29 March 2010

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I met my usual running buddies at Richard's house at 5:40 AM this morning. I was late. Some say as usual, I say not true;-) The plan was to run about 11 miles with some major hills. The goal is to integrate as many hills as possible into our regular training to prepare for Laurel Valley. I say we need to add actual stair running to our regimen as well to get ready. Anyway, we took off at 5:40 AM and headed for the Rocket City Marathon route that would lead us from our starting point on Pratt Ave at the bottom of Monte Sano Mountain to the bottom of Drake Ave. The pace was rather fast and I started to break a sweat after just half a mile. At this rate, I would be soaked and finished before we ever got to the bottom of Drave Ave. From there it would be all uphill for a while. Once we arrived at the top of Drake, we waited to make sure the entire group continued together from there. The Drake climb feels like you are literally leaning forward into the road. We made our way to the dead end of a neighborhood and to a power line cut, which we ascended until we reached another one of our "posh" Huntsville neighborhoods. While the power line cut seemed to have been cleared at the start of our ascend, the brush got significantly thicker towards the top with lots of thorns to "decorate" our legs and arms. From there, we headed towards Monte Sano Boulevard and Bluffline Trail, which we would descend until we hit the top of Tollgate Trail. Once we reached the bottom of Tollgate Trail, we made our way down Bankhead Parkway until we got back to Richard's house. A quality 13 mile loop in about 2 hours and 20 minutes with lots of serious uphills and a nice trail section as well. Those are the types of training runs I want to do all the time. My legs haven't been sore like this after a training run in a long time.

28 March 2010

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What a day. Where to begin? So I woke up at 4 AM and couldn't quite figure out what day it was or what I was supposed to be doing. Oh yeah, sleep, at least until 5:30 AM. Well, well, I ended up twisting and turning for an hour until I decided to get up and make coffee. I checked the weather again and the forecast was still fantastic, 70 degrees. Imagine my surprise when I left the house at 6 AM only to realize that I had to de-ice my windshield. Apparently, it was gonna be in the low 40s for most of the morning. I arrived at Monte Sano State Park picnic area and starting line at 6:30 AM with plenty of time to find a great parking spot and to relax in the car for a few minutes. It was still cold out and I was wearing shorts, a short sleeve tech shirt and a wind breaker to block the cold wind during the early miles of the race. I figured I could dump the wind breaker at one of the 2 aid stations. This is the fourth time this race has been held and RD Blake Thompson did a great job. The race reached its maximum capacity of 200 runners for the first time and way before race day. Word of mouth travels fast and for good reason. This was one of the most fun and most challenging races I have ever done.

26 March 2010

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Another chilly morning, but with a new training route on the schedule. My running buddies introduced me to Wade Mountain and its trails today. Granted, it had been a while since they had run the trails and they were kind of reintroduced to the area as well. Richard picked me up at 5:25 AM this morning and we met up with the other guys at the trail head at the bottom of the mountain at 5:45 AM. It was pitch black and I was the only one with a headlamp. We initially decided to wait until daylight but quickly realized that it could take a while. Instead, I took the lead and off we went. We started on Devil's Racetrack Trail and followed it until we connected with the Wade Mountain Trail. Having been running only for a few minutes, it was time for Richard's ceremonial faceplant, we have come accustumed to during our trail runs in the dark. Thankfully, he didn't hurt any limbs aside from his pride. We moved along slowly, respecting the technical trails just enough to avoid any further slips, especially considering the less than sufficient light source available to the four of us. Mike and James had gone all the way to the end of the Wade Mountain Trail in the past, but it did not reach the top of Wade Mountain at the time. This time, we hoped that the trail had been extended to reach the top. And we were in luck. We got to the top and continued on the trail, hoping it would swing around and reconnect to the trails we came in on. However, once we crossed the mountain top and ended up ont he other side, the trail came to an abrupt end. Well , sort of. The Land Trust had already marked the intented continuation of the trails with stakes, but other than that, no work had been done in regard to trail blazing. However, it was kind of fun running from stake to stake, trying to locate the next one. We continued this practice for a few minutes until we reached the end of the markers and started to just bushwack our way to where we thought we needed to go to get closer to our cars. Luckily, Richard located another trail just a minute after we located the last stake of the future Wade Mountin Trail extension. However, after about half a mile, we came upon a barbwire fence with a "No Trespassing" sign. Apparently, a local hunting club owned a piece of land that cut right through the unnamed trail we were on. We contemplated our next move, checking James iPhone and my Garmin and decided to go for it. We hoped that we would only have to cross to the private "hunting grounds" for a few minutes before finding another Land Trust trail to continue our run on. Again, we were in luck. After just 200 yards and lots and lots of shouting of "We're not deer, please don't shoot!" and "We're not talking deer!", we came upon another barbwire fence indicating another property line. We quickly crossed under the barbwire with a sigh of relief and reconnected with yet another trail after briefly running up a small stream. We had now entered the Rock Wall Trail. While James let us know that the name of the trail really did not make any sense since he had been here before and there was no wall, let alone a rock wall anywhere to be found, Richard pointed out just that beforementioned rock wall to all of us. It looked like one of those 3 foot civil war era walls that were used for protection and cover. We continued on this trail which was the muddiest, yet. The water puddles we had to run through resembled small lakes rather than puddles and we sank in ankle deep on numerous occasions. Mike and Richard were embracing it while James and I continued to tip-toe around 'em. Right before we reconnected with the Devil's Racetrack Trail I witnessed another first. James wiped out in a sharp and muddy corner and dove face first into the mud. It made for a grrat picture after we completed the run. We all took away small battle wounds from the various thornbushes we encountered (especially during the bushwacking section of the run), but that's all part of the fun of trail running. It took us almost an hour and a half to run a little over 6 miles, but that is easily explained by the trail blazing, bushwacking and orienteering we had to do. I am looking forward to yet another muddy trail race in the morning.

24 March 2010

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The weather this afternoon was beautiful, temperatures in the lowe 70s and sunshine. I went for a run at the Indian Creek Greenway and decided to run its entire length for a nice 5.7 miles. My right knee continued to hurt for the first mile, but the pain subsided shortly after. You could tell the temperatures had risen just by looking at the number of cars in the parking lot at the trail head. People took the opportunity of a nice sunny day to get active outdoors. I had never seen that many runners and walkers at the same time and place without an actual race taking place. This was my second run of the day and my legs felt slightly heavy. Iam stillrecovering from the 52 miler from two weeks ago. Maybe I'll rest tomorrow. Nah.

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Lovely, now I wake up 30 minutes before I even need to get up. So be it, it was 4:30 AM and I brewed my first cup of Joe. I was going to meet some of the usual suspects at their office at 5:30 AM. Turns out, only James showed. Mike has a game later tonight and Richard was still nursing that nasty ankle injury from the desert race. We initially planned to do ten miles, but then I remembered that I would have to run with the youth soccer team I am coaching in the PM as well. So we settled for what I would call a Research Park Midtowne Out & Back Loop for a total of 8 miles. The weather was on the chilly side but tolerable. I again struggled with my right knee. It continues to hurt until about one mile into my runs and it starts hurting again after I complete my runs. I really hope this is going to go away. I am looking forward to the McKay Hollow Madness Trail Half Marathon this weekend and I would love to not deal with pain during that race. I will be doing that race alone as everyone else was late signing up and the race had already filled all 200 slots. Huntsville has quite the running community these days. Every race has had a significant growth over the last year. Our running crew also signed up for the Laurel Valley White Water Run today, which takes place in South Carolina in August and should be a whole lotta fun. If you've never heard of it, goggle it. It's definitely worth a look.

22 March 2010

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Quite a rocky start to the week, literally and figuratively. I planned to go for an easy 6 miler with my three running buddies on a section of one of the Dizzy Fifites loops. The first shock was the weather this morning; I immediately checked my calendar to reassure myself that it was indeed spring. I double-checked the clocks in my house. Again, I was able to confirm that they had all been set an hour ahead to adjust for daylight savings time, another indicator that it was spring. So how is it, that it was actually 35 degrees and snowing when I stepped outside my house? Anyway, I picked up Richard at his house for his first run with the group since his return from the 150 mile race through the Chilean Atacama Desert last week. We got to the State Park hiker's parking lot atop Monte Sano mountain at 5:45 AM and Mike had actually gotten there first. Highly unusual. James arrived shortly after. On top of the mountain, it was even colder. Luckily, we all wore at least two layers, although Richard immediately regretted opting for shorts. After a few equipment adjustments we went off into the darkness. Aparently, James and I are the only ones ever thinking to bring our headlamps so that added a level of difficulty as well. As it turned out, the lights were not our biggest problem. Instead, Richard pulled up lame a little less than a mile into the run. Apparently, his ankle injury from the desert race was more serious that he initially anticipated. He decided to cut his run short and I joined him on the way back to the aprking lot, while James and Mike continued on the original route. I have to admit, I wasn't all too sad about cutting the run short. The outside of my right knee still bothered me and most of the muscles in my lower limbs are still adjusting to the new insoles. This basically cut our run in half for a short 3.3 miler. Still better than nothing. I just hope Richard's injury is not as serious as it currently appears to be. Hopefully, he will follow my advise and see his doc this afternoon.

20 March 2010

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This was supposed to be a training run, especially considering that my right knee was still hurting from the Delano race and my left calf also kept acting up. Not sure if the calf issue was related to the new insoles to support my high arches, but I opted to run with my usual racing shoes without the insoles. I had never run this race before and I expected it to be rather flat. I wanted to take it easy early to see how I felt. However, after a very brief and slow warm-up prior to the start, the knee was still bothering me. So I decided to go for that PR right off the bat. If the knee was going to hurt too bad, I was going to take the foot off the gas and jog it back in. As it turned out, neither the knee nor the calf created a problem during the race. All that fuzz and nervousness for nothing.
There were about 180 runners lined up at the starting line near an old brick church in Mooresville, Alabama. The first thing I noticed was our local speedsters, David Riddle and Josh Whitehead, who were both toeing the starting line. This should make for a very fast race. As it turned out, it did and with a photo finish, David overtaking Josh with 50 meters to go to the finish and winning by one second. At least that's how I was told. I was nowhere near them after the first turn just a few hundred yards into the race. However, I had a pretty good day myself. Again, I managed to get my heart rate up very high, very early. I'm not sure that's a good thing. Anyway, no one wil ever say I don't always push myself to the limit. I actually maxed out at 192 close to the finish line. The first mile was really fast for me, as usual. I get swept up in the moment and always think I can hang with that leader pack, if only for a brief moment. Shortly after that first half mile, I dropped my pace to a more reasonable level and I was able to pretty much sustain that pace for most of the race. I had a couple of slow moments which cost me a couple of spots, being overtaken by guys that had been hanging behind me for a couple of miles but I didn't care. My goal was to try to hold on to that early pace and I almost managed, missing my target goal of sub 7 minute per mile pace by only 3 seconds. Mile 6, 9 and 10 were the toughest for some reason. More than anything, I struggled mentally for a moment. This race takes place mostly on long country roads with not a lot of activity around you. As a result, you were able to see over a mile ahead. As a result, I noticed runners way way ahead of me which somehow seemed depressing. I knew I was running my own race but it still sucks sometimes to actually be able to visualize the distance you still have to cover in a race and this race course did allow runners to do just that. I prefer winding roads with short horizons. However, this rather flat course did allow me to get another PR. That's always a good day. I shaved over four minutes off the finish time from my last 10 miler in Birmingham last month. I just love doig races as training runs. I will be back next year, hopefully chasing another PR.

19 March 2010

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The alarm goes off earlier and earlier, it seems. Today, I got up at 4:45 AM to have a quick cup of coffee before meeting the gang downtown at the Holiday Inn to run the Cotton Row 10K course. We decided to take it easy. Rather, I decided to take it easy and Mike and James were kind enough to not leave me behind. I was still recovering from the 12 hour race last weekend and maybe I should have taken off more time. My left calf was pretty tight early on and my right knee really felt on fire. I had the same problem after the Rocket City Marathon last year and the pain eventually subsided after about two weeks. I really do not want to wait that long this time. I have a couple of races on the schedule the next two weekends and it looks like I will have to take it easy in tomorrows race. Recovery has to be my first priority, even though I always try to chase my latest PR. Anyway, we ended up running about 7 miles and yu could tell that Spring is slowly approaching as there were numerous runners out early this morning.

17 March 2010

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It's 4:45 AM and I am actually able to get out of bed without a loud moan. This means that the pain has subsided enough to try for a short recovery run. It's been 3 days since my 52 miler and I am starting to feel lazy. I met the boys at their office for a short 5 miler. We took the "scenic" route around our new local outdoor mall. The weather wasn't too cold this monring either. Taking the first few steps was actually quite paingful. My right knee and ankle really didn't feel like running at all as indicated through pain shooting up my leg from both locations. Whatever, I decided to push through the first mile and see how I feel. At that point, I could always turn around. As luck would have it, this pain also disappeared after the first mile. While not completely gone, I could tolerate the minor discomfort that remained. I was just glad to be back on there running. We ended up running a slow 9:55 pace, thanks guys. I really needed to take it easy. Hopefully, I will be back at full speed soon. After all, I have a "short" 10 mile race I want to run this weekend as part of my training.

14 March 2010

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Pre-race dinner and packet pick-up
I went to Decatur the night before the race to pick up my race packet, enjoy the free pre-race pasta dinner and to check out the actual race course. I knew the location of the park, but I had never actually been there. Luckily, I only lived 45 minutes from the race location. I got to the park around 6 PM and a few other runners and race volunteers were already busy setting up for the start of the race the next morning at 6 AM. I assume some of the work involved trying to clear the 10 foot wide trail from some of the water puddles that had formed as a result of the extensive rain that had fallen all week. I quickly realized that this trail would not require actual trail shoes but that road shoes would suffice. I also noticed that while the course did consist of a one mile loop, it had somewhat natural curves into both directions so it would not feel like I was running in a circle. After putting my mind at ease and deciding where to park the next day, I made my way to the location of the race packet pick-up and carb dinner that was being held at a local church two blocks from the race start. Since I got there relatively early, there were only about 20 people at the dinner and I ended up sitting with a couple of runners from Georgia, who were both accomplished ultra runners, unlike me. Still being a novice ultra runner, I was eager to ask some questions about strategies for a 12 hour ultra race. There were two things I distinctly remember from this conversation. First, never sit down during an ultra unless you are finished. Second, run a steady pace for the entire race. In other words, don't go out hard early only to fold later in the race. Instead, keep the same pace for the entire race. I took both of those tips to heart and integrated them into my race plan, if you can call it that. After dinner, I went back home to pack my gear and call it an early night. However, my mind kept thinking about the race and that led to me worrying about the amount of sleep I would get, since I would have to get up at 4 AM. One thing I had learned was to get plenty of sleep two nights before a race in anticipation of a short pre-race night, so I had that part covered.

08 March 2010

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Another Monday morning, another start t a taper week. I ended up meeting Mike, one of my running buddies who has been out sick for the last few weeks, for an easy 4.5 miler at his office. After yesterday's 10K, I was ready for an easy run. My legs have been heavy and this was taper week. I would get all the running I could handle this Saturday at the 12 hour race. We went out at a steady pace around 9:30 miles. My legs felt a little sore, but after the initial warm-up mile, everything went back to normal. The temps were slowly warming up the AM and should reach the highest yet for the year. Hopefully, the rain that was forecast for the entire week will be out of here before Saturday's race. I am defintely keeping my fingers crossed for that one.

07 March 2010

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What a beautiful day for a race. I was on my third cup of coffee when I left the house for the race. How did I manage to drink that much coffee before leaving for the race, you ask? Easy, the race was at 2 in the afternoon and the start location was a mere 2 minutes from my house. This was the first time I had the chance to actually think about the meal the morning of a race. I opted for a couple of home-made French toast slices as an early lunch or late breakfast at 11 AM. I usually just eat a banana with a cup of coffee as races normally start between 6 and 9 AM. The sky was clear and sunny and the temperatures were in the mid 50s with no wind to speak of.

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Once I got a quick swig of Gatorade, I went back onto the course to meet my fiancee for her last mile of the race. This was the second goal of my day, running with my fiancee to the finish line in her first 10K race. I met her exactly one mile from the finish and joined her on her final stretch. She has been struggling with side stitches and today was no different. I think a proper breathing rhythm and more training will help with that. She finished strong and I was very excited for her. Congrats, I am sure you are ready for a half marathon in no time.

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I managed to get out of bed by 5:45 AM. That was the only way I could squeeze in a short training run before the activities of the day. It was rather cold,considering that the highs of the day would reach the high 50s. It was actually below freezing when I left the house, bundled up appropriately. I was going to run around 7 miles as that was allI had time for. For the second day in a row, my legs felt just a little heavy and that was not a good sign with a 10K race on my training schedule for tomorrow. It also worried me because I have the big 12 hour ultra coming up next week. I didn't think I was at risk for overtraining, but the thought did cross my mind briefly. I figured I'd find out during Sunday's 10K. I ran a 9:30 pace for the entire 7 miles, so I would not push too hard before the race. But still, my legs felt heavy. I am really hoping that the weather is finally ready to warm up. I just cannot handle running in the cold any longer. It has been almost 4 months of running in sub freezing temps. The temps at the start of the race will be in the high 50s, which should  be really nice coupled with a bright sunny and no cloud day. Could it be the first unofficial weekend of Spring running?

05 March 2010

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So I couldn't get my tail up this morning so I decided to squeeze in a short run with my fiancee during my lunch break. I figured I'd do a short luch run and add another short run right after work to make up the mileage for today. I was already in the whole for the week and I wanted to try to catch up as much as possible. My target was 60 miles and I am way short of that right now. Anyway, we left for an easy loop around our local university. The sun was shining and temps were much milder than in the weeks past, around the low 50s. I figured shorts and long sleeve tech shirt and a hat for the sun would be enough. With the wind in the back, I was correct. However, as we came around the corner of the university loop on our way back, the wind really blew into our faces and it dropped the temp immediately. Overall, a nice lunch time run, just the right pace and distance after yesterday's speedier 10 miler.

04 March 2010

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So it was time for another training run today after laying off yesterday. And since I had to do it by myself for the first time in a couple of weeks, I decided to do something new or at least run a route I hadn't done in a while. I really didn't feel like it initially, but Richard texting me from Chile after arriving there this morning for his Atacama Desert Crossing 150 Mile Race really motivated me to go for a run. It also got me surfing the net for a nice challenging and exotic ultra marathon and I believe I found just the race. It's a 100k ultra marathon crossing two volcanoes on an island in Nicaragua, but more about that some other time. Today I decided to run downtown from my house and to pick up the Cotton Row Run course, a local 10k race that attracts up to 2,000 runners every Memorial Day.
The temperatures felt really mild and it was actually sunny when I came home from the office, so I decided that shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt would be enough protection. Big mistake. After I had been gone for about a mile, I realized that it got colder as soon as the sun was gone, significantly colder, tremendously colder, you get the point. By the time I realized it, I chose not to track back and just deal with it. I also wore a running hat. Since it would be mostly dark during my run, the hat would help me keep the headlights from the oncoming traffic out of my eyes. I decided to pick up the training pace right away to stay warm. At the bottom of Monte Sano Mountain, the race course contains one of the most challenging hills I have ever encountered on a shorter distance race. That section of my training run was the only place my heart rate went above 170. Otherwise, my heart rate was averaging 145. After I completed the 10k course I continued to track back to my house for a total of 11 miles. Keeping my heart rate at such a low level, imagine my surprise when I uploaded my run from my Garmin Forerunner and realized that I ran a sub 9 minute per mile pace. I never really felt winded at all and this run had a couple of serious hills in it as well. Overall, a great run. Let's see if I can get outta bed in the morning for my weekly long run.

02 March 2010

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Today's hill workout went rather well. My usual running buddy Rich was busy packing his gear for his 150 mile Atacama desert crossing in Chile; what a slacker! However, I was able to get my workout done anyway. The temps were in the low 40s with the wind chill. I did the usual one mile warm up and cool down before and after the hills sprints. All together, it added up to about 5.5 miles for the day. I was significantly faster today than I was during my last hill workout. On average, I shaved about 30 seconds off my per mile pace during the uphills. I also took about 5 to 10 seconds less per uphill sprint. My heart rate never went above 180 during the sprints and I was able to get it down to 140 on the recovery jogs. Tomorrow morning, I will be meeting Rich for one last run before his departure to Chile. The weather man says it will be 30 degrees in the morning. I am so ready for warmer weather.

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When I left the office, it felt bone chilling cold for some reason, but Weather.com swore that it was in the high 40s. Neither Rich nor I believed it. Anyway, we got together after work to run an easy 10 miles from his office. I was trying to get my miles in and he is just along for the ride. I could tell his mind is already on the plane to Chile for his 150 Mile endurance race this week. He will be leaving this Wednesday and the race is scheduled to start this Sunday. I am freakin' jealous. We decided to run from his office straight to the bottom of Rainbow Mountain. On the way back, we would hit the Indian Creek Greenway for a short Out & Back to make up the mileage required for today. That way, we would utilize the remaining daylight while on the road and run the greenway in the dark. Without traffic, there really is no need for light on an asphalt trail. We kept an easy pace and it took me a while to warm up. Once we returned from Rainbow Mountain and hit the greenway, we decided to pick up the pace for a little fun. It was at this point that I also had to correct my assumption that there would not be any traffic on the greenway. While there was no car traffic, we counted 3 rabbits and even a deer crossing the greenway about 20 yards in front of us. I guess they figured that humans had left the greenway for the day and that it was now theirs. These encounters definitely made the run more enjoyable. Tomorrow, my training schedule calls for another hill workout, oh joy. Didn't I just do that? Oh wait, that was two weeks ago.

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