Final Pre-Run Post!

Final stats:
(08/03 -- 08/09): Run: 66.4(street 40, trail 26.4); elliptical 30, tmill 35, stepr 60; stairm 16. [This is the most mileage I’ve ever done in one week!!]
(08/10 – 08/16): Run 53.5(trail 32, street 21.5); elliptical 30, tmill 15; stepr 30, stairm 15.
(08/17 – 08/18): Run 13.1 trail; elliptical 30, stepr 15. And, will stay on the Higher Peak thru Thursday night.

Well, this is pretty much it. I will run 5 on Tuesday, and 4 on Thursday per the schedule. Flying to Colorado on Friday. The schedule calls for a 3 miler (easy) on Saturday and Sunday before the BIG DAY. Not sure if doing that will make me feel better or worse, as we’ll be in Buena Vista – not a sea level any more! Will have to see what we feel like—I don’t think resting would be contraindicated either.

Still getting the final gear together. Have no idea how it will all fit into our allotted duffels. I’m sure it will be a challenge once they hand us the bags! I don’t know how good I am at stuffing! Have to delivery the cats to the kitty hostel on Thursday which will be hard on us all – they’ve never been away from home before. With all the chores, it will be Friday morning before I know it. Hopefully between final prep and work I will be too busy to think about the actual race.

Looking forward to meeting all the people, especially Sat and Jo. Am not so much looking forward to Monday morning at the start line! It is so hard to believe I ever thought this would be other than exceedingly challenging. Finishing this race will truly be an accomplishment – a PR for sure. I doubt I’ll ever attempt anything quite this difficult again, but, you never know!!!

If I make it back alive, will post -- w/ photos.
Again, Good Luck to all the teams!

Final Pre-Run Post!

Final stats:
(08/03 -- 08/09): Run: 66.4(street 40, trail 26.4); elliptical 30, tmill 35, stepr 60; stairm 16. [This is the most mileage I’ve ever done in one week!!]
(08/10 – 08/16): Run 53.5(trail 32, street 21.5); elliptical 30, tmill 15; stepr 30, stairm 15.
(08/17 – 08/18): Run 13.1 trail; elliptical 30, stepr 15. And, will stay on the Higher Peak thru Thursday night.

Well, this is pretty much it. I will run 5 on Tuesday, and 4 on Thursday per the schedule. Flying to Colorado on Friday. The schedule calls for a 3 miler (easy) on Saturday and Sunday before the BIG DAY. Not sure if doing that will make me feel better or worse, as we’ll be in Buena Vista – not a sea level any more! Will have to see what we feel like—I don’t think resting would be contraindicated either.

Still getting the final gear together. Have no idea how it will all fit into our allotted duffels. I’m sure it will be a challenge once they hand us the bags! I don’t know how good I am at stuffing! Have to delivery the cats to the kitty hostel on Thursday which will be hard on us all – they’ve never been away from home before. With all the chores, it will be Friday morning before I know it. Hopefully between final prep and work I will be too busy to think about the actual race.

Looking forward to meeting all the people, especially Sat and Jo. Am not so much looking forward to Monday morning at the start line! It is so hard to believe I ever thought this would be other than exceedingly challenging. Finishing this race will truly be an accomplishment – a PR for sure. I doubt I’ll ever attempt anything quite this difficult again, but, you never know!!!

If I make it back alive, will post -- w/ photos.
Again, Good Luck to all the teams!

PANIC CITY!

The official word of the day: PANIC!!
Bad (Again): three more weeks have flown by, since my last post on 7/15!
Worse (Again): TR is now only 20 days away!!!!!

Stats:
(07/13 – 07/19): Running 55 mi (all trails); Elliptical 60 min; Stepper 60 min; tmill “marching”: 45 min.
(07/20 – 07/26): Running 19 mi (trails); Stepr 120 min; Elliptical: 60, stationary bike: 30, tmill “marching” 60 min [Note: Injury on Tuesday, 7/22]
(07/27 – 08/02): Running 52.2 mi (street 10, tmill 12, trails 20.2); stepr 60, elliptical 60, stairmaster 30, tmill “marching” 30 min

Higher Peak: holding steady now at ~13,000 feet for the duration.

The good: the “accident” happened on 7/22, and not (say) on 8/12. One minute there I was, attempting to do a reasonable 8 miler on one of my usual trail routes at Rancho. Next minute: wham! However, instead of my normal “3-point” landing (knee, elbow and one other point of contact) I slipped and crashed, taking the brunt of the impact on my left side – my rib cage. It hurt quite a bit, but as I was at least 2 miles away from the car via the shortest route and since I was only about 1/3 of the way thru the run, I decided to hobble on and complete the originally planned run. Much as it hurt then I was afraid it would REALLY hurt next day (and I sure hate it when I’m right). I won’t bore you with details but suffice it to say I greatly exceeded the recommended dosage for Ibuprofen for over a week. Needless to say, the 2 scheduled long runs for Saturday/Sunday did not go off as planned. Instead of 12 mi on Saturday I did 2 hours of aerobic workout at the gym: [30 min ea on elliptical, stairmaster, stationary bike and treadmill] (the tmill was 30 min of uphill marching at a 14 min/mi pace). Sunday I plodded slowly through a 10 mile run in my neighborhood, instead of the 20 miles of trails I had planned. Major bummer.

However of now I’m quite a bit better (although my ribs are still sore I can run and have made good headway on catching up on training and should be able to finish up the schedule in decent form.) I have made a sincere effort to train for this and I hope that I will be in position to finish under my own power – and within the permitted time limits.

Good luck to us all!!!

Time is not on my side

Bad: Two more weeks have flown by, since my last post on 6/30!
Worse: TR is only 39 days away!!!!!

Current Stats:
(06/29 – 07/05): Running 55 mi (10 street, 45 trails); Elliptical 60 min; Stepper 60 min.
(07/06 – 07/12): Running 40.5 mi (32.5 trails, street 2, tmill 6); Stepr 60 [but on travel Mon-Thurs]

One reason for lack of a post was the travel – business travel is not a vacation and really wears me out! The other reason is that not much has been happening. It seems like there is no time for anything other than commuting, working, running and sleeping (in about that order). Housework and socializing are suffering! By the time long runs get done on the weekend I don’t have energy for much else, even if I do seem to have enough time to accomplish something else.

The trip to the east coast was really work, although it was nice to meet some of my sales team face to face for the first time. And the weather was incredibly humid, although not as hot as it might have been. Apparently I “dodged a bullet” in one respect as there was another heat wave out here in the bay area. I wouldn’t really have been able to run even if I’d have been home – it was 100 degrees in San Jose!

The local air quality is improving as the wildfires are finally getting under full control. It has taken quite a long time and certain counties have been declared to be disaster areas. Fortunately many endangered buildings (houses) were saved, but many, many square miles of beautiful and valuable woodlands and parklands have been destroyed.

Training is really taking center stage—I actually dreamed a long, hard training run last night. No wonder I was so tired when the alarm went off! On the other hand, I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself once we return from Colorado. I’ll need another goal, but probably not one that will require quite so much training. I can’t even contemplate that right now, anyway!

Catching Up....

Stats: (06/08 – 06/14): Elliptical 65 min; Stepper 45 min; Running total 28.6 mi (12.5 street, 10.1 trails, 6 tmill);
(06/15 – 06/21): Elliptical 60 min; Stepper 60 min; Running total 55.3 mi (52.1 trail, 3.2 tmill);
(06/22 – 06/28): Elliptical 65, Stepper 35; Running total: 43.1 mi (24 trail, street 10, tmill 9.1)

In review of previous posts I was surprised to see that I hadn’t included recent stats. So, today’s post includes info up through last Saturday to get me back on track. Not much real news to post about otherwise. I’m doing my best to adhere to the “official” training schedule, with a couple minor tweaks and adds. For example, I usually go to the gym in the morning to do the elliptical and a few weights and abs routines, especially on the days when I will run after work. I was doing some extraneous running on the treadmill (on days when I just couldn’t face the elliptical machine) which was over and above the scheduled runs.

However, now that the scheduled runs are getting longer and harder, I will probably not do much “extra” running, but will still do elliptical, stepper and maybe bicycle. I still feel I need more aerobic workouts as well as to try to strengthen muscles that I’m not using as much when actually running. And, speaking of aerobic matters, we are up to about 10,000 feet on the Higher Peak machine. I really can’t tell if I’m improving, since the runs are longer than what I have been used to, so I’m tending to go slower in order to preserve energy enough to finish (and thank god for GU!). I think we will plan to try to plateau about 11,000 feet on the machine, depending on how we feel. There is still plenty of time to assess this between now and 8/22. Have pretty much gotten used to sleeping with the mask on, but will definitely take a vacation from it when we get back from Colorado!

The weather has returned to more normal temperatures as of yesterday, although I hear there are more hot days coming -- bummer. We have been also suffering an unusual number of wildfires (some caused by lightning others, unfortunately set by people who will be under lock and key if/when caught) one of which was only a few miles “as the crow flies” from our part of the forest. This is already a very bad fire season, with a state of emergency being declared for several counties in the state. I hope this is not a portent of things to come through the fall!

Unfortunately, I have to travel out of town next week which will play complete havoc with both training and the acclimatization process using the Higher Peak machine. I hope this will not represent a major set back! There’s no way to do any long runs while on a business trip.

I had to really gut out my 18 mile run on Sunday. I have a hatred of courses which repeat (i.e., running 2 ea 5 mile loops to get a 10 miler in). However, I’m having trouble constructing out/back or single loops that work for my longer runs. So, for this 18 miler, I hooked together a 6 mile loop that I’ve done several times with my out and back 12 mile run. It took me forever to do the first 6 miles—and I don’t know why, as it was not particularly hot, I was sufficiently hydrated and rested. When I got to the trail intersection w/ the out and back trail it was all I could do to head out, instead of returning to the car and calling it a day. I finished it, but it took like 4 hours which does not bode well for the daily runs on the race course. While this run was on trails, and did incorporate a good amount of hills, it is still nothing like the altitude gain/loss that will be included in the daily stages in Colorado.

This post has gotten slightly out of control, so I’ll call it quits for now!

Off The Sofa

DAVID:
Sunday, June 29, 2008. The Basin Complex and Indians fires continue to rage in the Ventana Wilderness, south of Monterey. The Indians fire has consumed 94 sq mi, twice the area of the city of San Francisco. The Basin fire has kept CA Hwy 1 closed through Big Sur for a week. Each night the summer fog absorbs the smoke and ash - each morning the sky is dirty and lowering. Yesterday as I read the fire coverage in the S.F. Chronicle I could smell the very flames pictured in the paper. Call it scratch and sniff news. The inlanders have been urged to stay indoors and avoid exercising. We are not so lucky – our training will proceed as scheduled.
Judy has hewn closely to the pre-race regimen. I have been severely hobbled by a months old hamstring injury that just now starting to allow me to run a little. I have a LOT of catching up to do, and the prospect is daunting, to say the least. It is hard to know yet whether the Higher Peak machine is really going to help. Judy says her lungs are way ahead of her legs in terms of endurance at this point. This week we have been breathing a nightly oxygen mix that approximates sleeping at 10,000’. Are we crazy? Let me state here for the record: I did not volunteer for the TransRockies – I was drafted.

Inspiration

This is a "nano" post. I will post later my weekly stats update, etc.
Last night, in 90+ heat, I was driving to the park to knock off the scheduled 12 mile run and feeling distinctly sorry for myself. It was hot, I was tired and cranky. I could have been easily dissuaded from running by any diversion, no matter how mundane. However, while in the car, I heard this inspirational story on "All Things Considered" on NPR. (follow link)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91692169&sc=emaf
I am ashamed that I whine and complain about the weather, and minor muscle pain when there are people like Hillary, the Hoyts, etc. are out there doing so much. I did the run. Not fast, or well, but I did it. I didn't feel heroic or particularly happy, but I did feel as if I had done a tiny bit in support of those who would like to but who do not have the chance.

And now, on to the 14 miler on Saturday followed by the 16 miler on Sunday :-)

Reno – Tahoe Odyssey, or, how I lost another weekend!

http://www.renotahoeodyssey.com/
06/06 – 06/07/2008

It was a relay, like any other relay—except with altitude.

The run was Friday - Saturday, so naturally I heard nothing much until Tuesday – typical hasher way of operating :-) I wasn’t too worried, given that I know how to “relay”, but I did want to know where and when to show up. However, the most important behind the scenes work had been done (van rentals, hotel rooms reserved, shirts printed).

I was in Van 2, running leg 11. Most of the van 1 folks went up to Reno on Thursday, so as to be ready for the 0930 start. Van 2 met up at Rebecca’s in Sunnyvale (no, not at Sunnybrook Farm!). We departed at about 10:30 and arrived at the exchange point outside Truckee in plenty of time.

The main difference for me was that the territory was completely unfamiliar. I’ve run pretty much all over the greater bay area in nor cal, but not so much in the Tahoe – Reno area.

The results are not out yet, which is okay – I don’t really need to see my official times.

My first leg was 5.3 miles (“moderate”) at about 7 pm on a paved bike path paralleling both the highway and the Truckee River. It was actually quite a nice run, and the elevation was just under 6500 feet. I didn’t notice the effects of the altitude as much as I expected to, but I did adopt a relatively sedate pace. I felt pretty good at the end, and was pretty satisfied.

As soon as Leah, leg 12, finished we determined we had only about 3.5 hours till it was time for Van 2 to take over again (Van 1 had shorter legs and also some faster runners). We went out to dinner where I had pasta but avoided the wine and beer the others indulged in. This was mostly b/c I had agreed to switch legs on the next segment w/ Joanne. As she was the lead off runner in our van, I knew I would be running again in only a couple of hours, so I had best watch what I had to digest! We headed over to the motel, which was close by. This really turned out to be a waste of time (and money) since we were only there for about 2 hours. Next time we’ll probably just go on to the van exchange and nap in the van—which is what we usually do in The Relay. Anyway, all too soon we were back on the road.

Jo had not had much chance to train, as she’s a consultant and has been spending several weeks commuting from San Jose to Pittsburg, PA. Her legs all were short, but they all involved significant hills and altitude. So we agreed I’d do her leg 19: 4.2 miles (“most difficult”)—climbing out of the Tahoe basin starting at ~6250 feet and ended just shy of 7500. It was pitch black (after I ran by the casinos) and pretty cold—but actually not as cold as my 2nd leg on The Relay. My main complaint was that the cool breeze, altitude and lack of humidity parched my mouth and throat. I had to stop and walk – mostly to drink water! (or maybe that was just an excuse). Before Colorado I must find an industrial strength lip balm. In any case, after a seemingly endless uphill, I sighted the bright lights of the exchange point. Yay! 2 down, 1 to go.

During our next break we actually had enough time to shower and sleep for 2 hours. Of course the nap felt like it only lasted 15 minutes!! Jo and I switched back, so she’d be running a 3.1 mile long steep hill and I’d be left with (what turned out to be) a BORING 7.5 mile (“moderate”) trek thru the outskirts of Sparks. What made it worse was that Dean’s leg, right b/4 mine, was also a boring 7.5 miler—and he was really struggling, so we just kept on driving a mile or so ahead of him and waiting for him to offer water and assistance, if he needed it. I felt like I was waiting forever, and I really just wanted to get it over with. It ended up taking him 20 minutes longer to do his leg than it did me (this is per Dean—I wasn’t timing either of us). The elevation was basically flat at 4500 feet.

All in all, I’d do this one again. I had wanted to do this to see how I’d do trying to run at altitude, and it turned out to be pretty much what I had expected. I’m just glad I’ll have lots more time with the Higher Peak machine before heading off to Colorado!

Way Behind Now!

Updated Stats:
(05/09 – 05/16) Elliptical: 140 minutes; stair stepper: 55 min; Run (total) 35.7 mi. (4 street, 8.6 tmill, 23.1 trail);
(05/17 – 05/23) Elliptical: 75 min; stepper 45; Run (total) 36.3 (street 6, tmill 8.3, Trail 22);
(05/24 – 05/30) Elliptical: 115 min; stepper 45; Run (total) 32.9 mi. (street 13, trail 19.9);
(05/31 – 06/07) Elliptical: 65, Run 30 (projected – includes 19 miles total at the Reno-Tahoe Relay (Friday and Saturday) (tmill 4, trail 17.2, road 19.5)

Where HAS the time gone?? I blinked and now it’s like 3 weeks later.

While I started with this title b/c it has been so long since I posted, I also noticed, upon review of the stats, that I’m a bit behind on the training—which came as a surprise. I thought I was doing better, but the numbers don’t lie. Still more room for improvement.

Again (as predicted), cool weather did return to Nor Cal. I can’t tell you how many cold outings I’ve been to on Memorial Day weekend. This year was no exception, which is actually beneficial to my running regime. I just wilt/melt in the heat. (No Marathon Des Sables for me, Sat!)

Work has picked up dramatically in the past 2 weeks, so the struggle is on to maintain success at the job as well as sticking to the training schedule. Between now and 6/30 it will just get more challenging.

My best run lately was last Sunday, the 12 miler, on a great fire road in Big Basin State Park (Redwood trees). We live relatively close to the park and have been there quite a bit, but had never gone all the way up this road. Shady, good footing, hills (but not too steep) and MARKED*. The weather was perfect, and I didn’t bonk (like I did the day before on my 8 miler). GU can be a life saver!

*editorial comment. I’m a trail runner but I never learned to use a compass, etc. So, I rely on maps and trail signage. Our state parks have been really poorly funded these past few years and so many of the trail signs have fallen apart or been rendered illegible and not repaired/replaced. On the other hand, the various “Open Space Preserves” seem to have $$. Not sure how the funding works. We’ve gotten “lost” in Big Basin on more than one occasion. Comparatively, when I did my 10 miler alone, I used the map of the preserve and didn’t have to back track once.

Tomorrow and Saturday is/are the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey (read: relay). 178 miles, 12 sweaty runners, 2 large (gas eating!) vans. This is a new one on me, but even tho I don’t know the course I feel okay based on my 13 years of doing “The Relay” (plus one Hood to Coast trip). I’m worried it will be too cold, instead of too hot for this. I doubt I’ll ever see perfect weather, given that my temperature range is so narrow. So much for ever moving out of Nor Cal!

Heat Wave!!

Stats: (05/09 – 05/16) Elliptical: 140 minutes; stair stepper: 55 min; Run (total) 35.7 mi. (4 street, 8.6 tmill, 23.1 trail)

Training seems to have hit a plateau: M-u-s -t f-i-x s-c-h-e-d-u-l-e….I have to be able to do more, longer, “hillier” runs. Did finally get out and purchase a new pair of trail running shoes. Currently I am planning on bringing at least 2 pair of trail shoes for the TR – especially if we have water crossings (see 2007 video).

Well, I had predicted it. I had said that the good (cool) weather couldn’t last. We have now been hit with a record setting heat wave. It was 99 in San Jose last Thursday. I just can’t run when it is that hot (and it’s not recommended to do so!) It is supposed to cool down in a day or 2. I need a little transition time, at least before “summer” temperatures set in.
On another front --
The Higher Peak machine arrived Friday. It’s kinda heavy ;-)
I wish it was lighter so it would be more portable. Let’s put it this way: I will not be schlepping it to the gym or office!

Finally got it set up Sunday evening. Obviously will take a bit of getting used to. However, I’m optimistic—I spent a number of years as a teenager sleeping on brush hair curlers – the face mask’s got nuthin’ on that! Not sure if da Rabbi will find it quite as easy, since he has more difficulty sleeping than I do.

Speaking of the Rabbi, I am trying to get him to write some posts for this blog. He is a much better and much more entertaining writer than I.

Doldrums!

Last week’s stats (05/02/08 – 05/08/08)
Running: 33.2 miles (trail 21.1, tmill 6.1, street 6); Stepper 65 min; elliptical 115 min.

While the weather has been terrific for running (not hot!) my enthusiasm level has been sub-par. I’m going to need to adjust the schedule to allow for longer runs—the problem is that if I don’t do a workout in the morning, the job often sucks all my energy later in the day and / or runs overlong into the early evening hours. The next 16 weeks, especially during July, are going to be pretty tough.

I’m hoping that the pressure of the Reno-Tahoe relay (June 5-6) will motivate me in the next few days. There is altitude involved in this relay (which is some 20 mi. shorter than the Calistoga-to-Santa Cruz), but I won’t be taking delivery of my Higher Peak system in time to be fully “acclimated” by 6/5. I am going to be very interested to see if I can discern any real difference in my training as I go along using the machine. My real hope for the Higher Peak system is that it will allow me to actually run more than hike through the TR. Since I don’t yet know the cut-off times for the stages, I continue to worry that I will be too slow.

P.S. Ordered the Higher Peak, Mag-10 on 5/8. ETA is 5/15/08!!

Not (yet) going the right way . . .

Weekly (6 days) Stats 04/26 – 05/01
Elliptical: 35 min (4.5 mi)
Stairstepper: 60 min
Running Total: 16.7 (13.2 on trail, 3.5 on treadmill)

Short entry this week.
Work is busy, all good.

However, this week has been a disappointment, training-wise: On Saturday I managed to fall (no serious injury--only damage was to pride, a bit of road rash and a bruised shin) while out on an otherwise lovely trail run. Sunday I was ill all day (a 24-hr 'bug' seems to be the consensus) (totally in bed, never left the house, let alone doing any running or other exercise activity!).

Due to other commitments Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, I have been left with only limited time in the morning (before work) to work out. Next week must and will be better!!

Also, remembering the passing (05/02/07) of one of our favorite, very funny running buddies … he was only 43 and left us waaay too soon. On Home, Possum.

Done with That!!

Done with That!

First, the Weekly Stats (4/18 – 4/25) (includes one rest day after the relay):
Stairstepper: 30 min
Elliptical: 100 min; 12.7 miles
Running: Total 27.9 miles (20.1 on the relay; 4.2 on the treadmill; 3.6 on trails)

So, the first feared running event of the season, The Relay, is now history. (http://www.therelay.com/)
4/19 – 4/20/2008

Overall winner: Google 1 (NYC): 20 hrs, 22 min
My team, the Nads: 27 hrs, 35 min. (38/202 finishers)

“My” relay: Leg 7:
1st segment: 6.9 mi. (“moderate”) (4:30 pm)
2nd segment: 7.0 mi. (“hard”) (2:30 am)
3rd segment: 6.2 mi. (“moderate”) (noon)
Total: 20.1 miles

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
“Be careful what you wish for.”

Our team start time was 1:30 pm, to the dismay of all. We prevailed on the race director to change it to 12:30 (every little bit helps). Saturday dawned, as promised by the weatherman, bright but cool and breezy. Good—no precip in the forecast. Van 1 left Aptos at 8 am to get to Calistoga. Van 2 (my van) left Aptos at noon to head up to the 1st van exchange (in downtown Napa).

Soon as we hit Napa, we did our usual grocery store stop for van provisions (ice, snacks, etc, plus sandwiches for our dinner.) We got back on the road to head up to the exchange, which was about 4 miles further on, when we got informed that we had a flat tire. Sure enough, the right rear tire was completely flat! We still have no clue as to what happened. We couldn’t seem to change it ourselves. I was the only person who had their AAA card with them, so help was summoned. The REAL problem was that I needed to be at the van exchange, because I was the lead-off runner and John, #6 in Van 1 was starting his run so time was running out. We called Van 1 and they had to drive down to get me. Tom (#8) went along too, just in case. I was deposited at the exchange in plenty of time, so it all worked out—thankfully!

When the relay was held in the fall, we almost always complained about the heat up in Napa. When I ran leg 1, and we started at noon, it was upwards of 80 degrees. That kind of weather is not optimum for my running. Anyway, this weekend was frigid. I don’t know what the actual temperature was, but due to the wind, you just got numb standing out there! The wind was "gustier " than any I have had to run in out here in CA. On my first leg, it gusted so hard a couple of times that it literally stopped me in my tracks! I almost thought I was back in Texas. However, I managed to run the entire way, including the uphill sections, and finished only 1.5 min slower than projected. Under the circumstances, I was very happy with that.

Rest time between segments 1 and 2 was spent at the Presidio (in SF). It was really cold in the van and while I did I doze some, I mostly worried about how I was going to do 7 miles at 2 am and hit my mark. After a couple sips of coffee, a package of GU and a change of clothes I was as ready as I could get. Another very cold and windy run. I wore a long sleeve top and did not get overheated. Once again I was happy because I was able to run the entire leg without having to stop to walk the uphill parts. I did have to stop to wrestle my reflective vest into submission—the wind kept catching it and undoing part of the Velcro fastening. If not for that, I would have made my time instead of coming in 4 seconds over!

Rest time between segments 2 and 3 was, as usual, spent at Kristen’s house in Los Altos Hills. Blessed hot water for showers, soft pads for our sleeping bags and fresh coffees were (as always) very, very appreciated. Got about an hour and a half nap, and woke feeling groggy but happy….only one more leg! No matter how bad it gets…only 6.2 to go! And the whole 6.2 was all downhill—a few flats, but no more hills to climb. Most people set a PR on it.

The sun shone brightly, but the wind was still making things a tiny bit too cool to just stand around—however, there were no gusts like the night before, just a fairly steady breeze. So, I had on shorts and a very thin, very short sleeved coolmax top. Again fueled with a bit of coffee, a banana and more GU I took off down the hill. Then, I was looking down and saw one of the mile markers that Anne and I painted on the road a couple years ago: The Relay “3”—AARGH—still 3.2 to go!! No way! I kept putting one foot in front of the other and . . . I actually passed a couple of people. Then, around the bend was—the exchange point. DONE!!!! In fact, I beat my projection by about 3 minutes, so overall I finished “ahead”.

My fastest 10K time ever. I know it was all down hill, but that factor is partly offset by the fact that I had already run 13.9 miles (at (my) race pace) in the preceding 20 hours.

Overall I felt better about my performance than I had for the past couple of years. And it makes me think I can actually do the TransRockies in August (hahahahahaha).

Also, I discovered a new wonder drug: Aleve. The commercials are right: It works. I took some before legs 2 and 3 respectively and my legs felt ok until the very end. Really beats Ibuprofen in my book. I’m now a believer!

(The photo, above, is me finishing my first segment of 6.9 miles)

Am re-grouping a bit and taking a new look at the upcoming training regime--for the period between now and the Reno-Tahoe relay June 5.

Focus on 199 - Calistoga to Santa Cruz

Stats:
Activity (04/09-04/17)
Stairstepper - 58 min
Elliptical- 130 min

Running (treadmill, street, trail)
Respectively 10.5; 10.5; 23.5 miles
Total: 44.5 mi.

Wow: Another week has gone by. Things are muy busy at work (we lost a team member), but I’ve been able to increase my workouts a bit (see last week’s post!) Next week’s stats will be skewed low, however, as I will take off one or 2 days from running after The Relay.

Our relay team (The NADS) will take approximately 28 hours to complete the course, which will not be one of our faster times. I’m currently the oldest and slowest member of the team (but one of only 3 returning charter members). I may be slow, but I’m dependable. As of now, Thursday afternoon, I’m not so excited about this outing. I have 3 longish segments to complete (totaling over 20 miles). However, once my number comes up Saturday afternoon, the adrenaline will kick in, as it always has done. (Note: It doesn’t actually work for the whole 28 hours, but ya take what ya can get! For the rest there are Triscuits and trail mix – highly recommended at 2 AM after your 2nd leg).

Also on the agenda for next week—ordering the “anti”oxygen machine. MUST get going on this altitude training!
No more time. Gotta Run!

Update: starting to THINK about this!!!

April 8, 2008

Can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted! Time is flying – waaay too fast. The &%$#@! Relay is in a mere 10 days and it has just dawned on me that I’M NOWHERE NEAR READY!! My leg total (for the 3 segments) is upwards of 20 miles. I’m really not in shape to run 20 miles in “one” day -- even if it is chopped up into 3 segments (worse really, as you have time to stiffen up in between).

Notwithstanding that, trying to settle on what will be the standard routine for the next couple of weeks (till we start on the “official” TR training regime, which is immediately after recovery from The Relay). Here are the recent stats for 3/31 – 04/08: Elliptical trainer: 85 min; Stairmaster: 98 min; pavement/treadmill: 9 mi; trails/hills: 17.3 mi. Plus some abs work and arm weights.

Could be worse, but there’s definitely room for improvement.

I have just bought some new “street” running shoes, and will go back in a week or 2 for some trail shoes. Giving preliminary thought to “gear”—what type of layers will be needed for TR? The video shows snow and a thunderstorm. Food for thought!

End of Quarter!!! (1/4) 3/28/08

TGIF!! When you work in "Sillycone" Valley ;-) and you work for a publicly traded company your life usually is modulated by the quarterly reporting cycle. So Q1 2008 has been quite the challenge--as much of my sales activity occurred the last 3 weeks of March!

However, I'm happy to say that work did not keep me from my regular gym workouts the past 2 weeks. Next week I will be able to segue into running after work on trails (instead of treadmill in the gym at O dark O'clock weekday mornings) as I move toward the interim goal of successfully completing leg 7 of The Relay. Yay! After that, it will be crank up the mileage! I have also signed up to do a relay in June that runs in the Lake Tahoe area -- at altitude, as a primer for Colorado. Guess I'd better order up that hypoxia machine soon.

This week's stats: 3.5 mi. pavement run; Elliptical "13" mi; treadmill 8.5 mi. Plus some stairmaster time, abdominal and light weight workouts. Baby steps!

The Rabbi has been plagued with some minor physical complaints this week, so he has some catching up to do. I plan to drag him out on a run Saturday.

The Kid's birthday

It wasn't 20, but actually 36 years ago today :-) that my daughter was born. She missed St. Patrick's day by a only a couple of hours, but still, it has always been easy to remember the date!! Last February she moved 3000 miles away, so this is the 2nd time we have not been together on this special occasion. We hope to organize a real visit soon. Meanwhile, I "celebrated" by doing my normal Tuesday routine (ha ha). We did visit briefly on the phone this morning-and of course I sent gifts.

While I am not yet into full training mode for the Transrockies (TR), I am (at least) working out on a consistent basis. In trying to come back from a slight hamstring pull and prepare for the (13th annual) Calistoga-to-Santa Cruz (CA) relay (www.therelay.com) (April 19-20) I've been diligent in increasing my time and intensity level on the elliptical trainer (ugh), have added some stairmaster (double ugh), and some short runs on the treadmill (and even a few outdoors on the weekends). So far (fingers crossed) things seem okay. The "real" TR training begins after recovery from The Relay--which will make May-August a truly memorable time. I'm hoping the TR folks beef up their website and forum to help us less competitive types keep motivated over the next few months.

The Rabbi has a very physical job which burns lots of calories (mine is sedentary) but does not provide the specific training benefits needed for the TR. He's having a bit more trouble getting motivated to run regularly--and he's not looking forward to the upcoming (very) long long runs this summer. Good thing I'm at least getting him started now.

I will try to post some of the training log--but I won't be posting my weight or my calorie intake! Training for an event like this is entirely new to me so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Wish us the best! More soon....

First Post!

I expect this blog to be about running (and possibly hashing). In a fit of winter doldrums (Feb. 2), I signed David ("the Rabbi") and I up for the 2nd annual Gore-Tex(tm) Transrockies Adventure Run in Colorado (http://www.transrockies.com/). This is set for August 25-30, 2008. 6 days running at altitude, ~ 20 miles per day. If successful, I will have skipped right from running trail 1/2 marathons (and its been a while for that, even!) to a land that looks a lot like ultras. David has run some marathons, but its been a while for him too!) Very intelligent, no?

So far, few other registered runners have set up blogs--I'm hoping some will so that we can share the fun as we train for this. The field is limited to 150 teams (each team has 2 runners), so it is hoped there will be 298 others out there on trail with us. Can you say "vacation"?

I will be posting about training, pain, training, other running experiences and what-have-you for the next few months.
Thanks for reading!