Sunday, May 29, 2011

Forgot a couple of items

So, I went for a super muddy run on the North Shore Trails this a.m. All the way I was thinking about a couple of items I neglected to add to the previous entry. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a movie that came out in the 1960's. If you've ever heard of the phrase - the book was better - it is apt in this case. Read the book. The movie is a real disappointment. Better movies about running and better movies about the Borstal system (ie 'Borstal Boy') are easy to find.

Secondly, the trails rock to run on at the moment. The experience is no unlike cross country skiing. At some points I moved forward by pushing my feet somewhat laterally in the mud. Brutal workout. Loads of fun.

I hope everyone has a great week.

Trail Hawks, Course Listings, Route/ Race Info

www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=433061
www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=433063

Above I posted a couple of routes I like taking from my house. You'll note how close I live to the Clinton North Shore Routes. Everyone seems to know those pretty well, so I won't post links to those routes. The routes above are a little light on the mileage. If you were to run these, the mileage is actually about a mile longer on each route. For the second route, there is a linear park that makes up a large portion of the run that doesn't show up on the map (it looks like I just run a few miles through back yards).

Great week of running. I started off with a hybrid of the first route listed above, that took me on an 11 mile jaunt. Easy peasy. The day was pretty, and the weather excellent. I loved every minute of it. I took Monday off, and just ran 3.5-6 miles/day the rest of the week. I finished with mileage in the mid thirties.

This morning I plan to head off to Clinton (drive), and knock out 10-15 k on the muddy (I'm sure) trails. My knee is saying 'hello,' but seems to be hanging in there.

This week I also joined the Trail Hawks. I now belong to three running clubs - Run Lawrence, The Trail Nerds, and the Hawks. The next Trail Hawks event is this:

Second Annual Coleen's Sweaty Ass Run
Sweaty Ass

Race date: July 29, 2011

Start time: 06:00 PM

Race distance: 0 km

Race details:

sweaty ass – Free night run on marked, wooded 5k course with one or two water cosssings. Run as many laps as you want from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Pot Luck self-service aid station set up in historic stone house at start/finish. No entry free, but we’re not averse to a tax-deductible donation or two. Proceeds shared with Kansas Dept. of Parks and Wildlife on whose land we run. NO COTTON SOCKS.


I am thinking of trying to knock out a night time 50 k (10 times around the course). No big pressure - I can bail every 3.1 miles if I'm not feeling it. If I'm in town, you will see me there.

Finally, our website goes live on June 1. It is really a nice piece of work. My vegan friends (I'm just a vegetarian) should find it useful. I'll post a link next week. In the KC area, our new little company is now in Green Acres, Market 3, all Whole Foods, most Hy-Vees, with a bunch of other stores adding the products shortly. I'll be at Nature's Pantry in Independence from 4-7 on Tuesday as we launch in that fantastic store (seriously great place for gluten-free and natural).

Here is a pic of me with my co-workers (I'm the ugly one in the center;-).

Monday, May 16, 2011

Pleasant Running and a Question

I got a message from last week's post from someone named Ryan who directed me to Podrunner. I'm going to check that out and get back to you, but I am looking forward to it. He also recommended AC/DC Live. Couldn't agree more. There is something great about those Aussies when you are running along and one of their tunes confronts your ears...

Great week of running. I did fewer miles, but every run was quality. In the middle of last week, I made the mistake of smacking tennis balls. Tennis used to be my main sport. But it s sooo hard on the knees. I felt the experience for a few days afterward. I may play on clay or grass in the future, but hard surface will have to be limited in order to preserve the joints for running.

On Saturday, the indomitable Eric Henry came over and we popped out to Clinton North Shore. We drove into the park (into the pay portion) so that we could catch the trails farther in. The Trail Hawks were holding their 50K race that morning. If I ever looked at race schedules, I probably would have signed up and done that, because the trails were in great shape, the weather was perfect, and the staff on hand seemed super nice. The two of us only did a few miles out and back, but did get to see parts of the trails that we had never run in previous training runs and races.

Sunday I only had time to squeeze in a quick 5-10 miler before heading to a brunch in the country. I realize that there is a lot of difference between 5 and 10 miles. But the options in this case are 5 miles with an insane hill, or 10 miles of relatively flat, and downhill running. Yesterday I opted for the 5 (a route I had never chosen because of the stupid hill). And, I can honestly say that I don't think that I would have expended any more energy running the 10 miles. Once I made it to the top of the hill, my heart rate felt nice and high. I always have a hard time getting it into a faster beat, but not yesterday. The final two miles of the run sailed by because everything felt easy after the hill. I do want to note here that I actually like running on courses with hills. I love hills. But there is a difference between hills and HILLS.

For the second week in a row, btw, Djokovic beat Nadal in a clay court final in straight sets. Seriously, the French is going to be quite a tourney.

Finally a question for ultra people. After reading Jessie's blog, I checked out Indi's for a race schedule. I'm thinking of the 50k in July. Any thoughts on how much training one really needs to do in order to accomplish a 50? I feel pretty confident up to about 18-20 miles at this point. How much time should I budget to get the extra miles under my belt in terms of 6 weeks out training?

Monday, May 9, 2011

Readin', Robyn, and Runnin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R2zbo--jPA

If you use the link above, you'll find a really great song to listen to while you run. I don't know why disco, and electronica-type tunes are so good to run to - maybe it's the solid beat without change... Anyway, it is a song entitled 'Call Your Girlfriend,' by Robyn. While I like all kinds of music, I usually run to either the afore-mentioned types of music, or something a bit harder than what I normally listen to. If anyone wants to post comments on artist they like to join them on a run, I'll try to write a bit more about it next week.

In other news, I found a book called The Runner's Literary Companion in a local used book store. I started to read it, and am thoroughly enjoying it. It is chock full of excerpt from novels, short stories, and poems. It you want to see more about it, you can go here http://www.amazon.com/Runners-Literary-Companion-Stories-Running/dp/B001G8WPOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304944610&sr=8-1

Finally, I toned down the weekend runs to 7 miles each day. After a week of running almost every day (I took last Monday off), I was feeling every mile of the weekend runs. I wasn't sore, but I just wasn't feeling it either day. So on Sunday, I just slowed everything down. At a pace about 45 seconds slower than my normal training, I found that, while not loving every minute of it, that the run hit a comfortable note. I finished feeling good enough to do some lawn work and watch the amazing tennis final between Rafa and Novak Djokovic at the Mutua Madrid Open. Djokovic won in straight, but hard-fought sets. I can't wait for Roland Garros.

Until next week...

Monday, May 2, 2011

Congrats and ... wait for it...Running

First off, congratulations to Indi upon becoming a US citizen this past month. Her first marathon, her birthday, and her citizenship all occurred in the past 30 days. For those of you unfamiliar with her, Indi is a KC Trail Nerd/Mud Babe who writes a neat blog that I follow.

On to running - This past week marked my first 30 mile week since I started getting knee treatments. And, while I do still feel a twinge from time to time, for the most part, my knees are holding up pretty well. I am planning to run a couple of marathon-type races (or the shortest ultras I can find). But for now, I'm hoping to trade off low-mileage weeks (20-25 mi) with higher-mileage weeks (30-40 mi) and see how everything is holding up.

I'll give a quick plug for a movie called 'Punching the Clown.' Nice cerebral little flick, worth the investment of time.

Sorry for the short post. I'll try to have more later this week.