Week 12 of 23 - July 11 -> July 17

I took 4 days off.
Ran on Tuesday for 11 miles and Wednesday for 8 miles on roads.
The third day was a big run on Sunday, as i kind of ended up with a taper week without planning. (laziness has a weird way to make things right!)

No takers to join me on my Sunday run, or even part of it, so I ran 20 total trail miles simulating a race for 14 of the miles.  There was a race the night before that i decided i didn't want to spend money on, and since it was in the dark, there was really no reason for me to go.  I don't need night training.  I need speed and endurance back.  Night just makes me slow as a snail.

So i ran 20 miles. 4 miles easy with karma as a warm up from 5-6am, 12 min miles on average.
Then i dropped him off, and went for 16 more, from Moonshadow to Barton Springs and back.  I dropped water at 360 for a refill half way on each of the legs, and also refilled at BS.
My typical long trail run pace hovers between 9:00 and 10:30 mins/mile.
Yesterday I cranked it up.  Here's what the mile splits were for 14 hard miles(M5-18) then i ran 2 cool down miles:

1. 8:00
2. 8:38
3. 8:41
4. 8:48
5. 8:24
6. 7:54
7. 7:59
8. 8:53
9. 8:35
10. 8:48
11. 8:41
12. 8:07
13. 8:14
14. 8:37

Not too shabby for trail running.
(to put things in persepective, the race i didn't run had a 30km(18.5mile) or 60km(38mile) option.  I ran the 60km in 6hr20mins two years ago.  Yesterday I ran 18 miles in about 2:54.  There's no way I could have come anywhere close to 6:20 for double what i ran yesterday.  no way)
But i'm super happy with what i was able to do yesterday!

Good news: Found new music to listen to.
Bad news: My iPod Shuffle seems to have gotten to sweaty and died. (i've tried everything to dry it out, but it won't even charge)
: (

Week 11 of 23 - July 4 -> July 10

Big week this week.

Monday - 27 miles - Trail - 5hr 31min .
Tuesday - 2 miles - Trail - Fun with Karma after i picked up my drop bags at a trail head.  Quads a little sore, and generally sore from a long 4th of July. (3:30am - 11pm.)
Wednesday - 8 miles - Road - Felt great after warming up for the first mile.  A little left quad soreness.
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 12 miles - Road - Several of these miles in the 7:30min/mile range.
Saturday - 21.5 miles - Trail - 5hrs 10 mins - (5 HOL repeats took over 1hr30mins)

70 miles in 5 days. Just under 13 hours of running. Goal was 55+.
Goal for next week will be 50+ miles.

Two runs of 5 hours in the same week. Technically the Monday run was part of the prior week's strategy as it was a holiday, but my training log goes Mon-Sun so that's the way it goes.  Started right around 5am both long runs, and it was hot and humid by the end of them.
Monday's run went really well, and I felt great throughout.  Many miles at low 9min/mile pace along flatter trails, 200+ ounces of water consumed.
Saturday's 5 hour run was lower in miles as i did more repeats of the hill of life. really wish we had longer hills to run, but this will have to do.  Spent over 90mins doing hill repeats which were spread out as 2 at the start, 1 in the middle, then 2 to end it. Ran the entire last one at hour 5.

Overall, I'm finally starting to feel mentally that fitness is returning to acceptable levels.
I can now "easily" run 4 hours (20 miles) and slowly will keep building to 6hours(30miles).
Will start adding hill work too.

I finally have my nutrition, hydration and electrolytes figured out for this ridiculously humid and hot weather.  However, I think I'm going to tweak my strategy and try EFS Liquid Shots next weekend instead of gels, as I think it's a better long term solution. (400 calories, 60 carb gr in 5oz, vs.100calories 25carb gr in 1 gel)
I may also pick up a tub of Ultragen recovery, instead of my usual chocolate milk.  Why the switch from Choc Milk?  Pretty simple... the single-serve milk cartons come witha  straw you pop into a (aluminium) foil area. That place to pop in the straw used to be wide so you could pop 2 holes. Now they have reduced the foil area to ONLY fit the straw, it becomes a suction battle instead of easy air in&out, and I don't care for battling a little container when i'm tired.  (silly, but it's the simple things that matter)

In case you were wondering...
No, my knee/IT Band doesn't hurt anymore. I'm not going to talk about it anymore.
; )

Here's another photo of Zion National park for your enjoyment.

JOE BRAUN PHOTOGRAPHY

Week 10 of 23 - June 27 -> July 3

Monday - 0 - business travel
Tuesday - 0 - business travel

Wednesday - 0 -business travel

Thursday - 8 road - legs felt heavy from 3 days off.

Friday - 7.5 road - legs felt heavy and i felt underhydrated.

Saturday - 13 Road - It was ridiculously humid and what i hoped would be 15 miles, gladly was cut hosrt at 13 miles as I bonked real bad at mile 11.5.  Weak.

Sunday - Zero - went to see Foster the People (which was GREAT!), but it also meant I took a cab in to town and back, which meant my buddy kept buying beers as I bought the tix, and I had no desire to go for a run in hot and humid weather. (more on Foster the People concert in a separate post)

Goal for the week was 35-45 for a recovery week.

Total: 28.5  in 3 hours 50 minutes. (had I run

All in all a low week, but that was the goal. Had I run Sunday, I would have been at 35-40 easily.

Next week goal is 55+, but that will be easily achieved.

Week 9 of 24 - June 20 -> June 26

"Root Snake"

Monday - 7.5 Roads - Felt like crap. Didn't take care of myself for proper recovery from weekend running.

Tuesday - 8 Roads  - Felt great as I rehydrated and was well fed. 5lb weight difference in 24 hours. what what?!!?

Wednesday -7 Trail - Post overnight rain. Trails were cool and muddy. Karma loved it as did we.

Thursday - rest

Friday - 8.5 Trail - legs felt great from wednesday afternoon's massage. I wanted to run another 2 hours!

Saturday - 16 Road - You know it's humid (and hot) when your fingers look like raisins after 1 hour of running.  Tough day at the office.  About 8 miles at 7:25 pace before the lights went out with 3.5 to go.

Sunday - 18 Trail - 4hrs 25 mins total trail time. Probably close to 30 minutes of rest at water refills and some walking, but felt great throughout.  Cindy and David joined so pace was slower, but company was highly welcome. 

Goal for the week : 60+

Total: 65 miles. 11hrs 32 mins. 

Great job re-hydrating and eating after insanely humid Saturday day run and nailed fueling and salts on Sunday's trail run.  I've been getting very crampy calves about 3 hours in to most of my trail runs over the last 5 weeks, so today I decided to switch to fuel and salt tabs at 35 min intervals instead of 45.  What a difference.  Although the pace was considerably slower than when i run alone, it was very encouraging to not have any sign of calf spasms or post run toe cramps.

We had a good laugh as I launched myself into a nice superman style fall due to not paying attention to a clearly visible "root-snake" on the trail.  Thankfully it was just a dirt trail so no major damage other than a sore right big toe and just a scrape here and there.  I was well overdue for a fall.

A welcome recovery week next week. 35-45 miles maybe?

Week 8 of 24 Recap - June 13 -> June 19

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Road - 1 mile.  That's right. Drove all the way down to Barton Springs, ran one mile with Karma, but couldn't find the desire to then go run the 5-7or9 miles I was hoping to get, so I just drove back home. 
Wednesday - Road - 11 miles.  1 mile with Karma followed by 10 miles on roads. 
Thursday - Road - 11 miles.  1 mile with Karma followed by 10 miles on roads.
Friday - Road - 20 miles. I opted to run my long run with friends on Friday instead of having to run it on my own on Saturday. This was the longest run I've run on roads since April 2010, and the last 4 miles really sucked. Not to mention how badly the lights went out with 2 miles to go. Total run time, including many water stops was 3 hours 15 minutes. I can safely say it will be a VERY long time before I sign up to start a long run at 4am on a work day.  
Saturday - Rest - My Friday started at 3:15am, and didn't end till a bit past midnight.  I was exhausted and really sore from the day before so no run was possible.
Sunday - Trails - 12 miles.  ran half an hour with Karma, then went back out for 60-90 minutes.  I was having fun out there, so it turned into two extra hours, so 2.5 hours total.  Pace was quite slow with Karma as it's very hot and humid out at 7am.  the next two hours were better, but felt like my brain was boiling from the 80 degrees, high humidity, and general lack of air/breeze among the trees.


Total miles 55
The goal this week was 50-55 miles. 


Goal for next week is to top 60miles, then i have a down week due to exciting work travels.


Here's what my weekly totals (GREEN) and my long runs (BLUE)  have been since my return from injury.  

All but three of these long runs below have been on the trails.

Even though I look at the blue graph and it's numbers and am pretty happy with how i've staggered my longer runs, how careful i've been to not overdo weekly totals as I slowly rebuild etc.... I am not happy with how I feel about any one those blue runs.  Not a single one of them. My legs just felt dead tired for the last 30mins of every one those.  
I know I need to be patient, as 10 months is a long time to be away, and I lost A TON of fitness/strength etc, but I just expect more from myself in general, so it's frustrating.  


I really miss having access to my old coach once a week - bouncing ideas off of him, getting all the advice, building a plan, etc.  : (


If anyone has any comments, or any ideas on how to get my legs of old to return, don't be shy!


16 weeks till Zion.

Week 7 of 24 Recap - May 6 - June 12

Monday - 5 miles - Trails with Karma. Legs felt good.
Tuesday - Rest - Weezer concert Monday night, Needed the sleep more than the run.
Wednesday - 7 miles Trail - 1 mile with Karma, then 6 miles with Cindy on the Greenbelt. Legs felt great.
Thursday - 6.5 Miles - Road.  Ran with a whole new group of runners that run a thinkg called the Dice run.  About 15 of us in total.  i ran with the front pack, which meant that this was a 6 mile tempo run for me, before i shut it down with 1/2 mile to go to cool down.  Low to mid 7's up in the hills above Zilker and Travis Heights.  ouch.  Fun group to run with, but tough run on 4.5 hours of sleep due to Improv class and post class beers at Dog 'n Duck.
Friday - 10.5 miles- Roads - With Cindy and the Paul S crew.- 1 mile with Karma prior to.  Legs were pretty tired from Thursday's hard effort.
Saturday - Trails - 17miles
Sunday - 10 miles - Trails


Goal : 50+
Total Week 7 : 56


Weekend plan was to run 4 hours Saturday, then 2 hours Sunday making it the toughest weekend so far since my return.   I couldn't round up anyone to run with Saturday so i was on my own.  The problem with that is I am not disciplined to start the time I should start, so my intended 5:30, turned into a 6:30am start.  First 30 mins were rough, almost decided to just run back and call it a day after an hour. Everything felt tired, tight, and achy.  45 mins in tho, things loosened up and the running improved.  yet again I started getting minor cramp spasms around 3 hours, even tho I hydrated well. I gutted it out and picked up the pace a bit and ended my run at 3 hours 45.  I was at the car, and just didn't feel like going for an 8 minute out and back in hot weather, sun beating me down, crampy calves, and tired.  3 hours 45 minutes with about 2,000 feet of climbing will do.  2000 isn't dramatic, but since I've stayed away from hills as much as possible, this was clearly exponentially more climbing than any other run.  (Zion is 45 miles and 10,000 ft of climbing so i have a lot of work to do to be ready by Oct 15.
Sunday the goal was to run 45 mins with Karma, which he loved, then go back out for the rest of the two hours at a much faster pace, speeding up every 20 minutes or so, ending it with 15-20 of full out sprint.  My legs weren't anchy at all from Satuday, but they were pretty dead as soon as I picked up the pace and attacked any uphills.  My all-out across the powerline was brutal, but I gave it every ounce i had left in the tank which was the goal.

Pleased with my week.
Next week: Going to aim for 50 - 55 miles again

17 weeks till Zion.

This is part of the first 11 miles along the Kolob Finger Canyons.

(Joe Braun photography)

Weekly recap - May 23 - May 29

Monday - 0 miles - rest, late night due to great Airborne Toxic Event concert that kept me out till 12:30am.
Tuesday - 0 miles - work got in the way.
Wednesday - 0 miles - work got in the way.
Thursday - 6 miles - 1 with Karma, rest around townlake. Tired from lack of sleep.
Friday - 7 miles - Cindy and David and I on trails.  Felt great.
Saturday - 22.5 miles - On trails.
Sunday - 3 miles - easy recovery with Karma.  My legs were dead.

Total: 38.5 miles.  Not too bad for 4 days.

Saturday was three 7.5 mile loops out at Bastrop State Park.  The first two loops went really well, and I felt very strong for those 15 miles. (which is very encouraging)  Loop 1 = 1hr12 for a 9:40ish pace, Loop 2 = 1hr08 for a 9:12 ish pace.  And then all went to hell.  I know better.  I simply didnt' respect the heat and humidity and record distance + Not enough water Thursday and Friday + too many margaritas and beers on Friday + non-ideal nutrition all week + failure to consume correct amount of electrolytes and enough water on the run = really bad calf and quad cramps and a lot of walking for the last 3.5 miles of Loop 3, which meant it took me 1hr28mins.  Upon completion even my back and shoulders were cramping.  I know better.

Need to start trying to get to 50-60 miles/week as the weekly ramp hasn't been too impressive: 33, 35, 47, 35, 46, 42, 38.5.   July & August = Hills, so it's time to get things going.   This week, the goal is over 45.

Sorry, don't have much to add about non running stuff, as I can't think of anything too interesting worth putting down on "paper".

Mosquitos

During hour 3 of my long run on Saturday, our conversation evolved to mosquitos.  I commented on how the first mosquito of the season had penetrated my fortress and had kept me up at night with his annoying and incessant buzzing near the ear.  
Personally, my favorite idea was that they're truly not very intelligent war machines, because they seem to attack human defense radar systems (also know as our ear) first, and that's the last place they should go after.  
But it's quite amazing if you think about it - how something that tiny and finely built can have so much technology:   they can fly, they have a hollow needle with which they suck blood, etc.  That lead to Muzo and I discussing how they find their prey, how do they know where we are, how complex they are etc. 
Personally I guessed that they must smell us, and he leaned towards the idea that they can sense us via heat seeking technology.  The result of this fascinating topic under my weekly log.


On the running front, I continue to build up my fitness.  (not to be mistaken for what my friends are doing which is to add fitness)  My goal for this past week was 40-44 miles.  Here's how it turned out:

• Monday:  Roads - 8.5 miles at 7:54 pace.  With a bunch of friends.
• Tuesday:  Trail - 3 miles with Karma.  Legs were really tired so just took him out for some fun. 
• Wednesday: Road - 7.5 miles in the hilly Northwest hills with Cindy.  It was fun to run in a new neighborhood.
• Thursday: Rest day. 
• Friday: Trail - 6.5 miles.  Great running weather, and my weekly run with Cindy, as we bring along Karma and Domingo on an out and back from Barton Springs trail head. Multiple rabbit sighting kept Domingo and Karma chasing and sprinting all morning.
• Saturday: Trail - 15 miles for total trail time of 3hrs 15mins, and about 3 hours of actual run time. Picked up the pace for last hour, and ran as hard as I possibly could for last 20 minutes.  Felt great. 
• Sunday: Trail -5.5 miles with Karma.  Fun stuff, as weather continues to be cool in the morning. 

Total 46 miles.
Will be out of town this coming Saturday and Sunday so unsure how many miles I'll be able to log.  With consecutive saturday long runs of 14, 13, 16, 18.5 and 15, it's therefore a welcome recovery week, to be careful with my comeback.  (The following week will be even lower due to work getting in the way on Tuesday and Wednesday. Such is life) 

It turns out that mosquitos are even more complex than both Muzo and I ever imagined, and we were both right: 

• Chemical sensors - mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet (36 meters) away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes (people who don't sweat much
don't get nearly as many mosquito bites).

• Visual sensors - if you are wearing clothing that contrasts with the background, and especially if you move while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can see you and zero in on you. It's a good bet that anything moving is "alive", and therefore full of blood, so this is a good strategy.

• Heat sensors - Mosquitoes can detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough.

Something with this many sensors sounds more like a military aircraft than an insect. That's why mosquitoes are so good at finding and biting you.   
(thanks to Muzo for finding this link to the data above )


What interesting things do you talk about on your runs?

Week Ending Sunday May 8 2011

Monday - 3 miles - was going to run 7or8, but my legs were completely dead so I decided it was better to let them rest to have a better run 24 hours later.

Tuesday - 5 miles on trails with karma.  Great run. He was feeling really strong due to the cool temperatures.

Wednesday - 6 miles with Cindy and Karma on the trails. Karma did well, but started to fade towards the end.  Cool weather again had me feeling strong.

Friday - easy 3 or so with Karma on trails.

Saturday - 2 hours 45 mins - 18.5 miles accomplished.  First 9 miles up rollingwood and around the mall and back for 9 miles, in about 1 hr 20, then hopped on the trails for 1 hour 25 with David, for 9.5 more at a pretty healthy pace for trails.  I was toast by the end of it, but felt good to get it in.

Total: 35.5 miles.
The goal was 40, but I didn't make it out on Sunday.   Goal for this week is now 40-44miles, adding another 15 minutes to the long run for a full 3 hours. I will keep adding 15 mins to the long run until I reach 4 hours by end of May.  That's when things get fun.

In more important news, the drought conditions are bad.
Austin is located in between the two dark blobs on the middle and right.  I can't imagine it will take much longer before we go into exceptional drought too.