Bad thoughts go away!

Ugh. The view of the climb at mile 82 (credit to someone on Facebook). I'm already down mentally about a lot of things pertaining to LL100 then I see this! 

The negatives: No UTMB points. Training has been on and off. Minor injuries that could grow into bigger injuries. I've got another 100 8 weeks later that is worth UTMB points.

The positives: It's the frigging Lake District! It's a classic must do UK race! It will be super cool despite how I finish! 

I just need to accept that I'll do what I can do and not get down about it. This seems easier than it sounds. It's ok to be a "completer" and not a "competer". 

The mind: friend or foe

I keep having difficulties looking at these two up coming races as "just to finish". That concept I'm having trouble with. It is a race and my mentality in a race is to, well, race! I've got to get that out of my head! 

Training has been ok. I feel decent, injuries come and go, some persist (toe). Yesterday I was planning and psyched to run 50 miles, I even had an easy week leading up to it. It's that time in the training cycle for Lakeland 100 but I couldn't find a race to do so figured I'd just go run. This became more difficult than I thought. 

I had a nice 13 mile hilly loop all laid out. The plan was to run four loops and resupply food and water at home. I woke early and headed out, feeling decent, moving along at a consistent pace. I did two loops and went in to resupply and say hi to the wife and little one. I was feeling fine and running well and then got sucked into the house, demotivated to run. It was over that fast. 26 miles in about 3:30 was a solid run I guess but as so many people say "don't sit down at aid stations" I essentially had done that. 

I had a fun day in the sun with my wife and daughter but was depressed all afternoon and evening for not finishing what I started. I still need to do the workout but only have two weekends before I need to taper. Who knows if it will happen but it all comes back to the "just finish" thoughts. Other than getting you to try out your equipment, feeding plan, and experience some discomfort, I think this one long run solidifies the thought that yes you can finish.

I have the ability to finish Lakeland. But the race mentality keeps sneaking in. I currently do not believe mentally I have done the proper training to race Lakeland. I need to focus on purging the racer thoughts from my head and just go run the event or try to convince my mind that I have the mileage to race. Some people run 35 mile weeks and finish very high in these races claiming it's all mental. I believe this, just need to find the mental training. 

Looking Ahead

So it looks as if the plan for the Cotswold Way Century is a go. I just need to register. I got the all clear by the wife. This may not seem like a big deal but the wife will be a few weeks from having our second child! I think she understands how important it is to me to at least try to get in to UTMB since this opportunity may never come around again. I think that's pretty cool of her since she isn't a runner and pretty much has no idea of what I'm doing! Ha ha ha! 

I was looking at my training from last year running up to Superior and was comparing it to this year's lead up to Lakeland 100. I'm definitely down a bit on miles but I think this shortness will be made up in consistentcy. Pre-Superior 100 I didn't have the consistent months of running like I do now so hopefully I'll be ok. 

I've kind of started viewing my running in the long term, like everything I'm doing now will pay off in the future and I'm not overly concerned with how I finish these two hundreds this summer but more focusing just on finishing. I mentioned the no UTMB points for LL100 kind of turned me off on the race which may be one factor. Also I think the daunting task of having a 3 year old AND a new born this winter has had an affect (effect?) too. I'm most likely not going to be able to train as much this winter and who knows what will come in 2015 as far as available time to run. That's a HUGE question pertaining to a UTMB entry! 

I figure if I can just hold on to my fitness not worrying too much about big miles I think I can come out in a year or two alright and maybe even ahead. By ahead I see it as the consistency and adding more years of running when the opportunity to race again conveniently comes around as the kids are older I should be faster than I am now. The nature of these distances seems to bode well for masters athletes where fast twitch muscles aren't as important as shorter distances. 

Hopefully by then I'll be living back in the USA and then have the opportunity to get into some of the classic ultras I first read about in high school; Western States, Leadville, etc. and maybe even Arrowhead 135. That would be pretty cool.

Morning running

Nothing much going on in my running world. Kind of at a standstill. Went to the doctor yesterday to have a check on my toe and she was positive it isn't a stress fracture which is good. Many times I don't trust what they say though since most aren't avid runners. Kind of gave a vague answer about tendons and ligaments blah blah blah. So I'll keep running on it and try to do more extensive massage and stretching to hopefully work any tightness out. It's the same as it's always been, sore, but doesn't get worse. 

In other injury news the pain on my iliac crest of my pelvis seems to be getting better. I may have mentioned I believe it's my tensor facia latae, TFL. Stretching and ice have been helping it feel better running.

sunrise over the Severn Valley, St. Leonard's Church to the right (1677!)

Despite these two nuisances I've been handling some pretty good miles. I hit 60 last week which is the biggest week I've had in a long time. I wasn't overly tired either, last year when I got up to 70 mile weeks I was wrecked so the accumulation of miles over time is helping. Mid week I picked up the pace one day, managing a 630 per mile pace for 10 miles. It felt very comfortable too. Sometimes I think I need to do more of those. I know they are good for me I'm just being cautious to avoid injury I guess. Stress the body and it comes back stronger, it also motivates, and keeps the mind out of a rut.

River Severn, I wasn't planning on the ducks! 

Been seeing some new wildlife out lately. I chased a badger down the canal path yesterday for a while. Also recently saw a few Asian water deer I believe. They are tiny, the size of a big dog. One day I spooked one and it jumped into and then out of the canal! It had a tiny set of antlers on it, kind of creepy looking. I've never been hugely into birds so can't identify a lot of the new ones I've been seeing. Mainly ducks and waterfowl. Quite a few baby ducks in the canal and also saw a Canadian goose with 6 goslings. Of course all of these occurrences I didn't have my camera! 

Severn singletrack

430am is the new 530am. I've fully adjusted to early hours which is super nice. I've got plenty of time to get a good run in and on my days off, like today, I get a nice quiet morning. It's totally light out too which is nice. Not that I don't like the dark it just makes it easier I think. The funniest thing is on the weekends seeing the drunks stumble home. Some of the clubs don't close until 6am! This past weekend one guy I saw fell down three times on his journey walking home. It's hilarious. Dead silent out, no cars, and it's light out. A lone guy fights his way home! Should've got a video of the guy it was great.  I also saw some girl 3 miles from anywhere in stiletto heels alongside the road heading home.

lock in Stourport

Looking ahead to July I was getting kind of mentally down about Lakeland. My running had been mediocre and not what I'd prefer so these past couple weeks have been good. I'm still disappointed in LL not being a UTMB qualifier. I am so close to being able to get in the lottery again, but the big question then is if I did get in could I do the training with a new baby on the way in October and is it feasible to take off for a few days to France in late August leaving my wife here with the kids? 

seeds looked like snow

I did find one race that is pretty convenient and it's worth 4 points, just what I need. The Cotswold Way Century. It's 103 miles I think with 12,000 feet of vertical so "easier" in comparison to Superior and LL100. The course follows the Cotswold Way starting in Chipping Campden and finishing in Bath. The convenience factor is that it's about a hour drive to the start or a hour by train with a short taxi ride AND it starts at noon on a Saturday! Which means no hotel! I could travel to the start the morning of, race for around 20 hours, then catch a train home (about a 3 hour ride) from the finish in Bath, UK. So I may run it by the wife over the next few days.

A few recent photos

Ok, here you go! Up until today we had some nice weather. I got out for 10.5 miles this morning. 10.5 soaking wet miles! Rain. Wet vegetation sagging over the trail. Water shooting out my squishy shoes. At least it wasn't cold. I felt pretty good in general other than this odd hip pain I've been complaining about. Stretching and ice are in order. It's come and gone in the past so I'll just push on through for now! Hoping for another 10.5 tomorrow and then two longer runs this weekend. 

The recent mornings have been pretty good for sunrise photos. I haven't been posting because I need to fire up my computer to get the photos off my SD card. Anyway here a few of the better ones. Once again, I'd love to play with these in Lightroom but just don't have the time. All of the locations I've photographed before.

Oldington Bridge Jct

too dark, under exposed

Rifle Range preserve

Severn Way

River Severn

River Severn

Severn Valley Railway bridge

10 Weeks Is Not Enough

So here we are, about 10 weeks out from Lakeland 100. I have absolutely no idea how it will go! I'm down on miles. Feeling ok on average. Have a couple minor injuries but I'm not overly worried about them. I should be able to finish but any higher goals may be out the door.

I'm mostly concerned with my running mileage. Comparing it to my lead up to Superior last year I'm definitely behind. Life just seems to get in the away. No run this mornng, the little one must have had a nightmare. At 4 am I was awoken by the quiet worried version of "dada......dadaaaa.....dadaaaaa" which after four attempts at getting her back to sleep she finally went down about 530. By then I'm worried she'll do it again, despite being way down on sleep, and waking the pregnant wife. So, here I sit, typing with coffee wondering if I should've gotten out for even a short run. 

Well I can employ the jogging stroller later hopefully but I think our nice weather is on the way out once again. It makes me so mad when you read of these runners who have kids and a spouse and are able to put in solid training all the time. Race once a month. Their family is at all the races helping out. Their spouse trucks the kids everywhere during races to spectate. I'm so jealous of those people. Must be nice.

All I ask is for a solid opportunity to do one of these races at my full potential. I'm 37 so I'm not getting younger however it's not like masters athletes are slow in these races, many times they are just as fast as the younger guns. I guess if I can just hang on to my fitness, keep building on a long term base mileage as life allows me to, hopefully I'll have more time and opportunity after the little guy is born in October. When I mean after I mean like in a year! Maybe two! 

I think being a stay at home dad makes it even harder to find the time. There is no day care for the kid(s), I'm always with the little one so my running schedule depends on her. I prefer to get up early and run but if she decides she's up early like today, I don't run. I've toiled with the nighttime run after she's gone to sleep but it's difficult to motivate. The days done. Also the wife seems to think I'll get mugged at night. Ok?! Then why the hell do we live here! Yes, I mentioned the baby jogger but I only have the canal to run on which is fine but if the weather is bad it isn't the greatest.

Anyway. I'll get some photos up on here too, I'm going to monkey around on my computer in a bit. The timing for sunrise has been really good! 

Disappointed with a PR?

So last Thursday I pulled the cord and signed up for the Worcester Marathon. It was the final day to get in to it. I figured despite a couple odd injuries I'm dragging around I could use the mileage so even if I feel like crap it would end up 26.2 miles of experience managing feeling like crap! Not necessarily a bad thing. I even considered running without any food just to do some mental training and discomfort management.

I have still been trying to figure out this toe problem and for some reason an odd shin splint type pain in my right leg. Most likely from the two bigger weeks of running preceded by not enough, this "injury" disappeared before the race as expected. So, I had an easy week leading up to the marathon in order to heal up a bit and I guess it acted as a mini taper too. No amount of rest has helped the toe thing. It's there, doesn't get better or worse. I've been playing with my lacing on my shoe to see if that helps as it could be pressure on the top of my foot.

The Worcester Marathon is a relatively new race, I think this year was the 3rd running of it, along with the half marathon. The course starts at the Worcester Warriors rugby stadium and heads out a short spur and then two laps with an odd additional spur loop on the second time around. Despite two loops it was very scenic out on rural country lanes. I thought a very nice course despite the hills! Now the hills weren't that bad but they were enough for a road race. My Garmin clocked the course vertical at 900 vertical feet of gain I believe. Any hills at distance on the road hurt, especially when you aren't trained for them! 

Everyone started together. Marathon and half marathon. This was kind of annoying because you had no idea who you were running next to until the second loop. I had my watch ticking away and my pace was judged by my heart rate but it was still annoying. Funny thing was when we hit mile 13, on the second lap, three guys in front of me stopped and realized they had missed the half marathon cutoff! Nothing better than an extra 6 miles! 

We had good weather but when the sun came out it did get a little too hot for racing. No complaints I guess. A bit of a head wind in some parts but no big deal. All in all good. 

All this base training came in handy as my heart rate didn't drift too much until the final 6 miles or so and my pace never went over 7 minutes per mile except for when I stopped to take a piss and when I hit the wall for a bit. Otherwise it averaged 6:49 I believe. Fastest mile was 6:35, slowest 7:08.

I finished in 3:00.15 officially. My Garmin clocked the course at 26.44 miles and my marathon time at 26.22 as being 2:58.56! Grrrrr, unofficial. That piss I took. I should've held it in until it was reabsorbed and I could have broken 3 hours! So yes I am kind of disappointed. Should I be? Absolutely not! So I kind of laugh about it. 

My previous marathon best was 3:01.?? at Tucson in 2001. I got a new PR. I DIDN'T specifically train for the race, no speed work, no hills, no tempo runs, just straight up base mileage. I've never focused on a marathon for training, always just gone and did it. I decided to do a marathon four days before! I have no reason to complain, but it is funny! 

Overall it was just what I needed. I got a great run in. Good miles. I recognized the low points and mentally dealt with them in order to trick my brain into keeping up the pace.  And of course I got a big mental boost pertaining to the doubts I had about my fitness and my injuries I've been dragging around.