Well the reset button has been set. I've officially withdrawn from the Ultra Trail Snowdonia 100. I now have no races planned until October, Autumn 100, which is outside of  London.

With the time change and longer days my enthusiasm has been renewed however I'm still harboring the piriformis injury. I'm running very little, have put my bike up on the trainer in the garage, and am doing all sorts of strengthening and stretching to make running pain free again.

Why is it that all the great ideas and motivation come up when you're injured? I've never understood that. One of these ideas is to actually get fast again. I have a long time before Autumn 100 so why not get fast, run a few shorter races, win the Wyre Forest Half for once, maybe go for a fast marathon? It's not hard to interject a couple speed work days in. Maybe that's what this injury is all about. A total reset. Stop focusing on long slow miles. Add in those hard, short workouts. I can always run long and slow, why not see if I can still break 5 minutes for the mile? I bet with the right training I can, and it won't take hours of training. Once that speed is back, add in the long miles. I just need to get injury free. 

The one thing that really keeps me going is the hope that I'll get into Tor des Geants in the future. There are a lot of races out there I'd like to do but the reality is most will be very difficult to do with a family. The majority of the US races on my bucket list fill that category, such as Western States. Obviously the cost but also US school times are different from the UK so it's nearly impossible to line up a family vacation with a race. I will get into the Tor eventually. It's in Italy, so close to where I stay here in the UK. I just need to always keep it at the back of my mind and be preparing no matter how far off that entry may be.

Sorry if this blog goes stale for a bit. Not much to post really when all I'm doing is riding a bike in the garage and doing strength work! 

"There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life."

-Alain de Botton

And we're all sick again. I used to love winter, now it's just months of colds, dark and rain. I had been consistently hitting 40 mile weeks until last week, I ended up about 32. I just lost all willpower managing injury, sickness, tiredness, and grumpiness throughout the family.

I'm back running nights again which sucks. Kids are all over the place with their sleeping. 

Times like these I wonder why I put so much effort into running these odd events. I'd get the same benefits from short races and probably even not racing at all. Maybe it's the hope I get some attention for something. Otherwise I'm really just like everyone else, or less possibly since I'm not sucessful. There goes that winter depression talking again, I love living here. 

I've began aggressively acting on this piriformis issue, strengthening and rolling a few times per day. It flares around 10 miles usually, and is tolerable but not ideal. I'm ready to pay someone to help. It always seems that when motivation is high I'm hurt or sick. I'm ready for speed work, for longer miles, but physically not there. 

This week will be tough. Kids are off school and the wife took some time off so less time to do anything, no Friday long run. I try to tell myself time off is good but just get antsy. I try to fill the gaps with calisthenics to clear my mind and of course an odd elbow issue pops up from no where, even before I start anything! I just can't win in the winter. 

Ok, my bitch session is over. 

Fevers are good

After a Friday night of the little guy having a fever and throwing up, then the wife getting it and ending up with a cramp in her back from poor sleep, Saturday was a tough one. I ended up not going in to work so I could help out at home.

I hate missing work but I had a productive day at home getting a lot done around the house and getting some solid time with my daughter doing school work and practicing her tae kwon do which is a rarity. She copies a lot and saw me doing a little JKD so she joined in. I wish she would do that more but I'd assume there's a lot going on her her little mind.

Running was obviously on the back burner too, missing an early run and also my lunch break run at work put me behind 15 intended miles. I focused on what time I had left, night, drank some more coffee, put on a fresh new Ten Junk Miles podcast, and laughed my way to Kidderminster and back. Not quite 15 miles but 10 will make Sunday a little easier leaving me 10 to meet my 40 mile week goal.

Nothing beats the Ten Junk Miles Podcast. It's a running podcast, not specifically ultra distance and is all abilities, mainly mid to back pack runners, that is Chicago based. They interview everyday runners for the most part and the humor is very midwest. They don't hold back and are anything but PC like you'd get out in the western US. Their goal is to be the "friends" you'd talk with while out running for people who run alone. Perfect. All the personalities and inappropriate jokes I can pinpoint to friends back home. It's awesome and not always just about running, the tangents they get off on are ridiculous and awesome.

This odd dragging illness had been holding steady. I wasn't sure whether to push through or stop. Last time I had this it lasted 8 weeks. I've lost count but am anxiously awaiting feeling quick again. My quality of running slips more every time I'm out which is demoralizing but I know what the cause is so just need to be patient.

Patience and pushing through turned into about a fever of 101 degrees, probably Sunday, for sure Monday, and Tuesday. I ran Sunday and met my goal despite feeling under the weather. Monday I felt like complete crap and after returning from work discovered I was officially sick with a temp. I worked again Tuesday, with a high temp, but didn't run because the wife was out of town. I began to feel less nauseous late Tuesday. 

Today, Wednesday, I got out for a 10 miler on the canal and felt the best I have in probably a month! Thanks to that fever I'm hoping it nuked whatever I had and I'm on my way to running better. Hopefully some normalcy is to follow. 

Half Marathon, tiredness

A few screenshots from the official race photographer! The Wyre Forest Wizard Half Marathon went about as good as it could. I ran 15 miles on Friday and was expecting a miserable muddy course, which it was as you can see in the photos. Those underfoot conditions were about 90% of the course. The footing limited how fast you could go and days later my feet still are sore from attempting to stay upright. 

I ended up 2nd place and about 20 minutes behind my "summer course" time! Granted the summer course is a bit different, and usually significantly dryer, the mud was the main cause of slow times. Not even really aggressive shoes would've made a difference. Overall a fun race, a great workout (the main goal, but I'll likely not do it again!  

I feel I'm still holding on to some sort of illness. An overall tired feeling all the time, could just be British winter too, but I doubt it! Also a very mild cough and runny nose. Seems similar to what I had last winter but a bit milder, that hung on for 8 weeks. I wish it would go away as I'm ready to have my routine back but I feel weak. I feel like I've been saying that for a month. I'm trying to mainly focus on running, then dribble in a bit of JKD and calisthenics to keep the strength up but it's tough.

I thought I had something else to spew about but it's slipped my mind. Injuries are there but seem to be just that, "there." Today, Friday, I'm anticipating a 15 miler while the little guy is at preschool in the morning, then a scramble to get things organized and together before the kids come home. Tomorrow I'd like 15 again spread between 10 early morning and 5 at work. Still shooting for 40 miles this week but with the wife out for work, general tiredness, night running, it's been kind of a struggle this week so I'm "behind" in time. I'll make it happen though.   

Sickness, fitness, freakness, half marathon

I'm plugging away with the miles. Hitting 40 miles per week has been a good goal and in the past it has been a good number before starting more longer runs as an event grows closer.

The whole family had been hit with a nasty cold. Even my impenetrable immune system couldn't hold it off! So everyone was and is grumpy. It's tons of fun. I just shut my mouth, quiet down, and get on with it. Running blows out my sinuses and makes me feel significantly better (as does any exercise, even a quick calisthenics routine). Anyway, let's hope it passes soon, it feels like it's on the way out.

I'm harboring injuries still but they are tolerable. Piriformis, knee plica, a little calve issue which I solved. So, I'm hitting the foam roller and things are looking better. The piriformis is aggravated from hills otherwise it's runnable and the plica I think it is a JKD injury because it has no effect on running. I've always got tight calves so shin splints are common for me, just need to keep them loose.

around mile 12 or so of my "birthday run"

Still adjusting to the new routine. I think night running will be happening again. The kids wake up at 6am all the time and unless I'm back before that for some reason I'm in the wrong. I understand running is a selfish endeavor but is waking at 430am and being back by 6am selfish? I didn't think so either! Anyway, anything to keep the peace. When you have a goal you are passionate about you'll accept any routine and make it happen. UTS really grabbed my interest unlike Thames Path so I figured it to be the right race to do. 

I turned 41 on the 26th. Most people seem to get upset about birthdays, I do a little, mainly because I have no close friends here so I'm basically on my own. No excitement really but I guess that's part of getting old. However, I can't complain about my personal achievements in my 40th year. A black belt in martial arts and a Western States 100 Endurance Run sub 24 hour finish! Not too shabby! The day itself was fairly normal. I got our for a nice 15 mile run in the sun no less! That run would've happened anyway, also got a few nice gifts, and we went out to eat at Pizza Hut. They've got a vegan pizza option I was curious about so indulged in a little junk food. Not too bad and the kids were happy too. The wife I think was happy as well since it was half the price of going out to eat at a pub.

I recently came across research that had been done assessing someone's fitness for their age. I took the questionnaire and according to my lifestyle, history, etc. I have the fitness of someone under the age of 20! Well it sure doesn't feel like that but I'll take it! Seems to come from a reputable source as well. Made me almost as happy as my run on my birthday! I must be doing something right, sometimes all this healthy eating and exercising becomes a burden, a social issue as people look at me like I'm an oddball. Oddball. Freak. I kind of like that. Yeah I'm not like you, I'm fucking different, and I'm happy that way. I embrace the freak. It's who I am. I recently read a really good blog post on that whole topic and it really was a nice boost of positivity since I fit in here like a square peg in a circular hole.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I'm running a half marathon on the Wyre Forest. No idea what the course is but am assuming shitty muddy conditions. That's ok it's mostly a reason to run on the forest in the daylight rather than a race. Knowing me I'm sure I'll give it my all even though I ran 15 miles yesterday, 5 or so today, and have a few injuries. It will still be fun. Curious how the piriformis will be. On we go........   

Work, kids and UTS!

Well it's been an odd week. Not necessarily busy but odd. I've worked a couple extra days, only 4 hours each though, and the little guy had fun at nursery. One big bonus is the little guy is able to attend nursery on Friday mornings, about 9 - noon, which will give me some free time. Ideally I'll be out the door running but obviously just having some kid-free time will be beneficial in getting things done. 

More work is good but I struggle with it as it's a fun job and my boss is a great guy, not to mention super flexible, but it's by no means a career or something I really look forward to as it can be kind of boring. It just doesn't have a fun exciting community surrounding it like all of my previous jobs have had. So, adding on some more time at work is a good thing financially, it mentally is kind of a downer. It just seems like a lot of commuting and hassle for little benefit. It kind of feels like my old job in Tahoe to some extent. Awesome place to work but you see what it could be, and probably should be, but it's held back. Then I think about any future as far as jobs go and holy shit is it a dead end for me considering my age, job history, and being tied to kids for the next (at least) 5 years...... Ugh, think happy thoughts!
   
Anyway, I mulled it over and committed my money to the Ultra Trail Snowdonia 100. It's a doozy! I still need to get on it and drop out of the Thames Path 100 and more importantly register for Autumn 100 so I keep that Western States lottery thing going on. The main unique thing about UTS is 39,500 vertical feet of climbing. The most I've ever done in a 100 miler is 23,000 I think. I'm planning on incorporating trekking poles which can be beneficial for the ups and downs, plus with my nordic ski background I know how to use them to my benefit. A few models that break down but are lightweight are what I'll get, probably some Black Diamond Carbon Z as they seem the most bang for your buck and have solid reviews. I also need to consider the technicality of some of the trails. It's an "alpine style" race so ridge lines, climbs, and descents could end up being third or fourth class scrambles. Anyway, I could talk for hours about what is needed etc. but the key addition is an ass-ton of up and down! Time to start training!