April 26th, 2009

The run today was best marked by the spotting of a super big owl.  I was near the 10 mile mark when out of no where comes this owl.  He stops and parks.  I do the same.  I tried to talk to him but the conversation went no where.  This is the largest owl i have ever seen in the wild.  He had at least a 3 foot wing span.  

added side note: and yes there was a long super fat gray ugly snake by the river.. he was more scared of me then i was of him..  but given i dont like snakes.. i wont talk about them. 

It was hotter today and i was still a bit tired from yesterday however i managed to run 25 more miles on somewhat of a different course.  Instead of starting in the 491 parking lot I started the run deep in the hole of the Arboritum (sp) near the highway.  I figured this would give me more up hill work and make the course a bit tougher then yesterday.   

My goal was to run up to the parkway then head on to the trail however, a small voice in my teeeny brain said bad idea given i might end up getting tired so pushing it was not a good idea.  

I did the 479a trail all the way to the hell road connector that takes me from 479 main road up to the 5000 trail point under the parkway road.  I ran down that road a bit then looped back on a the parkway trail where I stayed until I sneak back to the 479a trail for water.  By the time i got back to the water (small stream used by many creatures) my body was not too happy.  My problem was not my legs or feet but my blood sugar.  I have a teeny test kit which i took with me today only to find that the number it returned said i should be dead:  52.  Ok.  Given i was not dead then the reading must be wrong so I moved on.  

I had to walk about 1 mile total but in the end returned to the car with the last two or three miles very strong.  Yes!.  I am sun burnt, fried and beat up and in pain.  Yes real Pain.. can you imagine.. and i got all of this wonderful stuff for free!!!   or at best the cost of gas getting to the park.  

I plan on resting monday with a short run on tuesday.  I do hope to hit the gym a bit on those days in the evening.  My biggest issue is getting a few pounds off and working with the blood.  Ok, so i dont eat anything during the run and only drink stream water.. which some of it does have little creatures.. which i guess you could call that eating.. well maybe.  In any case I need to look at eating someting near the top of the 5000 trail.  

Next weekend is the same insanity.. maybe because i have a chance to see my friend in ktown.. and party.. and as much as i love to run.. i love to party just a teeeny bit more until of course the morning when this body reminds me that i should have been running.. 

enjoy

April 25th, 2009

The best way to define today's run is to tell you that at mile 20 or so I jumped into a super cold river.. stayed for a few minutes.. and enjoyed the first hot day of spring.. wow.   Given it is spring I managed to find tons of small streams to drink from.. throw water on my back.. and enjoy nature.. heck.. there still is no leafs on most of the trees.. and only a few weeks ago it snowed super hard.. 

I ran for about 4.5 hours.  Total distance is around 25 miles with one 3 mile 15 degree from hell hill climb to the parkway.  I did my normal run by starting on 479a.. then up the hill from hell to trail 5000.. then a bit more running.. then back through the parkway trail which is as sweet as it gets.  Boy do i love that trail.  The trail runs along the Smokey Park Highway.. and of course being this is Fat America everyone is out driving not running or walking..   There is one section where the trail and the road come together.. and for a short period of time I am an official tourist viewpoint object.  I feel like a deer or something.. Everyone standing next to their safe car peers out at the nearly naked man running by on the trail... wow..    But of course these folks could have selected the Mall today.  

The right foot is still the bitch of everything.  I have been running about 12 to 14 per day.. with tons and tons of time in the gym.  Why the gym you ask?  Easy.  The gym is for the bones.  Lifting big stuff with my legs allows the bones in my legs to get stronger.. and bigger and more stronger.. and bigger.. or so they say.  I do know that making my legs super strong in the gym is really helping with running.  The biggest part of the gym that works is i no longer get cramps during long runs and that is super heaven.  No cramps is worth the time and money in the gym.  I do very little upper body in the gym because the goal is to get into the 160s weight range.. and for me.. that is super thin.. 

Ok.  so where do i go from here?  Well sunday is another day to push the body to the wall.  I hope to do another 25 miles.  That means 2 days in a row at 25 which means 50 miles.  If i do that I am going to be one very super happy man.  My weakness is blood sugar.  I have to eat an entire quart of Bens and Jerry's ice cream to lower the heart rate.  I always test my blood preasure and heart rate after a long run.  I wait about 2 hours after resting and then find my heart rate at about 100 beats and my blood preasure around 105 / 60...  My normal resting heart rate is about 50 or so.  except near the end of the summer it drops to the mid 40s.   My normal blood preasure which is excellent for the food loving south is about 110 over 65.. so i am happy.  

I need to get up to about 90 miles per week in May.  This means 3 or 4 short run days and 2 super long runs.  If I run 50 miles or more on the weekend then all i need is about 13 or so each of the other days.  My older body needs the rest and rebuild time. 

The sad part is I love to drink a good beer.. which I dont and cant.. and I love to smoke one cig with my friend brian about once every 50 days or so.. yea.. one cig.. it is a bonding thing.. nothing to do with normal logical behaviour..   which i dont do that either.. shit.. i am missing out on all the good stuff.  Best part is given I am older and ugly i dont have to worry about sex.. no one wants to have sex with ya when you are old and ugly.  

Enjoy.. yes.. i am thinking of running bare foot in the park tonight.. but i bet i am in the gym instead .. working out.. and watching tv.. what a freaking life.. when you think about how crazy it is in other parts of the world.. 

f