Lost

Not really anything to talk about. I'm a week into my taper and the usual feelings of malaise, aimlessness, and lethargy have set in. Even the slightest ache or tightness leads to concern. Mentally, it is nice to have the break from a huge running schedule, but the lack of direction and focus is always difficult to cope with. After being so disciplined and regimented for months, it is a challenging adjustment.

Hoping to run the Monster Marathon on Sunday but a slight ache in my right hamstring has me second guessing myself.

Week 4 Summary (08/19-08/25/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 14:45
Running 5x, 68.8 miles
Biking none
Swimming 1x, 3100 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 155.8
Body Fat (%) <= 5.0% (Tanita pegged)

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3932/day
Consumed 3588/day
Fat 71(18%) CHO571g(64%) P128g(14%) ROH 19g(4%) Fiber57g
Delta -344 cal/day

Comments - Final

I've actually received some supportive comments over the weekend. There were some that were not quite so supportive, but at least they were civil. And, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, some that were just nasty and childish. So...all comments are getting removed and I'll be ending my attempt to moderate any new ones. Thanks to those of you who were able to provide your views and opinions maturely. Those who weren't, please think of all the better things you could be doing with your energy instead of chanelling such hatred and venom into blog comments.

Oh, and Mike...I received your comment about Barkley. I still think its a crazy idea and there is no way I could do something like that! Good luck to you there.

Aaahhhhhh!

Today was my final run on the trails at FH. Though I loved my return to the trails, I'm definitely ready to bid farewell to FH for a while. Today I did 6 of the orange loop sections for the first time. Though I've spent longer amounts of time and covered more distance at FH, today's run was the most challenging and, fortunately, most rewarding. Repeating these loops has been a challenge mentally as well as physically. It has been inspiring to see my progress. When I first began training this summer, this section of the orange loop was a real killer. Today, its become just another hill that I've climbed and conquered.

I've been debating when to begin my taper. Its usually 17 days out before a marathon. What do I do for something like this? I'm still 25 days out. It feels right to begin the taper now. Mentally, I'm definitely ready. Each run this week has been a mental challenge to prepare for. Granted, some of that is due to the repetitiveness of my runs. But some is due to mental fatigue, too. Physically, the runs have been getting easier, too. I'm finding them less challenging and I'm recovering quicker than ever, despite the increase in volume.

For my marathon p.r. in May, the taper began 29 days out. This was due to having major races for the 3 weekends preceding the marathon. A similar schedule is being put in place for the TRR. Last weekend, I spent 5 hours running the App Trail in MD. The goal was to increase the length of my uphills and downhills from 'sprint-size' to something much more substantial. AT MD was the first step.

This weekend, the AT in Northern Mass should be the second step. The following two weekends will be the Monster Marathon (hopefully) and then the Imogene Pass Run. Well, that is my 'ideal' schedule. I'll have to take one weekend at a time and see how that works. But for now, I'm smiling...the taper has begun.

Sleep...I just want to sleep. Please!

Thank God the taper begins soon. Honestly, it could start any day now. I do want to get a few more big workouts in, but if I don't, I'm within 3 1/2 weeks of the beginning of the race. For my last marathon, I tapered for 4 weeks (normal is 17 to 21 days) and I got a p.r. Mentally, I just don't know how many more huge efforts I have left in me. And physically, this is my 3rd day in a row up at 3 a.m. The end is definitely near. Either my mind or my body will be saying "Enough!" very soon. Yesterday's attempted treadmill workout was a harbinger. I was hoping for 2 hrs at 13% inclince (avg) and, though my legs felt great, my brain kicked me off of there after just 30 minutes. I don't have any big treadmill workouts left in me.

In a couple of hours, I'll be heading to FH for what is hopefully going to be my last really long workout on that course. I should be fine physically, but will my mind allow me to do 6 loops there for the first time?

Wish I was still home and in bed.

Who is this guy and what have you done with DiMeo?

Well, week 5 is complete and week 4 is off to a great start. The goal for the week was 4 challenging runs, a day off, and then a run on the Appalachain Trail (AT). Monday and Wednesday were both 21+ mile runs at Fair Hill. I've increased the number of loops I do there from 4 to 5. With the cooler weather, both felt great. Tuesday and Thursday were hill repeats with some incline (11-15%) treadmill work immediately afterwards. They were less enjoyable, but successful.

Saturday was going to be my camping weekend in Western Maryland. Though my trail runs are incredibly hilly with probably <10% 'flat', the duration of these ascents and descents are brief. Nothing more than 5 or 6 minutes without changing direction up or down. I'm definitely building the leg strength that I need, but I'm worried about sustaining one direction for significant amounts of time. During a 4 hr run at FH, I might be ascending for 110 minutes but that is the culmination of, for instance, 35 3-minute ascents. How will I do if I have to do 110 minutes continuously? That is where the AT comes in. Looking at elevation profiles of the AT and looking for something relatively close, I found some terrain near the WV/MD border. Though not providing me with super long ascents and descents, I did get some that were in the 30 to 40 minute range...not 'up' the entire time, but some steep sections paired with gradually rolling upward/downward sections. A great test. Definitely more challenging than FH. FH's 'sprints' up and down only last 200-300' per shot. The AT peak to valley was closer to 1000' and it was repeated often. The most trying aspect of Saturday's run was how rocky it was. For probably 80% of the run, I had to watch every single footfall for fear of tripping over the rocks. I actually went down four times and probably came close 20 other times. My goal was to run about 3.5 hrs Saturday, camp, then run 2.5 Sunday. But Saturday felt so good that I went for 5:00:00 hours and 28.5 miles. Very satisfying. And, my legs weren't even that tired. It was my back, knees, wrists, and neck from the falls, as well as my ankles from turning them so many times. I definitely wanted to stay in my own bed that night and drove home.

Sunday morning I got up and went for a 'flat' 15 miler. Ironically, this 'flat' route is the one I used to consider really hilly! It was a piece of cake. My legs felt great, nothing like I had run for 5 hrs the day before. To think that for 3 or 4 days after running a marathon, my running would be horrible, and now I can go out and run 15 miles and feel great!? What the hell is going on with me? Is this really happening? Then, on Monday, I did 4 loops at FH...18.1 miles in 2:48:00. The temperature was 59 degrees with rain and cloud cover and it was spectacular. This pace (9:17) was 10 and 25 seconds faster than the last 2 times that I ran this course when I was better rested (though it was hotter). My legs felt fantastic and I could have done 6 loops had I not needed to return to work by 8:30am. At this point, I am EXTREMELY confident that my body will be able to take the pounding in the Rockies. Well, for the most part. I am still worried about the downhill pounding in the Rockies. One good sign, I think, is that prior to last week, the muscles that fatigued first and most severely were my 'downhill' muscles. But last week, this discrepancy disappeared and my downhill and uphill muscles fatigued equally. I just hope that this means my downhill muscles are getting stronger and not that my uphill ones are getting weaker/overtrained!

One more long FH run (hopefully 6 loops tomorrow), a hill/treadmill session on Thursday, off Friday, and then running some REALLY challenging terrain on the AT in Northern Mass on Saturday will wrap-up week 4 and begin my taper. Oh, how I can't wait for the taper!

Week 5 Summary (08/12-08/18/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 17:45
Running 5x, 87.8 miles
Biking none
Swimming 2x, 2200 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 155.9
Body Fat (%) 5.4%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 4234/day
Consumed 3539/day
Fat 67(17%) CHO593g(67%) P116g(13%) ROH 7g(1%) Fiber63g
Delta -695 cal/day

When exactly did this happen?

So this is what has happened to me. I've been running so frequently and for such large amounts of time, that what is considered a long or challenging run to most people (or even to myself before this summer) is now just an 'easy' run or off-day in my mind. It used to be that, mentally, I'd consider anything longer than ~2hrs a long run. During marathon training, I'd probably do one long run per week. If any of the runs were >=16 to 18 miles, they were spaced out by at least 7 days to properly recover, both mentally and physically.

My training schedule for last week was:
'Easy' on Tuesday and Thursday. 10 repeats up and down Market Street and 10 on North Adams street (two of the steeper, longer hills in the flat city of Wilmington. After the repeats, head into the YMCA for 45 minutes on the treadmill at 11-15% incline.
'Hard' on Wednesday and Friday. 3 hrs on the trails at FairHill. A 2.5 mile warm-up and cool-down sandwiched around 4 repeats of the steepest sections of the park.

What?!
The 'hard' workouts were 18 miles and well into what qualifies as a hard run. But the 'easy' runs of hill repeats and treadmill inclines totalled 13.0 miles and almost 2hrs. When did I suddenly start thinking that qualified as easy? I have no idea when it happened, but it feels great. Seeing what I've been able to push my body to do, what I've been able to shape it into both with respect to appearance and performance has been incredibly satisfying (and incredibly tiring as well!).

Last week was also supposed to be the first time that I strung together 5 challenging runs. But, I was exhausted by Saturday. My legs had nothing left and I stopped my run just 80 minutes in. 5 days was asking a bit too much.

This week is off to a tough start, too. Last night at FH I increased my trail workout from 4 loops to 5 loops. This brought the total workout to 21.5 miles and 3:23:30 for the time. My run ended at 7:45pm. My goal this morning was to accomplish my 'easy' workout...12 repeats on Market and Adams streets followed by 60 minutes on a 15% treadmill incline. But, with my run starting at 4:40am, that gave my body less than 9 hours to recover and get ready. In the past, I'd normally wait a full week before attempting another challenging run. I'm in immensely better shape right now, but not in shape enough to reduce that time to 9 hours. I could have slogged through the workout, but that would have had significant repercussions for my workouts later this week (and possibly longer if I got hurt).

With today being an 'off' day, I'll return to the schedule tomorrow: Repeat Monday's workout tomorrow morning; Thursday morning attempt today's scheduled workout; off Friday; running on the Appalachain Trail in Western Maryland on Saturday and Sunday.

Week 6 Summary (08/05-08/12/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 14:45
Running 6x, 73.5 miles
Biking none
Swimming 1x, 2200 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 156.8
Body Fat (%) 5.8%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3662/day
Consumed 3864/day
Fat 77(18%) CHO574g(59%) P125g(13%) ROH 39g(7%) Fiber59g
Delta +202 cal/day

North Face Endurace 50k Trail Run

I was going to type up a very entertaining review of Saturday's fiasco, but 1) its late, and 2) I wrote a long email to my TRR partner Erin this morning with the highlights. I'm being lazy and just cutting and pasting the email below. Enjoy.



Hey Erin. I survived the 50k and the roller coaster ride that are the thoughts inside my head. Let me take you through my thought process that day. I think you'll find if entertaining.

The race begins on-time at 7am Saturday. Temps are 73F and the humidity is high. Almost immediately, my legs are saying "WTF are you doing? You just made us run 27.3 miles on Wednesday. We're not ready for this." I'm cautious, but not scared. My legs of late typically feel fatigued and tight for the first 45 to 60 minutes of most of my runs. After that, they're loosened up and feel fine. I'm hoping today will be the same but for that first ~hour, I really restrain myself and play it safe. After the first hour, I'm about 2 minutes behind the lead pack of 5 guys, in a pack of about 10 runners that are spread out over 1 to 2 minutes. After about 65 to 70 minutes, I've made my way to the front of the second pack, arrive at the second aid station, and am told that the 5th place guy is a little over a minute in front of me. I down a water and an Accelerade, and make my turn. I'm feeling good at this point and decide to try to join the lead pack. As the race course makes severals swings past the start area early in the race before heading out for a LOOOONG out and back, I'm making what I believe is my final loop past the start area. I leave the 3 volunteers at the aid station and turn around. About a minute later, I pass another volunteer who is directing runners to the aid station that I just departed. I try to confirm with her that I'm going in the right direction and she says that she doesn't know anything about where people go once they pass her the first time. She's confused about where to direct the 50 mile runners vs the 50k runners. I proceed past her and encounter the race director (yes, the F-ing race director) about 3 minutes later and he assures me that I'm on the right path. I then get to another volunteer about a minute later and she, too, sends me along this path. I don't feel good about this but how can all of this people be wrong? Well, they were. I'm not catching the lead pack and I'm not seeing any other runners. I got about 11 or 12 minutes and I'm telling myself "F them. There is no way this is f-ing right. I'm getting screwed again." So I turn around, head back to where I just came from and am pissed beyond belief. I am screaming and cursing in my head like you would not believe. This is my 4th distance race in a row that I'm getting screwed on. At the Lewes 1/2 marathon in April, I was in 2nd place and got off-course twice thanks to a cop who was supposed to be directing runners and let me run straight past him off-course. At the DE marathon in May I went off course 3 separate times and was also hit by the race director in his van, costing me a 4th place finish. And last month in a 23k trail run, I get totally lost after being in 2nd place. I am f-ing sick of training hard, doing everything within my power to get ready for races and then getting screwed by the stupidity of others. I'm calling Erin when I get finished and telling him to partner with Fredrik. There is no way I want to put another five weeks into the TRR only to inevitably get screwed by some moron(s). I'll still partner with Erin if he can't get Fredrik...I committed to that, but if this race was just for me...screw it. I'm out. I'll run it for fun with someone else at Gore, but I'm not wasting the rest of my summer training hard to get screwed.

I get back on course, 2.35 miles and 21:05 later and have dropped from 6th place down to last, 61st place. F-ing BS. I am so angry you would not believe it. Throughout the rest of the race I feel pretty good. I'm passing runners pretty frequently after ~2 1/2 hrs. I'm feeling tired by the end but not so tired that I couldn't continue. Like most of my runs these days, the heat (it was 93 at the finish) and dehydration are the limiting factors. My legs are fatigued, but not dead. I still could have ran a few more miles.

I cross the finish line. 5:15:26. Subtract out the 21:05 and my time is 4:54:21.
Want to guess where that would have placed me?
2nd! First place was 4:53:10 and second was 4:54:42. I spoke to both of those guys...neither got lost. Both pushed each other hard until the end and were pretty beat. I still felt good (even after 33.45 miles) and still had energy remaining. I am VERY confident that with somebody in front of me to catch (5th place was 9 min in front of me) I would have won the race.

Another bad thing is that the terrain was not challenging enough. There were portions that were hilly, but it was about the same level as what I've been doing here at FH. I was disappointed it wasn't harder. If the temps would not have bothered you too much, I'm sure you would have won this thing.

I ran for 30 minutes yesterday and actually felt pretty good. Wanted to see if I had to run one of the 'easy' TRR days, could I do it? Yes. My legs weren't happy, but they loosened up after a bit and I could have gone for 2-3 hrs if necessary.

Week 7 Summary (07/29/07-08/04/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 17:00
Running 4x, 69.2 miles
Biking 2x, 29 miles
Swimming 2x, 2800 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 158.8
Body Fat (%) 5.8%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3603/day
Consumed 3729/day
Fat 65(15%) CHO655g(70%) P127g(14%) ROH 14g(3%) Fiber70g
Delta +125 cal/day

Sure, what the hell. Sign me up.

Rejuvenated by my 10 days 'off', I go to work early on Wednesday (5am) with plans for a long lunch and many hours of running on the trails at Fair Hill. With my legs fresh from their longest respite in months, I begin my run and feel fantastic, despite the 81F temperature at my start time of 9am. My goal was to run for longer than 4 hours and I succeeded. 4:18:00 and 27.3 miles with both totals being more than anything I've ever done before. The last ~80 minutes were a real struggle though. The temperature had sored to 89F by the finish and the last ~80 minutes were a real struggle. My legs didn't feel too tired, but dehydration was a major factor. I have actually started to stash fluid bottles on the course...something I've never done before this summer. However, I only had 40 ounces and know that I lost well in excess of 100 ounces during the run. I wasn't heating up too badly in the shade, but during the 3 mile stretch back to the FH parking lot, there isn't a spot of shade and that is when my core temperature really took off. It was bad enough that my sweat rate actually dropped off significantly and my pulse rose about 10-15 bpm even though my pace had slowed. Another 5 or 10 minutes and I would have had to stop, find some shade, and cool off immediately to avoid heatstroke. Fortunately, I, as usual, pushed myself as hard as I could without going too far and am stronger for it now.

Speaking of going too far...
I then get an email from NorthFace advertising their Endurance Challenge Series. I usually delete commercial emails but thought that maybe there'd be something in there that is close by and suitable as a training run for the Rockies race. I visit the site. Hmmm...one of the locations is DC. Its a trail race. Its supposed to be really hilly, rocky, and super challenging. Sounds like a good training run. Wow, its this Saturday. How far is it? What?! 50k! Let me think about it. Ok, I'm all in.

Dammit, something else I'm going to have to find time for...

Late last week and early this week was a time to relax; the midpoint of my training season for the TRR. I actually gave my legs six days off from strenuous training. I still biked, swam, and lifted weights during that time, but didn't do any 2, 3, or 4 hour runs. Oh, I also participated in my first two triathlons on Saturday and Sunday!

They were a great success. My swimming lessons paid off. I neither drowned nor was disqualified in either swim. The first swim was a half mile swim in a lake. I was terrified at the start, standing on the shore with dozens and dozens of people ready to sprint into the water. The gun went off, I hung back, and casually walked into the water at the back of the pack. Knowing that my swim time was going to suck, I just wanted to survive and not get kicked in the face. I went at my own pace and found it incredibly easy. Much easier than swimming in a pool, in fact. Not having to change directions every 25 yards really allowed me to get into a rythym and time flew by. I finished the swim in just under 18 minutes which is great considering I was thinking it would take me closer to 22 or 23 minutes. Granted, I was 204th out of 244 finishers, but I didn't care.

The bike went well, too. I averaged 21.0 mph for the 16 miles and actually finished 89th during that portion. I would have been happy with anything above 19.0. Then came the 4.0 mile run. That was the REALLY fun part! Seeing as how I'd been exercising for only about an hour at that point, I wasn't even close to being tired. Going out for 3 to 4 hour runs in the middle of the summer made this feel like a warm-up. So, I start the run and I'm flying by people like they are standing still! Over that 4 mile stretch I passed 35 runners and finished 14th for that portion. My final stats were: 82nd out of 244 finishers, 11th of 29 in my age group, and I missed winning the 'first-timer' category by just 42 seconds. Crap! Oh well. It was a great time and I'm very happy I did. I'm looking forward to doing more at some point in time.

That point in time was the next morning in Hagerstown MD. Another sprint distance triathlon. This time it was a 300 mtr pool swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 5k. The pool part sucked. First, because I registered so late, I was in the last wave in the pool. That means that even though the race started at 7:00am, the race proceeded with a staggered start of 12 people in the pool every 10 minutes. With 240 racers, that means the last wave (mine), didn't start until 10:20. Ugh. Not sure I'd do that again. My stats were similiar to yesterday...slightly slower pace for the swim, 20.6 mph for the bike, and virtually the identical pace for the 5k. The competition was definitely not as fit/athletic at this event compared to yesterday. Lots of first timers, I think, due to the easy 300 mtr pool swim. I finished 16 out of 196 finishers. I was 4th in my age group and just missed placing by 46 seconds! Crap! Crap! Crap! And, I'd have placed in any of the other age groups but the times in mine were the best. Now I'm really annoyed because I'm now of the mindset that I might actually do well at these things and have to prove to myself that I can place and excel.

Anybody out there have some extra time in their day that I can borrow? I really don't think I have time to actually work out more than I already do.

Big thanks to Haynes for getting me to do these and lending me all his shit!

From despair to elation (and then terror)

One of the biggest uncertainties about the TransRockies Race is who will end up as my partner. There are 150 teams of 2 runners. Each 2 runner team is required to run the entire race together. Needless to say, getting matched with someone of comparable ability is a priority.

Early on, I was put in touch with a guy a Gore Flagstaff, Erin Hutchinson. Big-time trail runner/racer. Erin has finished 8th out of 800 at the Pike's Peak Marathon. Couple that with my 6th out of 600 at the DE Marathon, and we both excel at what we do. But, I've not run much on trails or at altitude. Erin, on the other hand, has rarely run two days in a row. While training for DE, I actually ran something like 83 out of 84 days. We spoke a few times and agreed that there might be something there with respect to partnering for the TRR.

Weeks elapsed without the two of us conversing. During this time, our race coordinator worked to find non-Gore matches for Erin and I since the rest of the Gore athletes are not at our level. Erin was very concerned about finding the best possible teammate (not too slow, not too fast, but just right) and had been in touch with two other guys. Over the past few weeks, he had begun to feel obligated to pair with a guy from Sweden, Fredrik Olmqvist. Fredrik is the editor of Runner's World in Sweden and a veteran of many events like the TRR. The other guy is Mark Krause, an American triathlete. In fact, he is a PROFESSIONAL triathlete. He actually finished 7th in last 1/2 Ironman World Championships. 7th in the freaking world! He is competing later this year in the full Ironman World Championship. With Erin leaning towards Fredrik as a partner, I'm left with the choices of a professional triathlete or partnering with someone else at Gore and running the race for fun rather than competitively. Neither choice interests me and I am crushed.

I email Erin one final appeal before leaving work on Friday. I send him the electronic copies of my training and diet, tout the benefits of partnering with a fellow Goron, the ease of communication, comraderie, etc. Upon arrival at work on Monday, I had an email awaiting me from Erin saying that my appeal worked! What a relief! I was thrilled and still am.

But, I'm also scared shitless. Now somebody else is officially counting on me to perform. I've never had a race partner before and its a lot of pressure. I'm terrified of letting him down but its great inspiration for my training.