22km Trail Race #5

I raced the whole series! Yesterday's time: 2:26:07 11/12 in my age group I thought it was maybe a bit too ambitious when I signed up, but it's over now and apparently it was within my grasp. It's been a very productive summer as summers go and to have this series under my belt represents a significant victory in goal setting for me. Five years I've been running now and I'm still healthy and strong. Time is a real bottle neck! Once free of that the possibilities are endless, but I think that requires the big grass sleep so I'll try not to rush it.

The results page:
http://trailrunmanitoba.com/results_22k.php

I was very happy with my results yesterday. 22km is a long way to run on trails for me. I finished a lot faster than I expected, but I did prepare as if I intended to race and not just run. I finished in 2:26:07, but it might have gone on to a 2:40:00 type finish easily enough. Mentally I could have been a little more serious about testing my training, but it's a social day for for me mostly or at least it was for me.

Not quite all the ducks were lined up yesterday morning, but by the half way mark it was clear I had plenty left in the tank to pick up the pace and I did. When I mistakenly went back to check on a friend, I realized that I was going to have to claw back that missing time to catch back up, give up on that goal and look at the remainder of the day as a training run. That decision was made almost instantly. I caught up to my friend in one km then spent two catching my breath and reeling in my pace before I went ahead on my own to finish the last six kilometers. I passed a few people that were suffering, but I was on a mission and frankly I was not suffering anywhere in particular so much as everywhere. I should try and get more training into my thighs, but they have the toughest time recovering from the speed work or long distance runs. More varialbles to play with I suppose.

My feet are too weird to allow me to comfortably run through big stretches of muddy water in all but the late stages of a race. I have better feet for Karate than for running. The pressure points are concentrated into very high load zones that I've come to respect. Wet sloppy food wear and sock makes me thing of blister damage to often.

The details of the the split times (click on "laps"):
http://itsmyrun.com/index.php?display=public_runner&view_what=runlog&show=a_month&view_runner=clocker&log_month=10&log_year=2008

The game of attending to the various physiological systems in training and then testing those estimates is endlessly entertaining to me. The body and mind are the ultimate in complicated machinery. That I can comprehend and influence them at all seems like magic when it comes together like it does more often than not in a favourable way.

I trained hard for the last six weeks with the incorporation of some very intentional speed work. Mostly tempo and strides, but in the last week specifically I ran various race paces of much shorter distances trying to keep my intensity up while dropping my mileage while I tapered for this 22km race on Saturday.

The taper was strange. I had so much energy it was difficult to get to bed at night and that wasn't best and defeated some of the gains available, but I do so love to touch the dials and play with the variables. This was the strongest taper experience yet. I can't imagine how people stay sane tapering after marathon training. It must leave one a bit mad really.

I have my sights set on a two hour half marathon next June. It should be within range. One of the things that's worked very well this summer is keeping a consistent schedule without becoming ill or injured. Taking time off for a cold or flu really crimps the plans and I avoided that through, for me, what was very intense training.

I'm so jacked up about this as one might be able to tell from my little gushing here. The other night I thought my heart rate as a little on the low side so I checked and it was down to 45/minute. Now if I could just replace a bit of fat with muscle I'd be in even better shape. It's too easy for me to enjoy a bit of a carbo binge for that to happen easily though. Ice cream and junk food anyone? On the bright side I used to drink like a fish and smoke like a chimney and that's not happening any more! It could be worse.

Those that don't run seem to struggle about why one would do this type of thing if there is now chance of winning. The answer is because it's about competing against one's own limits. Genetically and socially we come from different places and yet the fast ones genetically are up against the same trouble shooting guides that limit those of lesser talents. It's humbling to take your plan and then show up to test it against a time in public where people know what you're expected to do.

Art for arts sake. Wish I had a coach that specialized in old slow guys.

Now I'll take a couple of weeks off of running and enjoy the last of the fall and get back to cutting wood and working on the house and in the shop more.

I planted 3kg of garlic today and my legs were trembling. I ran stairs to get laundry done. It was bedding day wouldn't you know! I must rest, but know you are loved.
Wee Juan

found milk snake

This little escape artist is an Honduran milk snake. It's fall here and as I was moving boxes in search of antiquated tooling and parts, I looked down upon 2% and my jaw dropped open. She's been missing from a building that's a hundred meters from the grainery where I found here. I suppose she was tucked into her winter space trying to grab what mass she could to support her bid to keep from freezing solid in our winters. She would have lost that bid I'm quite certain, had I not found her waiting for me deep in the box pile.

2% went missing on May 5 2008. She's not under weight, but she's a little jumpy when I handle her.

John Gardner quote

cmongirl@lj wrote in literaryquotes@lj:

When I was a child I truly loved:
Unthinking love as calm and deep
As the North Sea. But I have lived,
and now I do not sleep.

-John Gardner in Grendel


Broad awareness is painful. Today as I think about my brothers and parents I am struggling to recoup some strength from a long night. Ignorance is bliss.

Try a Trail #4

I had a pretty good run today. I mean to say that it was joyous. The type of run where expectations are at the very lowest ebb and the results are humble and honest.

The trail was fragrant with the scent of ripe berries for the entire distance. Everything was moist and redolent with the smells of coming fall. The poison ivy was all turning colour. It was spectacularly beautiful to be out in the forest today.

The official results page is not posted yet, but I dedicated my race today to coming in last. I don't know how many were in the field today, but it is getting thinner every race. I think there were fifteen men. I ran with a long time runner and triathlete at the very back and ensured that she crossed the finish line ahead of me after an hour and thirty seven minutes of running.

I was still shaken or rather am still shaken by the demands of the concrete dust and the resulting sore body parts from the assault on the basement rock wall. It was a cool lightly overcast day where the trail was not too muddy and the dew was still on the grass. It was a brilliant day for a run and I ran the entire thing aerobically or very comfortably at least.

I've noticed others at races accompanying slower runners to encourage them so I figured I could accompany M and know both our days would be better for the effort. We didn't talk constantly, but we did have some fun along the way. M stopped at the first water station for an outhouse break and I hung around and waited the few minutes it took to get back in gear. It was a relaxed day without many expectations and as usual it was a great way to go.

The irony is that at 1:37:15 for 13.8km I was at the same pace as the last race, but two kilometers farther and a very low perceived effort. #3 in the series was brutally demanding and today's #4 was a cake walk at the same pace over the same type of terrain. The mind is a wild thing. Perception is an odd game. Expectations are potent guides to success and failure.

I took no water or food for the run and managed very well on a heavy breakfast in the wee hours and again with the group at the ranch house after the run. They were kind enough to wait until ten minutes before we slow pokes came in to begin to serve so we got to enjoy our visit afterward too. Dwayne is getting the hang of this race director position very well I think.

Pam had a great race to finish second in the women by seconds and first in her age category. Steve did well too, but I'm not sure if he was second or third overall. Happy faces all round the table this time. Last time was a little less enthusiastic for many of the people I knew there. Weird how the stars align for that type of thing.

Anyway it was good fun and I'm hoping to be in good shape to finish up the series on October 18 with a good showing again. What a great thing it is to be alive.
Be well.

literary quote prize

I saw this from literaryquotes@lj in my blur tonight after a big run today and thought it brilliant.

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje.
"Only the best art can order the chaotic tumble of events. Only the best can realign chaos to suggest both the chaos and the order it will become.

Within two years of 1066, work began on the Bayeux Tapestry, Constantin the African brought Greek medicine to the western world. The chaos and tumble of events. The first sentence of every novel should be: "Trust me, this will take time, but there is order here, very faint, very human." Meander if you want to get to town."

More trail racing thoughts about being slow

More jawing about being slow on the trail races and self talk about being responsible!

It wasn't much of a race for me the third time out and I don't expect that this coming weekend and race number four will be anything much to write about either. I've been dreaming in longer cycles which is why I have enjoyed the running game so much.

My nature is one surrounded by impulsive action and the resulting regrets that often come with that style. In order not to get injured and to observe some improvement I've been required to engage forethought. Radical ideas abound. After the Manitoba half mary which I was very pleased with I went back to base building and thought I could accept the trail races being slower. As it turns out my ego isn't that stout.

Granted the field is hard core and has thinned to an even more dedicated trail enthusiasts series since the beginning of the summer, but still I'm finding it tough to be at the back of the pack. Worse still is when I crunched up the numbers and everyone else showed improved paces except little old, balding, less than lean and mean, me. I knew this would be the case, but it's still proving more difficult than I imagined.

If one does not train with speed one does not get faster. By building a broader base I aim to challenge a two hour half mary next June. It's only with a big broad base that one best exploits the speed work, but it blows to get slower! I'm having serious issues imagining the 22km run in October and having to run what will likely be a big chunk of 2:45 with the emergency clean up crew on mountain bikes following me the whole way.

Saturday is race number four and will be 14km. I'm still doing a lot of aerobic miles in training, but Tuesday I opened up the pipes a bit and saw some small nine minute miles where an aerobic mile for me would be run in 11:40 or so. Let it go... let it go... let it go...

I'm going to set my sights on a twelve or sixteen week program in the spring to try and shave off a whopping thirty seconds a mile and break two hours for the half marathon. I won't run a full until I break two hours for the half. I'll likely want to break an hour for a 10km too sometime next year too if not sooner. One has to have goals.