Week 7/8 - 7/14
I've been away for a while, training and racing, but obviously haven't been keeping up with this blog that I thought was such a "great idea" at the time. I still think it's a great idea, but with actually having to work and train, time just isn't available for this blog. I'm going to try to post weekly mileage and race updates; however, if you're not an ultra runner you WILL find this a little dry. Sorry in advance.
Sunday - 7.0 miles
Monday - 17.04 miles
Tuesday - 8.2 miles
Wednesday - 11.2 miles
Thursday - 21.28 miles
Friday - 16.09 miles
Saturday - 12.0 miles
Total Miles - 92.81 miles
I never set a mileage goal this week; I just went out and ran. I ran with friends and ran by myself. Ran at 4am and at 4pm...moral of this is that I just ran and the miles piled up. I would love to bump this number to 100+ miles per week for a while, but I always seem to run out of time. 'Til next time...
New Commuter
Pic by K. McDaniel
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Heat Stroke Run
With a long weekend a head of me, I woke up Saturday morning with a 3 hour run on my breakfast plate. I headed out the door into the sweltering heat. Not too bad, though, as I headed down the street towards the park. Even though the temperature jumps about 10 degrees once you hit the trails, it still wasn't awful. After climbing more than 1400 feet, I was headed down the backside of the mountain when things started to unravel.
I typically carry a single water bottle...today was no exception. As I'm heading down, I came across a woman sitting under the only tree around for miles (literally). I stopped and asked if she was okay. She wasn't and was suffering from the heat...severely! I gave her my gatorade and waited with her till the rescue team arrived. Once the first paramedic showed up roughly 10-15 minutes later, I continued on my run with a bone-dry water bottle.
I made it to the parking lot at the bottom of the hill still feeling fine and chatted with the rescue team who had pulled 4 people out of the park so far that day. I'm 5 miles from my front door and it's roughly 115 outside at this point and I have nothing to drink. No worries, right?...
Well, that's what I thought, but less than a mile later my thought process drastically changed. I completely bonked! My legs slowed, lungs burned, breathing became harder, stomach started aching, and I was getting dizzy. I made it to the canal before my body completely decided that running any further wasn't going to happen. I walked to the park just off the canal and refilled my water bottle which re-engized me for about a 1/2 mile. I ended up having to walk the last 2.5 of 3 miles because that's all I could do as I continued getting dizzier. By the time I got home, I had died twice, was dizzy and suffering from a mild heat stroke. It took a couple of hours of Kerry taking care of me, but I finally pulled out of it. Needless to say Sunday was spent swimming laps and inside on the treadmill.
I'm just not a HOT weather kind of guy! Till next time...
I typically carry a single water bottle...today was no exception. As I'm heading down, I came across a woman sitting under the only tree around for miles (literally). I stopped and asked if she was okay. She wasn't and was suffering from the heat...severely! I gave her my gatorade and waited with her till the rescue team arrived. Once the first paramedic showed up roughly 10-15 minutes later, I continued on my run with a bone-dry water bottle.
I made it to the parking lot at the bottom of the hill still feeling fine and chatted with the rescue team who had pulled 4 people out of the park so far that day. I'm 5 miles from my front door and it's roughly 115 outside at this point and I have nothing to drink. No worries, right?...
Well, that's what I thought, but less than a mile later my thought process drastically changed. I completely bonked! My legs slowed, lungs burned, breathing became harder, stomach started aching, and I was getting dizzy. I made it to the canal before my body completely decided that running any further wasn't going to happen. I walked to the park just off the canal and refilled my water bottle which re-engized me for about a 1/2 mile. I ended up having to walk the last 2.5 of 3 miles because that's all I could do as I continued getting dizzier. By the time I got home, I had died twice, was dizzy and suffering from a mild heat stroke. It took a couple of hours of Kerry taking care of me, but I finally pulled out of it. Needless to say Sunday was spent swimming laps and inside on the treadmill.
I'm just not a HOT weather kind of guy! Till next time...
Monday, July 4, 2011
San Diego/New Mexico
You just can't beat the short 5 hour drive to San Diego for running. If it was up in elevation say around 8-9,000 feet...it would be perfect. With the 65-70 degrees and endless rolling hills, one can run all day. Granted, Kerry & I had other things on the agenda (Museum Cafe and the Zoo) and I couldn't run for 4 or 5 hours, but I sure wish I could have! Now I'm back in Hell and the temperature topped out at 110+ today.
As I had mentioned previously, I was planning on heading to Los Alamos for the 4th of July, for some good running and climbing on the Jemez trail. Unfortunately, the wildfires burning in and around Los Alamos put the kibosh on that idea. Especially when the person I was hoping to run with had to evacuate! Plus, my long time friend who recently moved to the area still has not received his furniture from the movers. Bummers all around. Glad everyone is fire free now though.
Here it is, the beginning of July, and I'm almost drooling over the idea of heading back to Pagosa Springs, Colorado on October 1st for the Devils Mountain 50 miler or 50K ultra. I'm not sure yet which one I might be running, but either one is sure to be a challenge in elevation alone. We'll have to see how the training goes this month. Considering we're going to be close to record highs this weekend (near 120 degrees) my outlook on training over the next two months is bleak at best. Needless to say, running in Colorado sounds really good right about now.
I'm open to ideas (if you have any) on how to not die, while out running in the next month or two! I'm going to continue swimming to help with my overall fitness and endurance, plus I still have ironman in the back of my mind. The 2010 Devils Mountain 50 miler only had 2 finishers with a time just under 12 hours. Meaning...the race is either brutally hard or it's just not that popular. I have been to Pagosa many of times, so I'm going with brutally hard! The 50K had considerably more runners and the marathon even more than that though.
....If any of you are interested in meeting me in Pagosa on October 1st, let me know!
As I had mentioned previously, I was planning on heading to Los Alamos for the 4th of July, for some good running and climbing on the Jemez trail. Unfortunately, the wildfires burning in and around Los Alamos put the kibosh on that idea. Especially when the person I was hoping to run with had to evacuate! Plus, my long time friend who recently moved to the area still has not received his furniture from the movers. Bummers all around. Glad everyone is fire free now though.
Here it is, the beginning of July, and I'm almost drooling over the idea of heading back to Pagosa Springs, Colorado on October 1st for the Devils Mountain 50 miler or 50K ultra. I'm not sure yet which one I might be running, but either one is sure to be a challenge in elevation alone. We'll have to see how the training goes this month. Considering we're going to be close to record highs this weekend (near 120 degrees) my outlook on training over the next two months is bleak at best. Needless to say, running in Colorado sounds really good right about now.
I'm open to ideas (if you have any) on how to not die, while out running in the next month or two! I'm going to continue swimming to help with my overall fitness and endurance, plus I still have ironman in the back of my mind. The 2010 Devils Mountain 50 miler only had 2 finishers with a time just under 12 hours. Meaning...the race is either brutally hard or it's just not that popular. I have been to Pagosa many of times, so I'm going with brutally hard! The 50K had considerably more runners and the marathon even more than that though.
....If any of you are interested in meeting me in Pagosa on October 1st, let me know!
Monday, June 13, 2011
It's Working
A little more than two weeks back into training and everything seems to be functioning normally! With the hopes of running in New Mexico & California over the next couple of weeks, it is much easier to stay focused and motivated. I would hate to get a chance to get out of the heat and only be in the shape to run 6-10 miles. Luckily, my 18.5 mile Tuesday morning kept me feeling okay throughout the week.
Work still sucks, but I've been able to keep my mind off of it when I run...for the most part. Granted, I've only had one run over 12 miles. Everything else has been quick 7-8 mile runs (well, not that quick: 45 to 50 minutes each). I'm nervous to just jump back into the 12-15 mile days, as I don't want to burn out because of the heat. I'm running/training during the hottest part of HELL over the next couple of months.
Lately, I've started incorporating swimming into my training regimen as something extra. Plus, getting in the pool during a hot, 100-degree day is pretty refreshing, even if I am swimming laps. I'm also sort of playing with the idea of an Ironman in the future and swimming could definitely help with that. More to come on that later...
As for distance over the last week...I missed a couple of days due to work, but my days have been between 8-15 miles at around a 6.40 pace in average. I'm going to start this week with the goal of keeping all runs at 10-17 miles and slow my pace. After this week, I'll go back to posting my weekly mileage and elevation gain/loss. But for today, I turned over 14.87 at a 6.20 pace.
Till next time I'll be running and trying to stay ahead of the heat demons.
Work still sucks, but I've been able to keep my mind off of it when I run...for the most part. Granted, I've only had one run over 12 miles. Everything else has been quick 7-8 mile runs (well, not that quick: 45 to 50 minutes each). I'm nervous to just jump back into the 12-15 mile days, as I don't want to burn out because of the heat. I'm running/training during the hottest part of HELL over the next couple of months.
Lately, I've started incorporating swimming into my training regimen as something extra. Plus, getting in the pool during a hot, 100-degree day is pretty refreshing, even if I am swimming laps. I'm also sort of playing with the idea of an Ironman in the future and swimming could definitely help with that. More to come on that later...
As for distance over the last week...I missed a couple of days due to work, but my days have been between 8-15 miles at around a 6.40 pace in average. I'm going to start this week with the goal of keeping all runs at 10-17 miles and slow my pace. After this week, I'll go back to posting my weekly mileage and elevation gain/loss. But for today, I turned over 14.87 at a 6.20 pace.
Till next time I'll be running and trying to stay ahead of the heat demons.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Let's Try this Again!
I'm currently in the process of refocusing and getting back to training...SERIOUSLY! I know I haven't posted anything in months. I could give many excuses for this, but I'm not going to make any. Simply, I just haven't.
I have been running, just not with the mileage that I need to run to be competitive at 50 miles. I've had a couple 100 mile weeks and one week where I logged the most miles ever of 130.6. But, the last few months I have hung out around the 60-70 mile range. I even clocked 11 miles in 55 minutes a few weeks ago, but I want to get back to the long runs. Granted, I have found great enjoyment in going out and doing hard-core short runs as fast as I possibly can, but still miss the torture of the LONG runs.
My long runs stopped when I was unable to clear my mind and just enjoy the fact that I was outside running. I would get 5 or 6 miles into a run and then start thinking about my job. I don't like my job, in fact, somedays it makes me out right miserable. Granted, I am thankful that I do have a steady paycheck coming in...no matter how small it is. But my job often gets in the way of my running. When I shortened my runs and upped the intensity, I didn't have time to let my mind wander over to the rigors of work. I have been content with this for the last 3.5 months or so, but I recently looked at the race results from the Jemez 50 and realized that I would have placed pretty well if I would have continued my training. I was shooting for 8:45:00 on that course. I was very confident that I would have succeeded in being in under that time. I withdrew, as my training weeks started getting shorter and shorter and went to Cincinnati to work on my up coming wedding plans with Kerry instead. A wise decision none-the-less! :)
The focus over the next few months in Hell will be to increase my mileage back up to the 85-100 mile range (and not melt), blog more, and simplify my life a little. I'm trying to plan a couple trips to San Diego and one to NM to hopefully run with a soon-to-be-friend who ran the Jemez 50 this year. As for race plans...possibly the Speed Goat 50K in Snowbird Utah.
Let's hope I can get back on track to where I want to be.
I have been running, just not with the mileage that I need to run to be competitive at 50 miles. I've had a couple 100 mile weeks and one week where I logged the most miles ever of 130.6. But, the last few months I have hung out around the 60-70 mile range. I even clocked 11 miles in 55 minutes a few weeks ago, but I want to get back to the long runs. Granted, I have found great enjoyment in going out and doing hard-core short runs as fast as I possibly can, but still miss the torture of the LONG runs.
My long runs stopped when I was unable to clear my mind and just enjoy the fact that I was outside running. I would get 5 or 6 miles into a run and then start thinking about my job. I don't like my job, in fact, somedays it makes me out right miserable. Granted, I am thankful that I do have a steady paycheck coming in...no matter how small it is. But my job often gets in the way of my running. When I shortened my runs and upped the intensity, I didn't have time to let my mind wander over to the rigors of work. I have been content with this for the last 3.5 months or so, but I recently looked at the race results from the Jemez 50 and realized that I would have placed pretty well if I would have continued my training. I was shooting for 8:45:00 on that course. I was very confident that I would have succeeded in being in under that time. I withdrew, as my training weeks started getting shorter and shorter and went to Cincinnati to work on my up coming wedding plans with Kerry instead. A wise decision none-the-less! :)
The focus over the next few months in Hell will be to increase my mileage back up to the 85-100 mile range (and not melt), blog more, and simplify my life a little. I'm trying to plan a couple trips to San Diego and one to NM to hopefully run with a soon-to-be-friend who ran the Jemez 50 this year. As for race plans...possibly the Speed Goat 50K in Snowbird Utah.
Let's hope I can get back on track to where I want to be.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Week 01/10-15
84.36 miles this week
Pretty good week of running. My consistency was much better than previous weeks and nothing hurt too bad. So, I've been getting harassed because my blog is a little boring (Kerry & Laura) and unless you're really interested in my training regimen and daily miles, then I guess I would have to agree. So how do I "spice" this thing up?
I'll try and tackle a different subject or topic each week along with my weekly mileage recaps. What those topics will be?... yet to be determined. Maybe I'll use this a little like those of you on Facebook: I'm sitting at starbucks sipping on a mocha (no, really I am). But then again, I'm the person who has zero interest in having a Facebook and typically make fun of those who do. Especially those who post updates every 10 or 15 minutes on how you're feeling or what you're watching on the Oxygen or Hunting channel. I'll be more than happy to discuss running and training with those of you who are interested, but seeing how my followers are pretty slim right now, I'll keep it light unless you ask.
So why do I consider this "Running in Hell"? Besides the 115 degree temperatures that invade Phoenix, the desert's rocky, scratch that, very rocky footing is problematic at best. The ground is dry (obviously...) and every known kind of cactus just happens to be waiting on the side of the trail. There's nothing like bleeding all over your shoes while running the 25 miles back to your car. I wear neon green training shoes, blood doesn't look good on them.
I would imagine that hell would be hot, rocky, and dry. Throw in some cacti and you've got my own version of that infamous flaming place. Oh, and in Phoenix every day is the same. Not that I don't love being able to forecast the weather 95% percent of the year (sunny & hot pretty much does it). It definitely gets boring! There is very little originality in the weather or terrain. I mean, I can go for a 30 mile run and the only thing that changes is the height of the cacti and temperature increasing to levels where one could fire pottery without using a kiln.
Clearly, I'm not the biggest fan of Arizona. Luckily, it's not all bad....contrary to what I may say. Even though the training here isn't the greatest, in some ways I feel that I'm gaining an edge on the competition. I'm still not 100% sure what that edge is going to be, but once I figure it out, I'm sure I'll be all right.
Till next week: run hard, run far, and don't fall 'cause it'll hurt.
Pretty good week of running. My consistency was much better than previous weeks and nothing hurt too bad. So, I've been getting harassed because my blog is a little boring (Kerry & Laura) and unless you're really interested in my training regimen and daily miles, then I guess I would have to agree. So how do I "spice" this thing up?
I'll try and tackle a different subject or topic each week along with my weekly mileage recaps. What those topics will be?... yet to be determined. Maybe I'll use this a little like those of you on Facebook: I'm sitting at starbucks sipping on a mocha (no, really I am). But then again, I'm the person who has zero interest in having a Facebook and typically make fun of those who do. Especially those who post updates every 10 or 15 minutes on how you're feeling or what you're watching on the Oxygen or Hunting channel. I'll be more than happy to discuss running and training with those of you who are interested, but seeing how my followers are pretty slim right now, I'll keep it light unless you ask.
So why do I consider this "Running in Hell"? Besides the 115 degree temperatures that invade Phoenix, the desert's rocky, scratch that, very rocky footing is problematic at best. The ground is dry (obviously...) and every known kind of cactus just happens to be waiting on the side of the trail. There's nothing like bleeding all over your shoes while running the 25 miles back to your car. I wear neon green training shoes, blood doesn't look good on them.
I would imagine that hell would be hot, rocky, and dry. Throw in some cacti and you've got my own version of that infamous flaming place. Oh, and in Phoenix every day is the same. Not that I don't love being able to forecast the weather 95% percent of the year (sunny & hot pretty much does it). It definitely gets boring! There is very little originality in the weather or terrain. I mean, I can go for a 30 mile run and the only thing that changes is the height of the cacti and temperature increasing to levels where one could fire pottery without using a kiln.
Clearly, I'm not the biggest fan of Arizona. Luckily, it's not all bad....contrary to what I may say. Even though the training here isn't the greatest, in some ways I feel that I'm gaining an edge on the competition. I'm still not 100% sure what that edge is going to be, but once I figure it out, I'm sure I'll be all right.
Till next week: run hard, run far, and don't fall 'cause it'll hurt.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Work isn't understanding
Sunday 01/02
I had a good, late afternoon run after running errands with Kerry all morning. I got in 14 miles (2:03) on a somewhat chilly and breezy afternoon in the desert. I'm still a little surprised about how cold it's been here over the last week or so, but it did prompt me to order a few colder weather running items from running warehouse.
I'm still having trouble getting up this little short and steep hill. It's only .39 miles long but it's a rock garden with every step you take sliding one way or another with roughly an 18% grade. I may just have to settle with this climb taking a lot longer than it should because of the horrible footing.
Monday 01/03
So, I'm getting ready to head out the door and over to Dreamy for my morning run when I get a call that my uniform order for work is probably incorrect. With my basketball league starting this evening I had no choice but to shower and head in. Unfortunately, they were right when they said the uniform order wasn't correct. I ended up spending the morning and afternoon getting my basketball uniform order straightened out and getting in trouble in the process. I could tell you more about it, but I would have to start an entire other blog to tell you about it. It was quite the Monday...
Tuesday 01/04
After a long and exhausting day at work on Monday I headed into Dreamy for a long 9.6 miles (1:33:41). I say long because the hills were longer and steeper than they've been in several weeks. Not sure what was going on but I just couldn't get it together and up the hills this morning.
Wednesday 01/05
Another tough morning even though I ran a little better today, I still need to shake off the Monday-no-running-blues. 10.25 miles (1:40:17), a little short of the pace that I want to hold, but I feel between the bad footing and non-stop slipping on rocks that section of Dreamy is just going to be slow.
Thursday 01/06
Work is getting in the way of my training once again today. I'm trying to balance both as much as I can, but this week didn't work out that way. After missing Monday, I had two poor runs on Tuesday & Wednesday, and then missed again today with work responsibilities. Maybe I'm using work as an excuse too often, but none-the-less I need to try harder not to miss any days other than the one day a week I'm going to rest to keep my knees healthy. I'm going to continue riding once or twice a week as well, at least for the month of January.
Friday 01/07
After a frustrating Thursday of not getting to run, I headed out determined to turn over some miles. Not thinking about it or pushing myself very hard, I kicked up 10 miles (58:17:06) and felt great. I only had one climb and it was just a gradual hill with no more than a 3% or 4% incline on a nice and smooth trail with great footing. It's been so long since I've run on flat and smooth terrain that I forgot what it was like to run sub 6 minute miles. Later in the day it turned out to be quite costly. My calves were so sore that I could barely walk after sitting at my desk for too long. Plus, as the day progressed I started feeling a slight twinge in my left calf. The last thing that I need after a poor week of running is a strained calf muscle.
Saturday 01/08
What a pathetic week in running! It's upsetting that I ran less than 50 miles this week when it should have been around 80 or 90. As mentioned above, I'm trying to balance a full and somewhat sporadic work schedule with training and the first week has proven to be difficult. I missed two days in the middle of week which I CAN'T afford to do. After yesterday my left calf has as many knots in it as a golf ball has dimples. With that said, yes, I'm missing another day this week and for those of you who are counting that makes 3. I'll be spending today in shame and refocusing on the week at ahead.
I had a good, late afternoon run after running errands with Kerry all morning. I got in 14 miles (2:03) on a somewhat chilly and breezy afternoon in the desert. I'm still a little surprised about how cold it's been here over the last week or so, but it did prompt me to order a few colder weather running items from running warehouse.
I'm still having trouble getting up this little short and steep hill. It's only .39 miles long but it's a rock garden with every step you take sliding one way or another with roughly an 18% grade. I may just have to settle with this climb taking a lot longer than it should because of the horrible footing.
Monday 01/03
So, I'm getting ready to head out the door and over to Dreamy for my morning run when I get a call that my uniform order for work is probably incorrect. With my basketball league starting this evening I had no choice but to shower and head in. Unfortunately, they were right when they said the uniform order wasn't correct. I ended up spending the morning and afternoon getting my basketball uniform order straightened out and getting in trouble in the process. I could tell you more about it, but I would have to start an entire other blog to tell you about it. It was quite the Monday...
Tuesday 01/04
After a long and exhausting day at work on Monday I headed into Dreamy for a long 9.6 miles (1:33:41). I say long because the hills were longer and steeper than they've been in several weeks. Not sure what was going on but I just couldn't get it together and up the hills this morning.
Wednesday 01/05
Another tough morning even though I ran a little better today, I still need to shake off the Monday-no-running-blues. 10.25 miles (1:40:17), a little short of the pace that I want to hold, but I feel between the bad footing and non-stop slipping on rocks that section of Dreamy is just going to be slow.
Thursday 01/06
Work is getting in the way of my training once again today. I'm trying to balance both as much as I can, but this week didn't work out that way. After missing Monday, I had two poor runs on Tuesday & Wednesday, and then missed again today with work responsibilities. Maybe I'm using work as an excuse too often, but none-the-less I need to try harder not to miss any days other than the one day a week I'm going to rest to keep my knees healthy. I'm going to continue riding once or twice a week as well, at least for the month of January.
Friday 01/07
After a frustrating Thursday of not getting to run, I headed out determined to turn over some miles. Not thinking about it or pushing myself very hard, I kicked up 10 miles (58:17:06) and felt great. I only had one climb and it was just a gradual hill with no more than a 3% or 4% incline on a nice and smooth trail with great footing. It's been so long since I've run on flat and smooth terrain that I forgot what it was like to run sub 6 minute miles. Later in the day it turned out to be quite costly. My calves were so sore that I could barely walk after sitting at my desk for too long. Plus, as the day progressed I started feeling a slight twinge in my left calf. The last thing that I need after a poor week of running is a strained calf muscle.
Saturday 01/08
What a pathetic week in running! It's upsetting that I ran less than 50 miles this week when it should have been around 80 or 90. As mentioned above, I'm trying to balance a full and somewhat sporadic work schedule with training and the first week has proven to be difficult. I missed two days in the middle of week which I CAN'T afford to do. After yesterday my left calf has as many knots in it as a golf ball has dimples. With that said, yes, I'm missing another day this week and for those of you who are counting that makes 3. I'll be spending today in shame and refocusing on the week at ahead.
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