Recovery Run Continued

Easy Exercise with Layla
Goal: 3-4 miles @ 9:30-10:30/mi.
Actual: 3.45mi. @ 33:48

Christi and I were both certainly still recovering from Blue Ridge Relay, but suffering through the trot the day prior helped speed it up.  We needed to push some more lactic acid build up out and we wanted to let Layla get in another good run to start the week out.  We headed down to McAlpine and pushed through a few miles from the Margaret Wallace entrance down around the XC course and back.  Personally, I started to feel a lot better by the time it was over.  If you're not aware from my personal life outside of the blog, Layla runs very well when she stays in practice.  She can maintain decent race paces for equal distances when she's pushed accordingly, but sometimes we just think she needs regular exercise if she seems to be getting lazy hanging out with the other dogs running around Christi's parents'.

Wrap it up with a Night Run

Goal: Easy 4-5 miles
Actual: 4.7 @ 8:12/mi. avg.

   Much to my surprise, I was able to convince Christi to join a few of us for yet another run this evening.  After putting the word out, we were able to draw Adam, Rob, and RFYL young athlete Zach Gray into a nice cool summer night trot from Old Bell.  We missed a few others, but I knew it would be a nice night on the greenway no matter who showed.  After planning this run for a week, I discovered my headlamp batteries were dead, and that apparently my backup batteries were just old dead batteries too. Then one-by-one, realized that only Christi and Rob had working headlamps.  A little frustrating, but we weren't to be deterred.  The weather was brisk and the pace was a little swift for what I had in mind, nonetheless we all rolled with it approaching 7:00 pace as we hit the Shue Sea.  Adam, Christi, and I agreed to head back together after the lake while Rob and Zach continued on to finish their nine miler.  On the way back, our trio agreed that our speed was a bit more than desired.  It's always nice to be smart in the midst of our insanity. The ironic part, is that even while being "smart," real runners always prove themselves to be a little foolish.  I have no explanation for it, but Adam and I bounded into fartleks by the slight beam of light coming from Christi's loan headlamp.  A half mile of this nonsense and we were back at Old Bell calling it a night with a short quarter mile of cool down.  I have not been this excited leading into an event since Frosty 50, but not so excited for taking tomorrow off from running.  Good times, great people.  I am truly blessed for opportunities like this.

One Down, Two to Go

Goal: 7-10 Miles  7:30 - 9:00/mi.
Actual: 9 Miles @ 8:24/mi. w/ some 7:15 pickup

Who Does Hills for Warm Up?

With so few days left until we leave for Blue Ridge Relay, I knew I wanted to take advantage of another "day off" from work in time to "taper" just before the relay.  Since it's Tuesday, why not start with some decent mileage at the Miner's Run.  Before bed last night, I decided I would arrive early to park at Spanish Trace and get my last elongated hill in before BRR.  I started off abruptly but easy up Monroe Rd. for a mile, not feeling any burn.  Turning onto Sardis Rd North I prepared for the mile descent.  Surprisingly, I felt very comfortable cruising at comfortable pace and just let myself flow down the hill.  I felt so good, I decided to change plans and go right back up as soon as I hit Sardis Rd. itself.  The climb back my legs may have burned a little, but really I was just glad to stretch the legs out.

Seriously love these shoes.
Photo courtesy of RunningWarehouse.com

The main purposes of this portion of my morning run was to get in some last minute hill training,  try out my new reflective vest, and get a feel for how well my ASR's could transition back onto asphalt.  I will most likely use these for Leg 2 of the Relay.  If anyone is looking for a good trainer that can function on trail due to it's water resistance, sturdy midsole, and durable upper, I love my Brooks Adrenaline ASR7's.  I can't wait until the ASR-GTX is in my budget too.  My Nathan vest looks really cool, but after a couple miles it was extremely awkward, fitting much like a plus-sized NCAA women's half singlet would fit me.  I am certainly glad I decided to change the routine.

Running down the greenway to meet the group, I was cruising comfortably at 7:45 fearing that the the rest of CRC might soon be dropping sub 7:30 by the time I saw them. As I saw the pack approaching in the dark with headlamps streamlined I pulled to the side  to avoid causing fright only to find myself the frightened party as Kahn shouted, "Identify yourself!"  Geez, I'm no good at yelling to communicate to people, so I just tried to spit out some gibberish in hopes that I could really just concentrate on getting my wheels spinning in time.

A peak at a typical miner's run as Megan leads the pack.

Spritely and and ever so comfortably, we bounded down the greenway to the XC course.  Being in front, gleaning from the wisdom/antics of Kahn, I hardly noticed I was in front until one mile into the XC course. Avoiding any owl attacks, we continued the brisk 7:15 pace and picked up Beigay.  Realizing I was still in front, I admitted to Kahn, "I can't lead up the hill today."  He obliged as Paul quickly clamored, "Can we please not do the hill today!?"  I was more than thankful to hear this from Paul.  Coming up to the Shue Sea I was approaching the end of my mileage and I let the group continue without me.  Headed back to the car came up .6 short and decided to tack on striders.  Felt really really good.  The Miner's passed the Spanish Trace a few minutes later and I let out a cheer.  I'm just so thankful for the Miner's Run in particular.

Every joint and muscle flowed as smoothly as can be expected today. Only the slightest twinge after I finished, but no time to dwell on how great it was. One down, two to go.

Anticipation

Distance: 9mi. @ 7:38

Time: 1:08

This has been a great last 48 hours for me.  I got some great news that could change a number of variables in my life.  On Wednesday, Caitlin put the word out to see if anyone wanted to run at 6AM at McAlpine Thursday instead of at the Dowd.  Naturally, I jumped on this opportunity.  William Isenhour and I met Caitlin in the main parking lot and took off for Old Bell.  I knew the plan was to hold 7:30 for the run.  When I started hitting 7:20, 7:14 in the first few miles, I knew I just had to suck it up and ignore what the watch said.  Being out at the muddy trail surfaces of McAlpine was a nice change from the Colville loop.  We decided to take the greenway all the way down Campbell Creek and back to the course.  I was a little weary of hitting the asphalt considering Caitlin's recent IT band troubles, but she felt fine as we finished up a great run.  Trying to be smart about the effort I put in right before the 50K, I had a nice cycle of falling 10-20m behind then catching up with Cait and Will.  At the end of a 9.15 mile sunrise trot at McAlpine, my average was still 7:38 just as if I had been with all the guys down at the Dowd, but I felt fantastic.  This is exactly why I decided to join Charlotte Running Club in addition to the University City Road Runners in the first place.  Naturally I tried to restrain my excitement, but as much as I become enthralled with our local running celebrities, all I could think was that I finally got to "See Red Run" firsthand. Awesome!  So my last solid run before the big day tomorrow was a nice push for me, and I'm thankful that Will and Cait took it easy sticking with the 7:30 plan.

I joined Allen, Stephanie Sawyer, Emily Hansen, Theoden, Jade, Leonard, Billy, and Bjorn at the Burger Co. for their typical Friday morning lunch.  Filled with great conversation, a little discussion of our plans for the race tomorrow, delicious food, and wonderful friends, I really hope to meet up for this crew on Fridays more often.  I realize that I get excited again and again to think how far I've come since moving to Charlotte, but two years ago, I couldn't possibly imagine learning from and running with some of the greatest minds and fastest legs in the Queen City.  I could be a little nervous leading into my first ultra-marathon tomorrow, but really I've just got great anticipation.

Happy New Year

Goal: 20mi.

Actual: 5k + 9mi.

I had a really late start this morning, because even though we had a fairly tame New Year's Eve, I was up far later than normal last night.  After sleeping in, we decided to drive down to McAlpine just in time for CRC's inaugural Hangover Run 5K instead of logging the warm-up miles from the house to the course.

Just after approaching the starting line, "Ready, Set, Go!" was shouted by el presidente Aaron Linz, and the runner's were off. Of course the front of the pack was led by Paul, Stan, Caleb Boyd, Ben Hovis, maybe Mike Beigay and several others I couldn't see, but I decided to just catch up with Allen and stick it out with him.  Kicking off 2011 with an 90% effort 5K without a warm-up seemed to be a recipe for injury, but I survived with a comfortable 21:12 only getting passed by Michael Kahn with the dual stroller and Todd Capitano who was gracious enough to let me draft off him for a few seconds and not complain.  I finished 12th this morning, but I don't really know what value that would provide. I was just glad to be out there with such a great group.  I got to catch up with Leonard briefly.I finally met Larry and Kathy Seavers, Charlott'es Co-Runner's of the Year.  Great couple, but I'm pretty sure Kathy managed to mistake me for Leonard somehow and all of Larry's Red Sox attire made me a little queazy, but great couple.  After the race, I was sure to pick up another great cold-weather layer from Jordan by Craft of Sweden.  Looks and feels great.

After chat-chitting with a few other runners (Lauren Tilton and her husband Dan, Emily Barrett, Jay Holder, et al) Christi, John Fillette, and I took off for more miles with Leonard and Allen quickly pulling away.  I wanted to be smart and not forget that the Frosty 50K is exactly a week away so John and Christi were sure to take it easy with me.  I enjoyed the early mileage company leading up to Boyd Park, but that's as far as it lasted.  I proceeded to log more miles looping around back to Old Bell and few other varied loops around the XC course.  I tried eating a Nutri-Grain bar on the run per Aaron Linz's advice and I still don't have the technical aspects of this task down pat with very little time to experiment before the race. It was horrid.  With only a couple miles to go before my hilly ascent back up the road to my place, I saw Christi and Layla who had come back just to show me some support for my lonely miles.  After stopping to show some love for my love, I realized how difficult it would be for me to restart, so I called it a day at twelve miles.

Though I only logged 12 today, I still feel pretty good knowing the long run I plan in the morning too will put me at higher mileage for the new year than most of my comrades in the community and I know I started the year off right head and shoulders above my training a year ago.

Snow Day

~18.11 in 3:07:43 (10:22 avg)

I should definitely say I had a great first Christmas with Christi's family this year, and I think it was worth skipping a day to enjoy great times with these great people.  Not a substitute for quality time with my own family, but it sure felt good to change it up like that.

Just before bed last night I saw a number of e-mails between UCRR members planning a snow run @ 7am on the MC Greenway, and I was anxious to make up miles myself.  I made it out the door by 5:45 but the roadways still seemed a little precarious to be solo at that hour.  By 6:15, I started the watch up from my driveway and took off at an easy trot for McAlpine.  While I was wearing my headlamp, I never had to turn the high beams on while soaking up this pre-sunrise winter wonderland.  I really wanted to take it easy and stomping through the snow made my goal of 10:00 miles a lot easier  all the way down to the park.  As soon as I hit the greenway, I was filled with elation as I saw no other footprints in sight.  All the way past the XC course still not even animal tracks.  My route seemed so pure and unscathed, I really just wanted to stop and take pictures.  I felt like time stood still while I slowly jogged praying aloud thanking the Creator for this amazing morning.  Then I finally came across a couple of Masters running together as I approached Old Bell.  As I progressed down the south end of the greenway I could see the snow was still just as thick, but my steps became lighter by the second and I decided to rattle off a couple of -8:00's with a max of 6:30 and did the same thing back 2 more miles from Old Bell.  Suddenly I had to snap out of it and remind myself that my goal wasn't about the quick turnover no matter how good it felt.  I really needed to maintain the discipline for 10:00 avg today.  So knowing I had no choice but to suck it up and cover the miles on a path I knew very well I decided to do various random loops all around the XC course.

Lesson Learned:  When the course is absolutely covered in snow, it is far safer to traverse THE Hill of the McAlpine XC course backwards than the easy way.  

My subsequent 2nd, 3rd, & 4th times tackling the hill backwards resulted from the notion that I needed it for practice since I'm already aware of the steep grade of the single "cliff" in the middle of Salem Lake's Frosty 50 course that I will have to climb twice.  By mile 12, I was slowing down at an alarming rate hitting what may have been my worst mile split (12:30) since suffering from the fuel-free long runs of the summer.

Lesson Learned: Running in the snow is waaaay more tedious than logging miles on the sandy beaches of the Carolina Coast.

Despite the pain, I was familiar with this desperate feeling of anguish, and I knew I'd survive like any other tough long run.  By the time the sun rose, I really picked up on a number of points to adjust in my training.  It turns out that it's not so difficult to maintain a slower pace if I ignore my watch for a while.  I also noticed that despite my deceleration, I had neither pushed my lactic threshold nor VO2 max so far that I couldn't easily pick up the pace to -8:00 miles with very little focus.  I kept looking down and inquiring within whether or not anything actually hurt or felt strained, even my breathing, and I couldn't think of a single excuse.

I imagine that I would've gladly stayed outside long enough to add on +4 slow miles had I taken the time to stop and check what hour of the morning it really was.  Since I only knew that I was approaching 3 hours of continuous run time, my promised return home before 10:00 had to be imminent as well.  I pondered my future marathon - ultra career throughout the last ten miles today, and I think I've come up with the following formula.  Race, 2 weeks recovery, 2 weeks hard training, 2 weeks taper, race.  I hope to see if this basic guideline can withstand through May at least.

Looking back, today's wintry adventure was great for me because the time I had to enjoy the wondrous beauty of this snow day at the best time of morning, and also I think I set myself up for a new outlook on a couple of different key aspects to my ultra- career. In the end, I played around with my "mileage vs. holiday time off" ratio a little too much this week.  I think I burned more calories than I ingested, but I'm definitely falling short of a 70 mile week again.  At this point, recovering from a sixty mile week is becoming all too easy, that I know it's not about over-exerting myself as much as I just need to arrange my schedule accordingly and plan smarter around "holidays" and the likes of such.  I'm quite anxious to see what the New Year will hold for me now that my aspirations for 2011 are in a completely different area from my goals of 2009 or '10.

Refresher Run

5 miles @ McAlpine

w/u: 1mi. @ 8:45

target: 3mi. @ 7:45, actual: 7:45, 7:15, 7:19

c/d: 1mi. @ 7:50 (only b/c i misread my watch and sped up when i should've been slowing down.)

I had to get some morning miles in just in case.  My original intention was to run with the CRC studs this morning, but since Christi wasn't feeling well when we went to bed last night, I obliged to stay in longer this morning before putting in work with hopes to get in extra miles with her this afternoon.

I jogged over to the start of the XC course from the Margaret Wallace parking lot trying to force myself to stay @ +9:00, but this is going to take a lot more discipline leading up to the Frosty 50.  I took off nice and easy through the first mile, slowed down to greet a co-worker on the course and inadvertently accelerated through mile 2.  I wish someone could explain to me how the second mile of that course is always my fastest. I finished through mile 3 feeling great with this only being the third time i got decent leg turnover since Thunder Road.   I think I had also forgotten what it was like to get a good workout for fewer than 5 miles.  I have only a few lactic or VO2 workouts left before Frosty, so I'm sure whatever miles Christi and I share this afternoon will feel great.  Still looking to get in 3 great double-digit runs before Christmas weekend is over to put me closer to 70 than 60 this week.