100,000 miles for AT

[Megatomic]

13 miles

66,902

 

[ControlD]

8.5 miles this morning.

Wasn't really a banner day for me. It starting pouring rain about 3 miles in which means I have chafed nipples now, and my old friend the IT band really started hurting about 6 miles in. I'm not sure I'm ever going to get on top of that problem.

66,910

 

[Mursilis]

Yup trail running is completely different animal and I love it!! Congrats on finishing!! Take some rest and savor it. I'm off for a few days with a sore hip/knee. Back on the trails on tuesday for me.

Thanks. It was a cool experience, and I'm happy I did it, but I'm not sure when I'll do another trail event - certainly not in June! It's just a bit hot for that sort of distance running. Although I was in the shade, I still felt the heat, and anytime we went across fields, etc., it was like being in an oven. I can't imagine being one of the 50 mile runners at this event. I'm sure a bunch of them were pretty beat by the time they were done.

To recap, just the weekend before I was talking to Craig, one of the other dads from my middle daughter's soccer team, and we both knew we were each runners. I asked him when his next race was, and found out he was doing the 50K at this event too, so we went up to packet pickup together on Thursday and then decided to carpool up to the race itself on Sat. We got there just over an hour beforehand, and just stood around chatting with other racers before the 50K started at 7AM. The 50M event had started at 5AM(!) so those runners were already well into their day while we waited. I hit the porta-potties three times before we started, but even then, not a mile into our race, I had to go again. I had been assigned the first corral but decided to start with Craig in corral 2. Just before the course turned off a gravel road into the woods, we came across a porta-pottie, so I sent Craig on and stopped to pee again. Of course, this put me behind about half the field, and there was very little passing in the woods, so I just grabbed a place in the big long train of runners snaking through the woods. The pace was pretty slow, but I figured it would keep me from going out too fast, so I just hung back and rarely passed anyone. At one point we got to a stream crossing, and the only dry way across was crawling across on old fallen tree. There was a long line to go that route, so I joined most of the other runners and ran across the water, getting my feet totally soaked.

The trail itself was pretty tight, mostly in the woods along the Potomac River, with some short but steep hills to climb and descent. On one of the descents, a woman in front of me took a very painful-looking fall, hitting a bunch of rocks on the way down. Ouch! I finally caught up with Craig just before mile 10, and we chatted for a bit. At mile 13 he stopped at one of the aid stations to refill his pack and stock up on gels. I had luckily thrown a second pair of socks in my pack the night before, and briefly stopped to put on a clean pair. I then wished Craig good luck and continued on. In this part, the course included a few out-and-back stretches, so I saw Craig twice more on the trail, about 5-10 minutes behind me. I finished the loop section and got back on the main trail for the 13 miles back to the start-finish. At this point, the field had really thinned out, and I was starting to pass people. A lot of people were walking the flat sections, and I could tell they were pretty beat (as was I). I alternated between running and walking, and less two miles from the finish, I was at 5:40. If I kept running, I could beat 6 hours. I just put my head down and kept up a steady jog to the finish. Looking at my splits, the last 10 miles were actually my fastest, which was nice. I ended up 119/442 finishers, which isn't bad for a first try at trail races and 50Ks.

I thought my buddy Craig would be right behind me, but he blew up big time in the final 10 miles, and came in just over at 7:00. Still, a solid effort for him, also running his first 50K. We grabbed some food, our free beer, and the rest of our gear and headed home. When I finally got my shoes off, my feet were a mess- huge blisters on both feet. Plus, when I got up this morning, I was probably the sorest I've ever been, and I've done two days of racing in a row before, and didn't feel THIS bad! Still, it was a hoot.

 

[Capt Caveman]

4 miles on Friday
1 mile Dog race on Saturday
13.1 Half Marathon today.

66,928

 

[Megatomic]

7 miles

66,935

 

[TraumaRN]

+23.5 miles on the trails. 2200 feet of elevation change in "flat" Michigan. Was a great day for a long trail run really felt great out there.

66,558

 

[Mursilis]

+5

66,563

 

[TraumaRN]

I forgot to respond to your long post Mursilis but yeah long trail runs you wake up the next day hurting in weird places. After my 23.5 yesterday I woke up this morning to right calf pain, left shoulder pain and left hip. But otherwise I feel just a little post long run soreness. The feet issue just takes time to figure out what socks and shoes work best for you. I thankfully haven't had any blister issues in many months since I got the right socks.

 

[Mursilis]

+6

66,569

 

[Megatomic]

6.5 miles

66,575

 

[Megatomic]

12 miles

66,587

 

[drteming]

8 miles in the fog. Everything looks weird.

66,595

 

[ControlD]

10 miles since my my last post. Just trying to stay loose while the knee heals up a little.

66,605

 

[Megatomic]

5 miles

66,610

 

[TraumaRN]

+23 miles since I last posted. Got a 36 miler planned on Saturday, point to point trail FA ultramarathon organized by me. About a dozen of us doing the full 36, about another dozen doing a half marathon. Should be an absolute blast.

66,633

 

[Mursilis]

+24 since last post. Starting to get hot/humid. I really forgot how draining those conditions can be! It just leaves me totally dragging if I'm running anything more than 4 miles or so.

66,657

 

[TraumaRN]

+3.5 miles in 90 degree heat.

66,660

 

[ControlD]

4 miles last night. Same comment about the heat. I would rather have hot weather than snow and ice, but it sure can sap your energy in short order.

I have an appointment in a week at a runner's clinic to see if there is something I can do to get out of the ITBS cycle I have been in for the last three years. Hopefully they see something mechanical that can be fixed.

66,664

 

[Mursilis]

+5

66,669

 

[drteming]

5 miles.

66,674

 

[Mursilis]

+5

66,679

 

[drteming]

8 miles.

66,687

 

[TraumaRN]

Was supposed to do 36 miles today on a group FA trail ultra. Made it to mile 25 then had to limp away due to falling onto my left knee which caused massive leg cramps in my left leg. Not what I wanted. Trail was beautiful and rough. 25 miles with 2800 feet of elevation change here in flat Michigan.

+25

66,704

 

[deadken]

Mursilis: Congrats on your finish!
TraumaRN: I'm sorry to hear about your DNF, but hey, 25miles is nothing to sneeze at!
Capt Caveman: Any word on your most recent bloodwork?

I haven't updated here since 06-01-14, and I've been keeping busy! So here it goes:
Week of 06-01-14 to 06-07-14:
32.35 miles
Week of 06-08-14 to 06-14-14:
20.12 miles (taper before half marathon)
Week of 06-15-14 to 06-21-14:
32.44 miles

66,704
+85
66,789

After not being entirely content with my finish times for my first 2 half marathons, I decided to run another half on Fathers Day weekend. I had gotten my time down to 1:39:xx on a training run, so I knew that I should be able to get under a 1:40 for a race (I stop the clock when I stop for water on a training run). A sub 100 minute half marathon is my goal. Unfortunately, I heard from a buddy on Saturday night and he was gaming, so I joined in. Before I knew it, it was well after midnight and I had to be up at 5AM to get to Brooklyn for the Half marathon! Dang it! So, I got into bed only to have my Wife wake me up about 45 minutes before the alarm clock (I could have killed her, but I didn't). With a whopping 4 hours of broken sleep I headed out to Brooklyn and ran the half in 1:40:44. F#$K! A new PR, but a whopping 45 seconds too slow to meet my goal. Wouldn't you know it, there were only about 400 runners for the race and I came in 29th! Unfortunately, I was 8th in the 40-49 Male category. Even the person reading the results said: 'Damn, this is a tough age group!'. Ohh well, I am going to sign up for another half marathon on August 31st. Unfortunately, that is only a week after my first Sprint Triathlon. We'll see what happens...

 

[ControlD]

12 miles this weekend.

66,801