Holy Crap

I got in to law school.

Film at 11.

It's a tough job,

being a cat at my house....

Captain Tummyrub, reporting for duty!

Baby boy sure has changed as he's matured.  He's not really the world's bravest, most outgoing cat, but he can be quite the little slut when it comes to getting his belly rubbed!  Whodathunkit?

So, I entered a mud race.  While my last race - last two races, really - involved mud and other fun things, they were technically trail races, while this one, part of the Merrell Down and Dirty series, is in the emerging genre of mud runs.  It includes mud, water crossings, and military style obstacles.  The race is 10K (there's also a 5K), and several of us from the dojo are planning to run together, which should be fun.  Hopefully we'll manage to get a few pictures afterwards, when we're at our beautiful best.  The run falls at a pretty good time in my ultra training, right about where I wanted to take a little bit of a break.  The schedule doesn't build in breaks, but it anticipates that you might throw in a race or two during your prep.  I'm not sure this is exactly what the program writers had in mind, but it works for me.

I've been enjoying using the Garmin.  Considering I believe I paid a comparable price for a heart rate monitor some years ago, I'm very impressed with the amount and quality of information I get from the Garmin.  The GPS tracking is a little less spot on than I originally believed, based on my uploading my data to Map My Run - little did I know, MMR was correcting the data so it mapped directly to roads!  When I map it to Garminconnect, I see the course as plotted, which looks more like what I expected it to look like because I know these things just aren't THAT good.  Still, it's close enough to not be worth arguing over.  The elevation data is good, and matches well with what the road says.  And to my surprise, I actually LIKE having the heart rate data, even though it more or less tells me exactly what I think it should be telling me (meaning, my heart rate is where I think it should be at any given time).  I think that will be valuable information to have over time, and will probably be quite valuable when I start doing speedwork again (whenever that might be).

Took a break from New Rules this past Friday, and took the TRX to the gym to play with.  That thing is a LOT of fun, I must say; it also makes for a very compact workout, since you pretty much stay in one spot, changing only the length of the straps between exercises, if necessary.  I have about a month of NR workouts left (that's what I get for just doing it twice a week), and I have the feeling that will try my patience a bit...  which is unfortunate.  I didn't start this program with a clear idea of how it might dovetail into an ultra training program and I'm afraid I'm not going to finish this all that neatly.  If I'd stuck with the three day a week schedule, I'd be just about done by now.  Anyway, there's a question in my mind as to whether I'm going to continue with the metabolic work when I have to add runs to my strength training days; I plan to run before I hit the gym so I guess I'll just see how I feel a the end of the weight work.  If there's gas in the tank, I'll do it.  If not, oh well.

Makes for a sloppy ending to a good program, which isn't all that satisfying, but all the more reason to do the thing again, right?

Overdue

Overdue for a post, I suppose!

No news in the Realm of Things that Keep Me Up at Night, which I've calmed down enough about to finally mention here.  #1 is a possible job - it is unfortunately in my old field, but it is through an agency and may be part time but rather well paying, even at that.  There are many details still being worked out about the position, but if it does work out it LOOKS like an ideal fit for my situation.  #2 is, well, I've already applied to a school, for fall admission.  That was NOT according to plan, but the opportunity presented itself and I took it.  If I get in - well, that changes a lot, to say the least, particularly because it's law school, not PT school. 

Sometimes when I am thinking about further schooling - whether the plan changes or not! - I wonder if I'm in my right mind.  And then... I start looking for something to do to pay the bills whilst I'm waiting for this next chapter in my life to begin, I find there's not much else I'm qualified to do except what I have been doing, and it just makes me incredibly sad.  It's one of those instances where I can honestly say if I'd have known I'd be this stuck now 20 years ago, I'd have been exponentially more careful in choosing a college major/career path.  Not that I didn't enjoy myself along the way, but you can stick a fork in me - I'm done.  Whatever happens, it really is time for me to move along.

Speaking of moving - so far (heh, one week in), the new training schedule is going well.  The Sunday long runs are done by time, not distance, as I think I mentioned in my last post, and this past Sunday I was well-reminded that those long runs are as much mental as they are physical.  The Garmin has been working out well; no real surprises on the data, but good to have and fun to look at, anyhow.  It should be interesting to see trends over time. 

In Flux

There's a lot I haven't been talking about on this blog lately.  No particular reason, other than that it's all a little overwhelming and thinking about exercise keeps my mind off things for a while.  In a sentence, my life could change drastically within the next few weeks.  Not in a bad way - it's all job and school related - but a lot could happen very quickly, or nothing could happen at all.  So I don't know whether to revel in the possible excitement of it all or brace for disappointment.

So,  bought myself a Garmin 305.  I've been toying with the idea for a while, as I think I mentioned in my last race report, and after working up the ultra training schedule earlier this week, it makes a lot of sense to have one as a training tool.  All of my long runs are done by time, as opposed to distance, and I while I'm not all that bad at guesstimating time from distance (it's not like I just started running, after all) I don't expect I'll be able to remember those routes when they get really long, nor do expect I'd be able to remember a really long route I made up on the fly unless that route was really simple.  And I hate really simple routes - might as well be on a freaking treadmill.  Actually the thing will free me from serious route planning altogether, plus give me access to more data than I currently know what to do with.

LOL, retail therapy truly wins as a stress-reducer.  I'll take it.

Put in a bit of a crazy run this morning.  According to my new schedule, I'm supposed to run a 4 - 5 mile with lots of hills, fast, or something along that order.  It was really quite hot this morning - I head out fairly early and it was 87 degrees by the time I was done (wasn't brave enough to look before I headed out) with a heat index of around 100.  So I did a new course that is close to home with a half a dozen shorter hills, as it's hard to keep any run to the longer hills, such as they are, without doing over 7 miles.  When I got to the top of the last one I was pretty gassed and walked about a block to catch my breath a bit; that bothered me until I got home and calculated my pace, which was waaaay faster than I realized.  All in all, successful outing. 

Speaking of new toys, the boys got one recently, a pressed catnip ball.  They likey.

Forrest manages to get a moment alone with the 'nip.  Note the eyes about to pop out of his head...

I must be training for a serious race because

There's a schedule on my fridge.

I've been in what I would call Middle Distance Land for a good long while now, averaging 20 - 30 miles a week (mostly high 20's) and racing at 15K to half marathon distance.  My schedule hasn't varied much in the past year or so; in fact sometimes I've wondered why I even bother to post my workouts, at the right.  If it's Tuesday, I must be running and going to karate.  Etc.  Yawn.  Hence, I really haven't had need for the old schedule on the fridge thing, since what I was doing was working, and I really didn't need a piece of paper to tell me to stick to the routine.

But it's time for me to get serious about this ultra thing, and to that end, I've come up with a training plan that is now printed up and posted.  I came up with it by slightly modifying (rejiggering the days to suit my schedule) something out of some running magazine that I've had lying around since spring of 2008.  I think because I have been toying with the ultra idea for such a long time, I was able to set a PR in settling on this schedule, a process that usually requires days of reviewing and comparing at least a half a dozen training plans and mapping out of multiple mock schedules.  This time, I think it took me longer to type the thing out than it did to say, "Yep, that's it."

The schedule is not actually all that different from my current schedule, except that this one contains an actual rest day (well, two, theoretically, except one is Saturday, a karate day - but hey, I won't run or lift on that day!) and cuts my strength training from three to two days a week.  And, of course, the mileage and particularly the long runs go up over time.  For strength, I plan to continue with NROL/Abs for as long as it plays out (I'll have to talk about Phase 3 at some point - suffice it to say, I really like it so far).  I may not experience much in terms of strength gains, but I wasn't really expecting to considering my running emphasis. 

The race I'm shooting for is a 12 hour race to be held over Labor Day weekend.   It's run on trails so I'm not really sure what I can realistically hope to do in terms of mileage.  Minimally I'd like to do 50K and my goal of goals is to do 50m.  We'll see, eh?

Charlie Horse Half Marathon Race Report

When I see the words, "Charlie (or Charley) Horse," my first thought is of leg cramps.  I've actually never had a charley horse, and don't associate quad cramps with running, so I wasn't sure how the name fit with the race - not that it really mattered.  My goals were to get some more trail experience under my belt, and to increase my trail race distance, and the date and location of this race were perfect.  Going into the race, I felt prepared for the distance but underprepared for the hills - something that will prove a challenge to overcome in my current running environs, but that I accept it for what it is for now.  We also had to deal with an early season bout of the hot and humids, and on top of that I have been wrestling with a spring cold that was on the out but still left me with some congestion and the occasional coughing fit.  Given the latter two, I went into the race with the goal of finishing, come what may and time be damned; if I had to walk up the steepest hills, I would. 

Race morning, it took me about a minute to pack my race bag (Shoes? Check.  Towel? Check.  Apres-race change of clothes? Check.).  The drive out was familiar and easy, and I arrived earlier than expected.  The race was a point to point, so they bussed us to the start.  Once loaded we got our pre-race briefing.  The guy who did the briefing was pretty funny; for starters, he apologized for the weather, saying they had been shooting for more heat and humidity and that he hoped we weren't disappointed.  He went on to describe the course, noted the location of the aid stations (miles 3, 6, 9, and 11), and that the course included a bit of water and "a few hills."  Miles 9 - 11 would be on pavement, a mile down a steep hill and then a mile up a steep hill.  After that, we entered Charlie's property, and all bets were off.  We were warned we might encounter horses on the trail (Charlie? Horse?  Get it???  ouch), and told to give way to them. 

Had a nice chat with my seatmate on the way to the start; he was pretty new to running but had done a Tough Mudder (just what it sounds like) race in the fall and had enjoyed it.  He had a Garmin Forerunner, which he loved; it was nice to see one up close.  I'm not all that into gadgets and gear, but I've been thinking about getting a Forerunner lately, mainly because my tried and true method of mapping runs before I do them (and then correcting them afterwards when I reroute on the fly) is getting OLD.  More and more, I just want to go out and run wherever my feet take me on a given day and stay out for time, but I'm compulsive about tracking distance, and I question my ability to recall my routes, particularly if I zone out along the way.  So the Garmin, while clunky, seems an interesting idea...

But I digress.  The trip to the start took for-freaking-ever, despite the fact that the bus drivers were going like 80 mph on the hilly, twisty back country roads.  At the start, we were told there was but one working bathroom for last minute pit stops.  More people that I expected got in line, while the rest of us sought out little girls' and boys' trees and shrubs.  As we lined up, we were told that there were over 300 starters, and they expected something like 262 finishers (and they were close! there were 267 finishers); I guess that was based on data from prior races.  I was surprised that they had such a high number of DNFs (did not finish), but then again, I've never really studied starter/finisher race stats, so what do I know? 

After the singing of the national anthem (by us, of course), we were off!  Naturally, the very first thing we did was cross a creek.  Who wants to run a half marathon in dry shoes, after all?  Thanks to my superior creek crossing skills and murky water piercing sonar, I managed to half step on a slippery rock and go down on my butt, so I had the added benefit of running the race in wet shorts, as well as shoes.  As usual, we started into the hills almost immediately.  The first one wasn't too bad, and then we came to a near stop on the down slope, thanks to a tree and several limbs lying across the path.  There was no way around them, and only enough room for one person to go over and/or under at a time (I did some of both), so we came out of that fairly spaced out.  From that point on, I didn't pass many people and very few people passed me.  I found that pretty unusual, but I guess we'd sorted ourselves out pretty well, in terms of pace, in that first mile or so. 

On the whole, the first six miles were HARD.  The hills were steep and I made good on my forethought to walk up the steep parts, which frankly, was most of the uphills.  Even some of the downhills were slow, thanks to lots of loose rock.  I've learned that my greatest fear on the downhills is not of falling, but of having someone behind me fall and take me down with him or her.  The trails were often single track, so there was effectively no passing, and hearing someone on your tail, pounding hard and breathing heavy, was - disconcerting.  I suppose because of the stop at the tree and all the uphill walking, my overall pace was slower than I'd anticipated; after what seemed an unreasonably long time, I found myself at the second (six mile) aid station. I was at that point hoping they'd measured the distance wrong, and we were actually closer to or even more than halfway along the course (one can hope, right?)  But no; the Garmin-wearing folk assured us all that we really were just six miles in.  Fortunately this aid station had not only water and gatorade, but also M&Ms!  (OK, and other junk food as well, but I only had eyes for the peanut M&Ms.) 

Thus refueled, I headed out on the back side of the course.  I wish I had more to say about miles 6 - 9, but I seem to have run those miles in some sort of a time warp.  There were more hills (and bugs!), but the downhills were less rocky.  My pace definitely picked up, and before I knew it, I was at the road section of the course.  At that point I was running near a guy who had done a lot of ultra and trail running, and who had done this course many times before.  Apparently, what was now a road section was just a few years ago a trail section; however a new (and fairly small) development had gone in, and the road more or less followed the old trail.  Folks who lived along the road were pretty cool;  quite a few came out to cheer us on.  One family set up its own aid station, and more than one had sprinklers out for us to run through (yay, people!).  As promised, both the downhill and uphill sections were steep; the gal I was running next to and I were joking about needing overspeed brakes or parachutes.

And then, we hit Charlie's section of the course.  We had been warned, prior to the start, that there would be a mud pit later on the course, that there was no way around it, and that we'd better make sure our shoes were laced tightly because otherwise, we might lose them.  What they did not tell us, perhaps because they didn't know, was that there would be many, many mudpits on that last section of the course.  Perhaps Charlie, who I'm guessing is a real person, figured what with the mud run craze, he might as well follow suit.  Whatever the case, we had a series of drops into water up to waist deep (on me, anyway), with entries so slick you had to slide in and exits so steep you needed a rope (thankfully provided) to get out.  Then the trail actually ran IN the creek for a while, which I must say, felt really good - plus it washed off much of the mud you'd gathered by that point.  No worries, though, as there was more mud to come, this time much thicker, boggier mud that there was no doin' nothin' but wading through and hoping you didn't misstep and fall.

After that, there was perhaps a mile of trail left to run, frankenstein-like in mud-caked shoes.  Near the finish, they had a fire hose spraying out over the trial, but it didn't really put a dent in the filth.  From there the trail popped out of the woods, then over a wooden bridge, then on to the finish.  Woo! 

Thankfully there was a hose available after the finish to wash off off the mud.  I took off my shoes and socks (there was mud IN my shoes) and deconned them as best I could; some people were talking about tossing their shoes, which seemed a little extreme to me, but I could see why one would do that.  My socks are goners, for sure.  I hosed off my legs - I was muddy to around mid-thigh (sex-ay!) - and padded barefoot back to the car to change.  Perhaps the only small bummer of the day was that there was no real finisher trinket.  Instead, we got a pair of socks (to replace the ones we'd killed on course?) and could BUY a finisher mug if we wanted.  Granted, the were cheap, but I don't carry money with me when I run races, and by the time I'd cleaned up and walked back up(hill) to the car, I wasn't in the mood to walk back down for a mug.  So, aside from the race shirt and a pair of socks I managed to get dirty before I even walked out of the finish area, no souvenirs for this race. 

I found out later when checking the scores that I finished 5th in my age group (they gave awards to 4th place, naturally), which just suggests to me that not many women in my age group ran on that particular day.  LOL.   It was a fun experience overall, and I'd be happy to do that race again.  I'm grateful for every bit of training I did going into that race, from the roadwork to the gym work, and I have a much better feel overall for what kind of training I need to do if I plan to keep moving onward and upward, distance and elevation-wise, in my trail racing. 

Race shirt and finisher - socks?

Post races shoes - which didn't start out white - and socks, which did.  The shoes took three days to dry completely.