

Greater Things are Still to be Done

I am unapologetic in my love of this country and I think the best is still to come.  I'll be a proud American until the day He calls me home. God bless America.

Hat tip to Instapundit - Image from instapundit.com

Got in a great 12 miles today, as well.

Not Much to Report

I find that sometimes blogging is enjoyable and other times it is tiresome.  The main purpose of this blog is basically to track my training and training has been pretty average this past week.  I need to start kicking things out beyond average at some point this summer.