Monday, October 5, 2009

October 5th 2009

Last run before the Pony Express 100

Today I went out to my running trail and picked up shirts and other items left behind during my 50 mile run on Sunday. The legs don't hurt much and the body seems very excited and happy along with ready ready ready for the 100 mile run.

If I was to look back over the last summer the one thing that is much stronger concerning running is my knowledge of my brain and how it works with the rest of the body. My guess is each person has a different brain structure and how that brain structure effects our ability to run long distances. For me the brain will not allow its self to run out of fuel even if the rest of the body is doing well. Once the brain gets the fuel it needs the body is free to go out and kick ass. Not respecting that aspect is crazy because no matter how much endurance the brain just shuts everything down.

Since my last post the real issue has been understanding mixed blessings. During September for two weeks I got pretty sick. This did not stop me from running or working out but did make a big cut. Davy Crockett during the first week in September told me to reduce my run miles per week. In August that number was 120 mile per week. The flu made me reduce the run totals per week to half or more. This reduction allowed my right foot to heal and the rest of my body to get much better.

The month of October has been one hell of a month and it is a young month. I am running so much faster it is crazy. I have no freaking idea for sure what is causing this increase in speed but I am running at least 20% faster then August runs, same runs. This gives me a ton of motivation because if there is one thing I am not good at is speed.

On Sunday I ran like a dog for 50 miles. I am going to post a letter i wrote to my team members concerning the run given it does a great job of laying out the results of the run. One thing for sure is the right foot and leg are still issues going into the race. I am not perfect but with some drive and planning along with two good rest weeks all should be well for the race. The goal is not to win the race but to break 24 hours and I really think I can do that.

enjoy

hudson. and brian. in the darkness of hell...

9hrs 30min 31sec 50 miles..

i am pretty happy with myself and my body in this last 50 mile run and last run in north carolina before the race.
I plan on doing some workout time in the gym but no more runs .. allowing the muscles to repair 100% after this last push. I do plan on running some 5 mile splits each day maybe 2 a day in the desert while Hudson looks for rocks. These 5 mile splits are super important for the race..

The time posted above is 7 minutes faster then the last time i ran this course. I lost time in a few strange places. Here is the data and situation.

Temp out side was in the 50 and 60s.. light super cold rain last 8 miles.

  • Mile 0 to 21.2 3hrs 11 min. Ok. this just plain rocks.
  • Rest for 19 minutes drank maltadextrin, banana and some water along with peanut butter. would eat some bacon and some saltine crackers with frosting in utah run however. (rested way too long) most of my rest time was working on my compression sock which made things worse.. and working on my right foot. i did not need to give up this much time.. and it fucked up my breathing for sure.
  • Mile 21.2 to 42.4 miles 4hrs 10mins I had some trouble getting started . when ever i rest too long the body starts to tighten up a bit. Not until mile 33 did i get my times per mile get much faster. From mile 33 to 41 i rocked big time. about 9.5 min miles
  • Rested once again too long. was trying something else with the compression sock.. which did not work. rest time was 19 min again. I had the same stuff as the last rest time but this time i drank my bottle of mountain dew that stuff is amazing.. and taste amazing at that point in a run. However i did not feel the impact of the mountain dew for about 1 hour. Important to note.

  • Mile 42.4 to 50 1hr 32min
  • First mile was very strong. Second 1.5 miles was ok but i started to bonk. My mile 3 i started to walk and just did not want to be there at all. started to feel angry and disapointed all signs of no blood sugar or super low blood sugar walked about 2.0 miles. I then started to run. at first very tight muscles. But after about half a mile i noticed intense amounts of energy and drive. brain drive is key at this point. My legs felt very strong but sore. I also did some super good breathing exercises while i walked the 2 miles. Along with the mountain dew kicking in and better breathing i was rocking. By mile6 and 7 i was very strong. I ran the last mile in about 9 mins. I ran very very fast to the end line.. which shows the power of the body. Here i am about 1.5 hours after the run feel very strong. very little leg pain just a bit stiff.

Given the mountain dew kicked in about 1 hour after mile 42 i would say it would be good to run through mile 50 without resting. Have a mountain dew at mile 50 and some water for the road. I figure that i should see the second impact of mountain dew around mile 55.. getting me into mile 60 with no problem. At mile 60 we rest again and refuel back up. Make sure i do not stay in these rest places for more then 10 minutes. I also think that i did not drink enough water last night or during the first 21 miles. big mistake and caused me some issues from mile 21 to 33.

i also found that if i run faster, rest then run faster my body does better. as long as the brain is not starving for sugar this method words.. but once the brain starts to run out of sugar.. i get upset.. and almost angry.. it is amazing to watch this process in the brain. once this happens all i can do is walk.. the brain acts like it does not want to run any more.. just walk.. and enjoy the surroundings..

I also had some issues with cramps in my right calf and foot. My guess is lack of good protein. I am going to eat as much meat and powder protein as i can take along with amino acids.. crossing my fingers that helps..

thanks for reading..
frank

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