A Week in Shoes and Sandals

I failed to mention an unusual occurrence in yesterdays post - I ran every mile last week in some form of footwear.  That is the first time that this has happened since I lived back in the DC area and started the transition to barefoot / minimalist running.  The pain in my left foot necessitated this and it was rather refreshing.  I'm by no means a barefoot zealot or purist.  I view barefoot running as a tool that has made me a better runner.  I'll be back running barefoot as soon as my foot will allow me and I won't be falling in love with shoes anytime soon.  However, Doom  does have a love affair with shoes and this is probably the song he would dedicate to them:

Week Ending 11.25.12

Monday - AM - Gym: bench, press, squat, deads, PM - 4 miles, MT 101

Tuesday - AM - 30 min stairs, PM - 4 miles, MT 101

Wednesday - 30 min stairs

Thursday - 0 - Family, food, fun, etc

Friday - 10 miles, MT 110

Saturday - 10 miles, Luna Sandals

Sunday - 4 miles, MT 101

Total - 32 miles plus 1 hr stairs

My left foot and calf are still bothering me, more so the foot at this point.  I tweaked this foot way back in October on a fishing trip.  I slipped on a rock crossing a river and wedged my foot between two other rocks and it never felt totally right after that.  Then I proceeded to kick the crap out of a rock with that same foot at the Rockledge Rumble 50k.  I keep trying to convince myself that it is a soft tissue or ligament injury but the specter of a stress fracture is starting to creep into my mind.

I'm trying to clear my mind with a NOLA Hopitoulas IPA.

Thinking about 2013

There is no denying that I got pretty burnt out training for the Cactus Rose 100.  I really lost my desire to run and just drifted into haphazardly running once the decision was made to not run the CR 100.  I also lost my focus on diet and started eating pretty unhealthy.  I really think the long stretch of no racing leading up to CR 100 is what resulted in my burnout and I'm going to try and race more often in 2013.  I'm currently leaning towards this:

Bandera 100k - Jan 12 (very tentative)
Cowtown 50k - Feb 24
Grasslands 50 - March 23
Hells Hills 50 - April 6
Grand Canyon R2R2R  - May ?? (very very tentative)
El Scorcho 50k - July ??
Silver Rush 50 - July 14
Capt'n Karl's 60k Series - August and September (probably just 1 of the 3)
Leadville 100 - August 17 (very very very tentative)
Cactus Rose 100 - Oct 26
Rockledge Rumble 50k - Nov ??

That should keep my busy but maybe I'll get burnt out from racing too much!

No featured beer in this post but a few featured beers

Week Ending 11.18.12

Monday - 4 miles

Tuesday - 30 min stairs

Wednesday - 30 min stairs

Thursday - 0

Friday - 4 miles

Saturday - Too much beer and football

Sunday - 8 miles

Total - 16 miles plus 1 hr stairs

A nice easy recovery week.  Recovery from the 50k? eh, not so much but my left calf did feel like it was beat with a baseball bat for most of the week.  I'm now turning my training focus to the Grasslands 50 mile.  I've got two DNFs to show for my past years efforts leading up to this race.  It is an albatross on my running resume - kind of like a turd in a waste treatment pond (I guess it could be worse).  Anyway, worthless runner or not, I'm going to finish this year, unless I am injured or sick or it is too hot or.....

The featured beer of this post is Das Underkind! a sour saison from Jester King.

Rockledge Rumble 50k - Total Wreckage

This past weekend was the Rockledge Rumble 50k and by far my worst race experience to date.  There really isn't a lot to say.  I kicked the crap out of a rock around mile 6 and spectacularly laid out on the trail. I could never really get back into things after that an my left calf kept cramping up, which was incredibly frustrating.  I was thinking that 5:30 would be a solid time and that 6:00 would be my fall back time (the course record is around 4:30 - I think).

I finally had enough around 20 miles, laid down on a bench, watched clouds race by and enjoyed the roar of 50 mph winds.  I laid there for about 20 minutes contemplating dropping before finally deciding to finish what I started.