A preemptive Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you have a great holiday with your family and friends. My gang is gathering in San Jose, at my sister's house. I'm excited for all of us to get together. It's also only my second time across the country, and the Bay Area is suppose to have some really neat outdoor activities. Our family plans on doing some hiking/exploring in Muir Woods. And I may be going out for a good run with a friend of mine who lives out there. My dad also wants to run across the Golden Gate Bridge! I think that sounds cool as well.
My recovery is going OK, but I'm still feeling that lingering fatigue. I'm also having a hard time listening to that fatigue: it's that weird stage where I misinterpret exertional fatigue for that lingering fatigue. That is, I think I'm going to natural run slower because I feel tired or I think I am already running slower because I feel so tired. And in actuality I'm feeling so tired because I'm running too damn hard. Hmmm. I'm paying too much attention to the cardiovascular system; I don't feel my heart racing so I think I can't be running too hard. But really I'm putting a lot of stress on my legs.
Work is going well and so is the EMT class. We had a "provider night" which was really like a mini- job fair. They were all EMS services/programs. But oddly, after speaking to one guy, I got to thinking about rescue specialist jobs. This is normally handled through fire departments, and I really don't know anything about it. But thinking about the extrication and water rescue type stuff.
Once we get back from San Jose, my brother and I will be taking care of my sister's two little terriers. I'm excited and apprehensive. I hope I don't kill 'em. Or get annoyed with 'em. Or forget about 'em.... Oh boy.
At some point I want to make some changes to this blog. Not a whole lot, but maybe more information aka pages with informational type stuff. We'll see.
Soundtrack:
"Pressure" by Paramore
"The Best Day of My Life" by American Authors
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Bucket listing
Note to self: don't ever plan on writing a blog post at the end of a long day at work. You don't want to, and those creative juices are BLAH.... I actually started this on Wednesday but I don't think I'll finish it until Saturday.
I'm the typical groove of post-race. I'm anxious to get to another one. I'm scouring the web, looking up races that I've never heard of, in cool places. I'm catching up on all the ultra-forums I know of, reading about training theories, opinions, new/old races. It's an exciting time. I also think part of it is gearing up for a new training season. As I get ready to lay out a training plan, I tend to go back to the websites I've used before. I want to look for new information, as well as reaffirm the training concepts I've held to before.
I also have to be careful. Last year I was spot on to avoid getting into "training." I was running again by this point, but made a point not to get into a training mindset. When I'm training, I'll try to look over little tweaks and aggravations in the legs, resting only if it gets worse or doesn't start to get better. So when I'm not training, I'll still run but if something's not right, I take time off. So when I do start training I'm at 100%. However, with my goals for Umstead, I'm already feeling self-pressured to put in quality time on my feet.
But the past few weeks I've had fun looking up other races. Local, national, and global I love reading about cool and tough races. A couple of good resources for my discovery are ultrarunning.com and ultramarathonrunning.com. Of course, I couldn't help but read up on Western States (WSER). And they're list of qualifying 100 mi and 100K races really narrows in on the tougher and more spectacular courses.
My problem is I always end up defaulting to local races. At my age and financial situation, it's hard to justify destination races across the country or internationally (there is a WSER qualifier in Scotland I thought was cool). Furthermore, there's SO many within a few hours drive, it could take years to make the rounds around those.
A poorly organized list of "global" races are: Western States 100, Hardrock 100, West Highland Way (Scotland, 95 mi), Pine to Palm 100 (Oregon), Patagonia Run (Argentina, 100 mi), Cascade Crest 100 (Washington), Tahoe 200 (YES! 200 miles!)
And poorly organized locally: Uwharrie 40, Grindstone 100, The BEAST Series, Thunder Rock (NEW race in 2014, Chattanooga, TN), RockCreek Stage Race. Leatherwood 50 (Ferguson, NC)
There's really just too many.
Loving my return to running. I'm still feeling a little sluggish, but always enjoy pounding my feet. I still need to narrow down what type of tune up races I want to do after the new year. I really want to iron out some of the nutrition quirks I've expereienced, and a race will be the best place to do that. The key will be not to race too often, or too far. I have high aims for Umstead, and I CANNOT go into it fatigued.
Soundtrack:
"Coming Back to Life" by Blindside; title says it all about how I feel about getting back to running
"The Smile, The Face" by Emery, this lyric "But though my heart [I say body] is breaking open, know that I will not be broken"
I'm the typical groove of post-race. I'm anxious to get to another one. I'm scouring the web, looking up races that I've never heard of, in cool places. I'm catching up on all the ultra-forums I know of, reading about training theories, opinions, new/old races. It's an exciting time. I also think part of it is gearing up for a new training season. As I get ready to lay out a training plan, I tend to go back to the websites I've used before. I want to look for new information, as well as reaffirm the training concepts I've held to before.
I also have to be careful. Last year I was spot on to avoid getting into "training." I was running again by this point, but made a point not to get into a training mindset. When I'm training, I'll try to look over little tweaks and aggravations in the legs, resting only if it gets worse or doesn't start to get better. So when I'm not training, I'll still run but if something's not right, I take time off. So when I do start training I'm at 100%. However, with my goals for Umstead, I'm already feeling self-pressured to put in quality time on my feet.
But the past few weeks I've had fun looking up other races. Local, national, and global I love reading about cool and tough races. A couple of good resources for my discovery are ultrarunning.com and ultramarathonrunning.com. Of course, I couldn't help but read up on Western States (WSER). And they're list of qualifying 100 mi and 100K races really narrows in on the tougher and more spectacular courses.
My problem is I always end up defaulting to local races. At my age and financial situation, it's hard to justify destination races across the country or internationally (there is a WSER qualifier in Scotland I thought was cool). Furthermore, there's SO many within a few hours drive, it could take years to make the rounds around those.
A poorly organized list of "global" races are: Western States 100, Hardrock 100, West Highland Way (Scotland, 95 mi), Pine to Palm 100 (Oregon), Patagonia Run (Argentina, 100 mi), Cascade Crest 100 (Washington), Tahoe 200 (YES! 200 miles!)
And poorly organized locally: Uwharrie 40, Grindstone 100, The BEAST Series, Thunder Rock (NEW race in 2014, Chattanooga, TN), RockCreek Stage Race. Leatherwood 50 (Ferguson, NC)
There's really just too many.
Loving my return to running. I'm still feeling a little sluggish, but always enjoy pounding my feet. I still need to narrow down what type of tune up races I want to do after the new year. I really want to iron out some of the nutrition quirks I've expereienced, and a race will be the best place to do that. The key will be not to race too often, or too far. I have high aims for Umstead, and I CANNOT go into it fatigued.
Soundtrack:
"Coming Back to Life" by Blindside; title says it all about how I feel about getting back to running
"The Smile, The Face" by Emery, this lyric "But though my heart [I say body] is breaking open, know that I will not be broken"
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Mountain Masochist Trail Run
An incredible weekend. A crazy, painful, exciting race through the mountains that really tested my limits.
Friday night was the packet pickup and pre-race dinner in Lynchburg. I picked up my race bag, bib number 295. I chatted with the rest of the gang from Raleigh and other friends I knew from the Lynchburg Series. Dinner was all about the carbo-load. Afterwards was a great and entertaining pre-race meeting.
Race morning started with a 3:45 wake-up. I dropped Todd off at Mtizi's and made my way over the Liberty Conference Center to pick up my bus ride to the start. On the way to the race start, I tried to zone in and listened to my iPod. Once at the KOA campground, a pit stop later, I was geared up to go. Always on time, Dr. Zealand started the race promptly at 6:30. HERE. WE. GO.
I went off like a gun. I had some ambitious race goals and wanted to really push my limits. Normally I try to start off easy and pick through people as the day wears on. This time I was anxious to get clear of the field early on. The hardest part was knowing my place in the field. I always knew there were plenty ahead of me, but never knowing EXACTLY how many. I tried to pick up on little tidbits of information from the runners around me; noticing one talk about his top 5 at one race; another talking about the shoes he "got" from Scott (a race company).
Most of the line up occurs before the first aid station. They had moved that first one to about 7.5 miles out; knowing so I took a gel early before reaching that aid station. There was fair bit of slight but long climbing. The kind that's not too steep to walk up, but running up the whole way is incredible taxing. In the past I may have walked, but feeling bold I ran essentially all of it. And of course after the long climb there was a crazy descent. In a similarly bold fashion, I bombed down the hill, knowing that I was thoroughly trashing my quads.
By aid station 4, at mile 17.5, I knew I would paying for my pace later. I had come through in about 2.5 hours, on 7:30 pace. My nutrition seemed OK. I was drinking at least of cup of Gu Juice at each aid station and taking several items of table food. I was fairly comfortable gear-wise. I finally learned to be intentionally cold, wearing just a T-shirt, gloves, and arm warmers. In the shady spots I was only slighty cool, in the sun only slightly warm. Later in the day I would shed both.
Aid stations were relatively close in this first half. I think I got over eager to get ahead of my nutrition and ended up eating too much. I had a very similar experience to Umstead and going into Long Mtn Wayside (26.2 miles in), I was getting uneasy with table food. I was slowing switching from cookies and junk towards bananas and grapes. But I knew that would be ending soon too. My legs were suffering. I wish I could be more descriptive than "UP" but I just can't. It was always just SO slight, but SO long. You could never see the top. You start walking and wishing you didn't have to. And by the time you get to a run-able sections, you're still tired and no longer want to run. The climb right up to half-way was brutal, and right out of half-way was going to be rough.
A lot more the climbing happens in the second half. And there's a lot more technical sections, which just exacerbates the need to hike. Fortunately this year there wasn't any snow. Now, for most of the technical sections, I really didn't think the lack of snow made a difference. Snow-cover, or leaf-covered, you couldn't get traction or get your stride right. The only part was the out-n-back to the summit in the loop, which I felt wasn't as torturous as last year. After leaving Long Mountain, I had essentially given up on solid calories. Now every aid station consisted of pounding back Mountain Dew and a little bit of ginger ale. As my stomach started to empty, and I occasionally popped some salt pills, my energy steadily improved (as it can during a 50 mile race).
Now, when you are doing the Loop, and you hear about this out-n-back summit, you may think "Ah, the summit, it's all down hill from there." Well, it's not, and for me that's what makes the next section so awful. Now you're within 12 miles of the finish, but you are nowhere near done climbing. Here are the most technical sections and the steepest climbs. Maybe not the worst climb, but being so close to the end, when you see the trail start weaving upward, you can't help but feel helpless and frustrated. As you run the mileage in your head you think "9 miles? I can push through and RUN 9 miles." Guess what? You can't.
The Salt Log Gap aid station and Forest Valley station are only 1.2 miles apart, but have the last fire road-type inclines that take it out of you. You come into Forest Valley, the penultimate aid station, ready for some good news. Nope. "You're next aid station is 4.1 miles away. Fuel up because it's going to be HARD." I slam back more Mtn Dew and head out. Probably about a mile in, I take my last salt pill, and washing it down, realize I'm also taking my last bit of water. So now I have a dry 3 miles to go. This is by far the most soul-sucking segment. At one point the trail is so steep and narrow; even with my good placement and time, I'm thinking "I don't know if I can do this." You put everything you have out there for a few more hundred yards and then it eases up and you just submit to the trail and keep going.
With about a mile until Porters Ridge, the last station, it eases up some. Coming into the Porters Ridge, I'm getting excited. I go in, get my soda. I'm told the remaining damage: 3.75 miles to go. It's all downhill. The last bit of soda has me pumping, and I am surging with energy. I'm so close to the goal, my focus narrows. My quads are on fire but I keep on driving forward. With two miles to go, the descent becomes a plummet, and I just wince and cry to myself. But I know I'm so close, at this point I'll take everything that hard surface can give me. I make the final turns and power through to the finish.
The final damage: 8:35:23 for 21st place, and 43 minute course PR.
I almost say I once again "conquered" Masochist, but that doesn't sound right. Nor would I say the Masochist conquered me. But like every ultra, I gave the race everything I had and the reward it gave back was indescribable. The feeling of being emptied of all your energy is incredible. It's hard to say where things will go from here. I am returning to the Umstead 100 in the spring, and how I get there is to be determined.
And to be continued...
EDIT: I have to give a shout out to the rest of the Raleigh gang: Daren, Todd, Mitzi, and Elaine. EVERYONE finished MMTR and they ALL finished the Lynchburg Ultra Series. It was close, but they finished together which was a fantastic way complete the race and series. Congratulations you guys.
Friday night was the packet pickup and pre-race dinner in Lynchburg. I picked up my race bag, bib number 295. I chatted with the rest of the gang from Raleigh and other friends I knew from the Lynchburg Series. Dinner was all about the carbo-load. Afterwards was a great and entertaining pre-race meeting.
Race morning started with a 3:45 wake-up. I dropped Todd off at Mtizi's and made my way over the Liberty Conference Center to pick up my bus ride to the start. On the way to the race start, I tried to zone in and listened to my iPod. Once at the KOA campground, a pit stop later, I was geared up to go. Always on time, Dr. Zealand started the race promptly at 6:30. HERE. WE. GO.
I went off like a gun. I had some ambitious race goals and wanted to really push my limits. Normally I try to start off easy and pick through people as the day wears on. This time I was anxious to get clear of the field early on. The hardest part was knowing my place in the field. I always knew there were plenty ahead of me, but never knowing EXACTLY how many. I tried to pick up on little tidbits of information from the runners around me; noticing one talk about his top 5 at one race; another talking about the shoes he "got" from Scott (a race company).
Most of the line up occurs before the first aid station. They had moved that first one to about 7.5 miles out; knowing so I took a gel early before reaching that aid station. There was fair bit of slight but long climbing. The kind that's not too steep to walk up, but running up the whole way is incredible taxing. In the past I may have walked, but feeling bold I ran essentially all of it. And of course after the long climb there was a crazy descent. In a similarly bold fashion, I bombed down the hill, knowing that I was thoroughly trashing my quads.
By aid station 4, at mile 17.5, I knew I would paying for my pace later. I had come through in about 2.5 hours, on 7:30 pace. My nutrition seemed OK. I was drinking at least of cup of Gu Juice at each aid station and taking several items of table food. I was fairly comfortable gear-wise. I finally learned to be intentionally cold, wearing just a T-shirt, gloves, and arm warmers. In the shady spots I was only slighty cool, in the sun only slightly warm. Later in the day I would shed both.
Aid stations were relatively close in this first half. I think I got over eager to get ahead of my nutrition and ended up eating too much. I had a very similar experience to Umstead and going into Long Mtn Wayside (26.2 miles in), I was getting uneasy with table food. I was slowing switching from cookies and junk towards bananas and grapes. But I knew that would be ending soon too. My legs were suffering. I wish I could be more descriptive than "UP" but I just can't. It was always just SO slight, but SO long. You could never see the top. You start walking and wishing you didn't have to. And by the time you get to a run-able sections, you're still tired and no longer want to run. The climb right up to half-way was brutal, and right out of half-way was going to be rough.
A lot more the climbing happens in the second half. And there's a lot more technical sections, which just exacerbates the need to hike. Fortunately this year there wasn't any snow. Now, for most of the technical sections, I really didn't think the lack of snow made a difference. Snow-cover, or leaf-covered, you couldn't get traction or get your stride right. The only part was the out-n-back to the summit in the loop, which I felt wasn't as torturous as last year. After leaving Long Mountain, I had essentially given up on solid calories. Now every aid station consisted of pounding back Mountain Dew and a little bit of ginger ale. As my stomach started to empty, and I occasionally popped some salt pills, my energy steadily improved (as it can during a 50 mile race).
Now, when you are doing the Loop, and you hear about this out-n-back summit, you may think "Ah, the summit, it's all down hill from there." Well, it's not, and for me that's what makes the next section so awful. Now you're within 12 miles of the finish, but you are nowhere near done climbing. Here are the most technical sections and the steepest climbs. Maybe not the worst climb, but being so close to the end, when you see the trail start weaving upward, you can't help but feel helpless and frustrated. As you run the mileage in your head you think "9 miles? I can push through and RUN 9 miles." Guess what? You can't.
The Salt Log Gap aid station and Forest Valley station are only 1.2 miles apart, but have the last fire road-type inclines that take it out of you. You come into Forest Valley, the penultimate aid station, ready for some good news. Nope. "You're next aid station is 4.1 miles away. Fuel up because it's going to be HARD." I slam back more Mtn Dew and head out. Probably about a mile in, I take my last salt pill, and washing it down, realize I'm also taking my last bit of water. So now I have a dry 3 miles to go. This is by far the most soul-sucking segment. At one point the trail is so steep and narrow; even with my good placement and time, I'm thinking "I don't know if I can do this." You put everything you have out there for a few more hundred yards and then it eases up and you just submit to the trail and keep going.
With about a mile until Porters Ridge, the last station, it eases up some. Coming into the Porters Ridge, I'm getting excited. I go in, get my soda. I'm told the remaining damage: 3.75 miles to go. It's all downhill. The last bit of soda has me pumping, and I am surging with energy. I'm so close to the goal, my focus narrows. My quads are on fire but I keep on driving forward. With two miles to go, the descent becomes a plummet, and I just wince and cry to myself. But I know I'm so close, at this point I'll take everything that hard surface can give me. I make the final turns and power through to the finish.
The final damage: 8:35:23 for 21st place, and 43 minute course PR.
I almost say I once again "conquered" Masochist, but that doesn't sound right. Nor would I say the Masochist conquered me. But like every ultra, I gave the race everything I had and the reward it gave back was indescribable. The feeling of being emptied of all your energy is incredible. It's hard to say where things will go from here. I am returning to the Umstead 100 in the spring, and how I get there is to be determined.
And to be continued...
EDIT: I have to give a shout out to the rest of the Raleigh gang: Daren, Todd, Mitzi, and Elaine. EVERYONE finished MMTR and they ALL finished the Lynchburg Ultra Series. It was close, but they finished together which was a fantastic way complete the race and series. Congratulations you guys.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Catch you on the other side
Heading out in about half an hour to drive up to Lynchburg for the Mountain Masochist Trail Run. The training is in the bag, the gear is the bag. Everything is set. I'll do a better race report once it's over.
Everyone have a good weekend. My brother is doing a Tough Mudder Sunday afternoon, after my dad does his first 10k run that morning.
Soundtrack:
"Misery Business" by Paramore
"Everything" by The Classic Crime
Everyone have a good weekend. My brother is doing a Tough Mudder Sunday afternoon, after my dad does his first 10k run that morning.
Soundtrack:
"Misery Business" by Paramore
"Everything" by The Classic Crime
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Big Time Changes
State Fair with family. New job. New apartment. EMT class. 2 weeks to Masochist.
I know it's been a long time since I last updated. A lot has been going on and I just have NOT had the time. But it's been pretty much all good things.
This week I started a new job. Not with the Y. There was a conflict with being able to take my EMT class. As much as that class isn't yet "necessary" I felt like I needed to keep on going with it where as the Y job didn't feel like it has much future. So now I'm working for a pool service company. Essentially I maintain pools during the winter so they're not so much trouble come springtime to get ready for the summer. It's hard manual labor. Maybe not so mentally challenging, and I go home exhausted, but I'm liking it.
My tiredness is compounded by my EMT class. After working 8-5, 3 nights a week I still have my EMT class. I'm still enjoying it, though we've still just barely touched on the medical training. It's settling into a good rhythm. I just hope having a stable job doesn't sour my motivation to pursue this.
This week was also moving week. My brother and I made a big change and decided to be housemates (apartment). I think the last time we shared a room (we don't know) was back when my oldest sister went to college. I think the last time we lived under the same roof was probably technically when I got my first apartment my sophmore year of college. It's kinda crazy.
On the short term: I've got 2 weeks until going back to the Mountain Masochist Trail Run. Two weeks ago, the Grindstone 100 was CANCELLED because the government shutdown prevent usage of some forest service roads. So luckily we get to stay on the course. My running has been good. For the past month (or so) my training cycle has been much shorter, so with a lot more recovery weeks. And today-ish is the start of my taper to store up the energy for this event.
My sister was in town for our family camping trip last weekend. She tele-commuted for the week and before she left, last night we all went to the State Fair. I glad we went, even though I was pretty hungry until we got there, so I got a little grumpy. I had a good ham biscuit (kudos to the church fair booth!), a polish sausage (good, but not very well seasoned), and a little bit of bacon-chocolate funnel cake (split among the five of us). I have yet to find the pickle booth! I've heard they're amazing, and after having fresh pickles when the JCC had a Food Festival, I know the fresh ones are in a league a part from the canned ones.
Keeping it short, even though it's been a while.
Soundtrack: DON'T JUDGE
"Royals" by Lorde
"Everything" by Taylor Swift
I know it's been a long time since I last updated. A lot has been going on and I just have NOT had the time. But it's been pretty much all good things.
This week I started a new job. Not with the Y. There was a conflict with being able to take my EMT class. As much as that class isn't yet "necessary" I felt like I needed to keep on going with it where as the Y job didn't feel like it has much future. So now I'm working for a pool service company. Essentially I maintain pools during the winter so they're not so much trouble come springtime to get ready for the summer. It's hard manual labor. Maybe not so mentally challenging, and I go home exhausted, but I'm liking it.
My tiredness is compounded by my EMT class. After working 8-5, 3 nights a week I still have my EMT class. I'm still enjoying it, though we've still just barely touched on the medical training. It's settling into a good rhythm. I just hope having a stable job doesn't sour my motivation to pursue this.
This week was also moving week. My brother and I made a big change and decided to be housemates (apartment). I think the last time we shared a room (we don't know) was back when my oldest sister went to college. I think the last time we lived under the same roof was probably technically when I got my first apartment my sophmore year of college. It's kinda crazy.
On the short term: I've got 2 weeks until going back to the Mountain Masochist Trail Run. Two weeks ago, the Grindstone 100 was CANCELLED because the government shutdown prevent usage of some forest service roads. So luckily we get to stay on the course. My running has been good. For the past month (or so) my training cycle has been much shorter, so with a lot more recovery weeks. And today-ish is the start of my taper to store up the energy for this event.
My sister was in town for our family camping trip last weekend. She tele-commuted for the week and before she left, last night we all went to the State Fair. I glad we went, even though I was pretty hungry until we got there, so I got a little grumpy. I had a good ham biscuit (kudos to the church fair booth!), a polish sausage (good, but not very well seasoned), and a little bit of bacon-chocolate funnel cake (split among the five of us). I have yet to find the pickle booth! I've heard they're amazing, and after having fresh pickles when the JCC had a Food Festival, I know the fresh ones are in a league a part from the canned ones.
Keeping it short, even though it's been a while.
Soundtrack: DON'T JUDGE
"Royals" by Lorde
"Everything" by Taylor Swift
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
I Love October
Quality week. Moving. EMT class. Umstead.
It's been [slightly] longer than usual since I last blogged. Last week, I finished up work at the JCC and over the weekend I moved. I crammed all my stuff into boxes and bags and shoved it all into my parents' house. Like I've said before, it's a frustrating feeling. I feel disoriented, and as if my life has been bottled up and stuffed in a cage. I'm hoping things will be looking up, so we'll see.
One up shot was starting my EMT class last night. It's only been one class, so there's not much to write about. I was surprised at the number of other students with [Bachelor's] degrees. I don't mean that in a snooty way; I've just been told I'd probably be the highest educated person, but there's probably 4 or 5 of us that have graduate college. As to the class itself and the curriculum, I think it's going to be a fascinated topic and I can't wait to really get into it. The 6:30-9:30 time frame really sucks (my normal bedtime is usually 9:00), but practically speaking, if I want to be an EMT, I better get used to not operating on my own schedule.
Training for Masochist progressing well. Now I'm on an back-and-forth recovery-build/quality system. This week I'm doing something a little different by not having a specific weekend long run of 30/35 miles. Instead, I'm doing across the board 15 miles each day. The weekly mileage ends up about the same. Yesterday and today have gone OK, but definitely when I start pushing 11 miles, my body starts realizing somethings up. Today was certainly tougher than yesterday, and I'm worried/anxious to see how tomorrow will feel.
As to Umstead: yes, I've gotten suckered in. I applied and was accepted as a competitive entry. It's exciting and terrifying at the same time. I've never been one to chase a PR. And it's the first time I feel PUBLICLY committed to a time goal, in this case under 17 hours. It's one thing to want to run faster; it's another to HAVE to. But while it's scary, that itself is the main reason I chose to go back, rather than pick one of the other races I was considering.
Ironically, two days after I applied for Umstead, the ThunderRock 100 (in Chattanooga) finally announced their race date.
May 16, 5-6 weeks after Umstead. I should think about it, right?
Soundtrack:
"My Songs Know..." by Fallout Boy
"Breathe Today" by Flyleaf
It's been [slightly] longer than usual since I last blogged. Last week, I finished up work at the JCC and over the weekend I moved. I crammed all my stuff into boxes and bags and shoved it all into my parents' house. Like I've said before, it's a frustrating feeling. I feel disoriented, and as if my life has been bottled up and stuffed in a cage. I'm hoping things will be looking up, so we'll see.
One up shot was starting my EMT class last night. It's only been one class, so there's not much to write about. I was surprised at the number of other students with [Bachelor's] degrees. I don't mean that in a snooty way; I've just been told I'd probably be the highest educated person, but there's probably 4 or 5 of us that have graduate college. As to the class itself and the curriculum, I think it's going to be a fascinated topic and I can't wait to really get into it. The 6:30-9:30 time frame really sucks (my normal bedtime is usually 9:00), but practically speaking, if I want to be an EMT, I better get used to not operating on my own schedule.
Training for Masochist progressing well. Now I'm on an back-and-forth recovery-build/quality system. This week I'm doing something a little different by not having a specific weekend long run of 30/35 miles. Instead, I'm doing across the board 15 miles each day. The weekly mileage ends up about the same. Yesterday and today have gone OK, but definitely when I start pushing 11 miles, my body starts realizing somethings up. Today was certainly tougher than yesterday, and I'm worried/anxious to see how tomorrow will feel.
As to Umstead: yes, I've gotten suckered in. I applied and was accepted as a competitive entry. It's exciting and terrifying at the same time. I've never been one to chase a PR. And it's the first time I feel PUBLICLY committed to a time goal, in this case under 17 hours. It's one thing to want to run faster; it's another to HAVE to. But while it's scary, that itself is the main reason I chose to go back, rather than pick one of the other races I was considering.
Ironically, two days after I applied for Umstead, the ThunderRock 100 (in Chattanooga) finally announced their race date.
May 16, 5-6 weeks after Umstead. I should think about it, right?
Soundtrack:
"My Songs Know..." by Fallout Boy
"Breathe Today" by Flyleaf
Monday, September 23, 2013
Moving Weekend
Long run. Stomach troubles. Moving day. Job hunt.
Good, solid week last week. Nothing crazy going on with training. Cross-training-wise, I haven't been swimming. Since our pool closed, I no longer have a free place to swim. Since most of my workouts are only 2000 yds, about 30-40 minutes, I didn't feel justified to pay, even just the $4 for the city pool. And I just didn't want another logistical planning session. I would've gone for my Thursday swim, but from past experience I know that it would've sucked. Only doing an sport once a week does NOT help maintain any ability/endurance. Even though it cost more, I went over to the YMCA and used their erg (rowing machine) and got a good set in. My hamstrings were tight and my back ached from the full body work out, but for the most part, no harm done. I'm just trying to make sure to avoid running on my day off from running.
I did deal a little bit with some GI issues. I couldn't really say what the problem was. I mean, I'm pretty sure I've "readjusted" to a meat-eating diet. Last weekend though I bought some buffalo burgers from Trader Joe's. A whole one Sunday, and parts for lunch early in the week, that was my first suspect; I tossed the leftovers. Could really tell if I felt better or worse; just some weird cramps and rumbling. Then I decided to stop taking my iron supplement. I don't know if I still need it anyways, and I could reason that maybe with the red meat, I overloaded on iron. I've been feeling better; maybe because of getting the iron under control; maybe just some bad food finally cleared out.
I'm moving this weekend. I recently told someone that I was content with the fact that I wouldn't likely every have a permanent place. Well fuck that. I became sharply aware how much not having a place to call MINE is. And realized how much useless, meaningless crap I have. All it does it take up space, gets aged and dirty. It really kind of makes my stomach turn (physical issues aside). I don't know, maybe it's reflective that I still don't know where I'll be working or what I'll be doing in a few weeks. And that almost as soon as I go to my parents, I'm gonna want to get out. I really don't know if I could tolerate being at home for more than two weeks. It's nothing against my parents. Really, it's NOT. I just feel this huge burden that I haven't moved forward at all, and that I'll just be sliding backwards, with all my pointless, crappy possessions growing moldy in a garage because I haven't manned up to get a real job.
I'm in a muddled area of my training plan, with several weeks that I never really filled in. I only did one build week. This week is recovery again, next week probably a quality week, then another recovery, and then start tapering. It's 5? 6? weeks until Mountain Masochist.
Soundtrack:
"Gone Gone Gone" Phillip Phillips
"ISHFWILF" Disturbed
Good, solid week last week. Nothing crazy going on with training. Cross-training-wise, I haven't been swimming. Since our pool closed, I no longer have a free place to swim. Since most of my workouts are only 2000 yds, about 30-40 minutes, I didn't feel justified to pay, even just the $4 for the city pool. And I just didn't want another logistical planning session. I would've gone for my Thursday swim, but from past experience I know that it would've sucked. Only doing an sport once a week does NOT help maintain any ability/endurance. Even though it cost more, I went over to the YMCA and used their erg (rowing machine) and got a good set in. My hamstrings were tight and my back ached from the full body work out, but for the most part, no harm done. I'm just trying to make sure to avoid running on my day off from running.
I did deal a little bit with some GI issues. I couldn't really say what the problem was. I mean, I'm pretty sure I've "readjusted" to a meat-eating diet. Last weekend though I bought some buffalo burgers from Trader Joe's. A whole one Sunday, and parts for lunch early in the week, that was my first suspect; I tossed the leftovers. Could really tell if I felt better or worse; just some weird cramps and rumbling. Then I decided to stop taking my iron supplement. I don't know if I still need it anyways, and I could reason that maybe with the red meat, I overloaded on iron. I've been feeling better; maybe because of getting the iron under control; maybe just some bad food finally cleared out.
I'm moving this weekend. I recently told someone that I was content with the fact that I wouldn't likely every have a permanent place. Well fuck that. I became sharply aware how much not having a place to call MINE is. And realized how much useless, meaningless crap I have. All it does it take up space, gets aged and dirty. It really kind of makes my stomach turn (physical issues aside). I don't know, maybe it's reflective that I still don't know where I'll be working or what I'll be doing in a few weeks. And that almost as soon as I go to my parents, I'm gonna want to get out. I really don't know if I could tolerate being at home for more than two weeks. It's nothing against my parents. Really, it's NOT. I just feel this huge burden that I haven't moved forward at all, and that I'll just be sliding backwards, with all my pointless, crappy possessions growing moldy in a garage because I haven't manned up to get a real job.
I'm in a muddled area of my training plan, with several weeks that I never really filled in. I only did one build week. This week is recovery again, next week probably a quality week, then another recovery, and then start tapering. It's 5? 6? weeks until Mountain Masochist.
Soundtrack:
"Gone Gone Gone" Phillip Phillips
"ISHFWILF" Disturbed
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