Thursday, July 31, 2008

35 miles

the start time was about 6:50am. The temp outside was already 74 degrees. By the time i had run about 5 miles my entire body was wet as though i had stepped into the shower for 20 minutes. The right leg started to cramp up so i keep eating s-caps and drinking water.. not enough water. By the time i hit the 23 mile mark the cramps had started to build up however did not need to do any walking.

The real surprise and the super good news is honey. I also ate that super fast and it did amazing things for my energy. I had 23 miles in at 3.10 minutes which is much faster then my normal times given the bulk of the running to the point was up hill, super up hill.

The bottom 12 miles which is 6 down and 6 up was killer. The temp was near 90 and the humidity was as bad as it can get. Lighting and thunder but no rain. What is the deal. I had no choice but to walk most of the return section given it is about 1,500 foot gain and the right leg was super cramped.

By the time i made it to 35 miles the legs (both) had cramped up on me. I had taken about 10 s-caps and 4 quarts of water. My guess is the water intake was way below what I needed to make it in those temps and humidity. I will never know for sure.

I started in my La Sportiva shoes. They did good. Given weight issues and a desire to cut back on work load for my feet I switch to the NB 873. I am not sure if that was a mistake but at this point it looks like it. I think the switch made the cramps worse.

Came home and took some asprin, laid down for an hour and drank water. My goal is to head out to the UNCA grass track and do some miles.. maybe 10. Yes it is super hot and yes it is crazy but I want to do 50 miles today one way or another.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

pre-50 mile thoughts

last saturday was my last big day. not sure.. maybe 21 miles then 10 walking miles in town. by the end of the night my legs and feet felt like the world had come to an end. However, by morning i felt new. The last few days I have just spent time visiting friends.. and family. Today i went and planned out the run. no support. just me and my brain hiding water and stuff all over the place in hope that it is there when i need it.

my body is in top conditiong but not near its wall at all. I can without a doubt get much stronger and much better. I know i can. I have problems with blood sugar which is normal and the soul getting tired of the insanity.. but today.. walking among the trees.. no humans.. nothing evil or bad.. no corporations.. no getting fired.. just me and the forest.. and i felt so at one with what was around me.. no judgment.. just me.. and it felt very very good..

going to bed now.. and getting up early.. see what happens. the days have been hot.. so that concerns me.. so we will see..

Sunday, July 27, 2008

July 26th, 2008

Thursday was ten miles on grass and track during the heat of the day. Did really well. Also did ten of this super short hill climb that added to the mix. Friday was a rest day and Saturday was the day from hell. On Saturday ran 21 miles. Started the run in the afternoon around 4pm. The day managed to get really hot so the air was strange. I took tons of s-caps.. but in the end started to get cramps. Given it was saturday night and folks wanted to party I headed into town on foot. No drinking for me.. but just see the big party in town. However, by 10pm my legs and feet felt like a large truck had run over them.

The goal is being met. This week has some good long runs. and if all goes as planned today i will run at least 16 to 20 miles putting the week into the 90 plus miles.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

July 23rd, 2008

After some work managed to get foot rx to get me a pair of new balance 874 shoes. the logic is to keep the shoes super light.. and very wide.. no arch support. If this shoe works it will be the primary shoe for my 100 mile.

Today I did about 18 miles in Bentcreek. Biggest challenge is the temp. outside. However, the body did super well. The night before was tough. I had cramps in my hands and arms for reasons beyond me. Made it very tough to sleep. My over all time was about 7.2 miles per hour.. I mixed the course again to make sure i was near water. I also took about 4 s-caps during the run, 2 before and 1 after the run was over. This layout of s-cap supliments seems to reduce cramps at night and helps my feet not hurt as much. I wore the imogene la sportiva shoe.. which loves to create blisters but gives me tons of good knee support.

No night running, was lazy. that simple. Last night i layed in bed thinking about the race and starting to understand how important it is going to be to do more mixed runs.. multi times a day.. not allowing my life to cancel runs.. and to reduce photography projects to get in my training time.

Monday, July 21, 2008

July 21st, 2008

Yes, i ran on sunday. i did about 10 miles in direct sunlight.. temp was about 92.. and water was in the air as thick as soup. i was wet all the time.. shoes, shorts.. and body.. drank as much as i could.. and just pushed. I averaged some good 8 min. miles.. but without s-caps was pushing it. Today i went out.. and ran my normal run. Did about 18 miles.. went down sleepy gap .. back to the car.. met a friend.. and talked for a few minutes. the heat is crazy.. drains the soul of everything.. the plan is set. next week about this time will be doing 50 miles.. in one day. more as it gets closer.. very key to understanding what works and what does not work..

Saturday, July 19, 2008

July 20th Day Run

the morning run turned into a fall and catch yourself run.. yea.. i fell pretty hard.. and the left knee .. looks like some bear attacked me. However, given i have big bones nothing is wrong. I did about 21 to 22 miles with 90 degree temps. Most of the run is in the shade of the trees.. but some is not. The big challenge with today is no s-caps.. only water from creeks.. of which i pour more on my body.. to keep cool then drink.. the water is pretty bad and even for this 3rd world country man i have to cut back.

I did several mixes.. i started at the arboretum.. took a side trail .. up to 479a.. then followed it all the way back to 479.. at which point i turned around .. and went back.. to sleep gap.. ran down.. then over to some water.. then back up sleep gap .. and down the rest of the way back to the arboretum.. the multi hill climb on sleepy gap is enough to kill you in the heat.. but the only thing wrong with me right now is the lack of salt in my muscles.. no s-caps.. a bit of pain as the legs try to catch up.. yes.. i will run tonight.. only 7 miles.. then back to the same place in the morning.. to do about 16 to 18 miles..

July 19th 2008

Night run number 2. Biggest challenge is finding good shoes. The shoes, even after much work are no good. My right foot is flat as all hell and my left foot is rather normal. I appreciate the support the arch in the shoe gives but the right foot needs flat. I ran about 5 miles. I ran 2 miles then drove home, got my new balance 873s.. and then returned to run 3 or 4 more miles.. It was hot and wet... and strange but in the end.. it was completed. In the morning i will run my normal 20.

Friday, July 18, 2008

July 16th Night Run

Taking the advice of Anton Krupicka I have started to do some night running. My only problem is running in dark forest could mean getting lost or attacked or something so i have selected the soccer field and grass course of UNCA. To my delight there was another runner doing his thing. Shirt off and slim body along with almost perfect simple style gave me the motivation i needed to add more miles to an already kinda tired body.

This specific run, about 7 miles was run with my new ASICA IGS. What a joke shoe. I will need to do some big remodel work on this shoes to make sure it does not cause my feet tons of pain. I have been running with the New Balance 873.. on the long morning runs.. as of late. The feet seem happy if for no other reason then the shoe is not telling the feet what to do or where to stay.. and the feet seem to be liking this relationship.

The night runs are amazing. The moon came out. The sky was kinda cloudy..with a few stars. The body loved the darkness and the moments. Yes, I will be back. The goal is to do at least 4 night runs a week and 4 to 5 day runs for a total of 110 miles. See what happens.

f