Trail Running 101

After signing up for the trail run yesterday, I thought I'd better actually run some trails!  After 4 easy miles on the road, I headed over to Trophy Club Park for my first solo trail run...

Beautiful. I was first impressed by this view...

I was also privileged to see firsthand why it is called the Great Blue Heron trail.  Too bad he flew away before I could get a pic.  Truly a magnificent bird! 

Before I'd gone a mile, the trail brought me to this little stream. I was faced with a choice: turn around and finish the rest of the my planned 4 miles on the roads, or jump in the water and cross.  The old me would have turned around, but the new me--the soon-to-be-ultramarathon-trail-runner--embraced the experience and enjoyed the sensation of the water rushing over her feet.  

I had a few other little places to cross water, and it occurred to me as I was going down one of the steeper hills that even with short mileage, my fuel belt would be preferable to handheld hydration, just to keep my hands free in case I need to break a fall or steady myself.  Thankfully, today, I kept my feet the whole way, despite a few spots being quite slippery! 

In terms of preparation, it also occurred to me that I was alone in the woods...defenseless against wildlife.  I should have probably at least brought pepper spray or SOMETHING.  Thankfully, I didn't see anything that slithered, and the only four-legged furry thing was a cute little bunny.  :)

I continued on enjoying the scenery.  It was so serene...like something you see on those inspirational posters...

 

However, it wasn't all bliss.  "Running" would be a generous term to describe the activity.  Some of it could not be characterized as anything other than "slogging." Because I didn't have to worry about it on the earlier road run, I didn't even think about mud on the trails after 2 days of rain.  Rookie mistake.  I can hear my father humming the Aggie War Hymn.  Yes, I still bleed maroon!

I'm quite proud of myself for continuing on, despite parts of the trail being messy.  Again, the old me would've called it quits, but the new me reasoned at least I would be able to find my way back if I left footprints!  I have no desire to do another mud run like this and will pay more attention to conditions before I head out next time.  But on this particular day, it was about persevering.  And I did.  Until I reached the trailhead at the other end!

The trail itself was nearly 3 miles from one end to the other, which was a bit of a surprise since looking at the map, I thought it was going to be about 3 miles out and back.  Another rookie mistake.  I was feeling good at the halfway point but still wanted to take a different route back that would make it a little shorter as well as offer some new scenery.  I had grown in my confidence of being able to read the signs, figured out where I needed to turn to get on the alternate route, and where it would link back up with the main trail I'd been on to take me home. 

Everything was going according to plan.  I passed up the other detours and found the one I wanted.  Even found where it reconnected with the primary trail.  Saw a few of my tracks from earlier but didn't see which way the footprints were facing.  I was encouraged when I saw landmarks I had passed on the outbound trip...but failed to notice they were on the right when they should have been on my left coming back.  Thankfully, I finally clued in to the fact that the numbers on the trail signs were getting smaller again, when they should have been getting larger.  Ooops!  I couldn't believe I had goofed this up (though really, knowing me, it shouldn't have been that big of a surprise), and I actually used my phone's GPS and drop pin feature, moving toward it and away from it, to get my bearings.  Yes, I found the primary trail.  I just turned the wrong way because I stayed on the trail in front of me instead of realizing the turn would take me a little bit backwards.  I figure that little mistake cost me a little over a mile, bringing my total to nearly 7 instead of the 4 I had originally planned.  Still, this was a great first trail run, not only because of the beauty of it and the opportunities to persevere, but also how much I learned!  Let's recap:

- Don't run trails if it's been raining.  It can be a mudfest.
- Use hydration belt to keep hands free.
- Bring something to protect yourself.
- The map shows distance from one end to the other, so double that if you're going out and back.
- Allow extra time in case you get lost.
- Pay attention to which way you turn; the direction you need could be behind you! 

The other thing I learned: I am going to LOVE this!!!

And it's a good thing--because it could take me a long time to run 31 miles of trails.  I had originally figured I'd shoot for 6 hours with the idea that if I could meet my goal of a 4-hour marathon, I should add an hour for the extra 5 miles and another hour because trails tend to be slower than roads.  Still, I was shocked to see that this 7 miles took me over 2 hours!  However, I have to take into account I stopped to take pictures, clean my shoes, check my route, etc., and there were places where it was too muddy to run so walking was the only option.  Hopefully, with additional training/experience and better conditions, I'll be able to average better than 20-minute miles!  Fingers crossed!  :)

A New Level of Crazy

Who signs up for their first ultramarathon before running their first marathon?  This girl.  I'm now registered for the Texas Trails 50K Endurance Run at Huntsville State Park on December 7 (a day that will surely live in infamy), just 6 weeks after I finish the Marine Corps Marathon. 

Some people will ask why I signed up for another race after MCM before even running it.  That's easy enough to understand.  I don't want the post-marathon blues to get me down.  And I don't see that race as a one-time bucket list thing, but rather a gateway to a lifestyle of distance running. 

Some people will ask why an ultramarathon?  Isn't 26.2 miles enough?  Apparently, I am a glutton for punishment!  And I am inspired the stories of those who run 50 and 100 miles...and even more!  Western States, a 100-mile race through the mountains, was just a couple of weeks ago.  Legend has it that it started out as a horse race, which a guy finished on foot after his ride pulled up lame.   Now it's an annual event, one that Timothy Olson has won back-to-back, covering the distance in about 15 hours! 

To put things in perspective, here's a comparison of Western States and the Boston Marathon:

Yeah.  And if that wasn't crazy enough, this week, an elite group of runners (both in terms of physical endurance and sheer madness) tackled Badwater, a 135-mile race through Death Valley in the heat of the summer, concluding with the ascent of Mount Whitney.  Several famous guys like Dean Karnazes and Marshall Ulrich (the guy with no toenails) do this one every year, but my favorite is probably Chris Moon.  He was an EOD guy who lost an arm and a leg in an explosion...and is now a charity runner.  If a guy with one arm and one leg can run 135 miles at Badwater, then I can run 50K at Texas Trails.

I guess that brings us to the next part.  Some people will ask why trail running?  The short answer is because I've lost my mind.  The long answer is that a dear friend and ultramarathoner (largely to be credited/blamed for my present level of insanity) took me on my first trail run at Sansom Park last year.  We set out to do 3-4 miles, and at 3.5, he asked if I wanted to go for 5.  I was feeling good and said, "Sure," not knowing that the trail had changed since he was last there.  We got lost.  We got hungry.  It was starting to get dark.  Did I mention that I hate snakes?  Five miles turned out to be seven!  But I swear Sonic has never made better tater tots than the ones I ate after that run...and I have never been so sore.  Muscles I didn't even know I had were sore, along with all the usual suspects.  But it was the most exhilarating sort of pain...one that I became hungry to taste again.  And so, at 5:30 this morning, I signed up for a 50K trail run 6 weeks after my first marathon.  This should be interesting.  :)

Too Hot to Handle 15K - Race Recap

After the high mileage last week, I was actually ready for a taper and pretty much took it easy this week (except for PR'ing my mile time at 90% effort during repeats on Thursday!).  I felt a little fatigued throughout the week and slept nearly 10 hours last night...which never happens on Race Day Eve!  I hoped that would be sufficient to restore my energy and make for a good race today.  I think it worked.

Rain was in the forecast (again...hopefully this means I'll get all my rainy races out of the way before MCM), and it started sprinkling as we approached the start line.  I had done a decent little warmup and failed to notice that my Garmin went to sleep while I was waiting for the start, so my first few steps consisted of frantically trying to wake it up and press start!  There was also something goofy with it losing satellites in the first quarter mile, which made me wary of the average pace data it gave me throughout the race.  Turns out, that was okay.

Unlike my past couple of races, where I've had a plan for how fast to run each mile, today my only plan was: Run smart.  Run fast.  Run happy!!!  Thinking about the Rainbow of Running, I wanted to keep it in the green zone for the first 3 miles, then maybe bump it up to yellow, and perhaps go orange for the last 3.  I more or less succeeded, though I stayed yellow until about mile 8. 

I got off to a slow start, frustrated about the snafu with my watch and the slower runners in front of me, but as is usually the case, things thinned out after a while, and I found my groove.  It was a gray day, and I was focused on running point to point as best I could (good thing, because the course ended up being 9.4+), so I missed out on some of the beauty of White Rock Lake.  No worries.  My next two races are there, too.  :)  Even though I had music in one ear, I was listening to my body more than anything, and it felt good to know I have grown into more of an "associative" runner than a dissociative one. 

I walked through each aid station, and this was one of the best things about today--the data I got from it, not the aid stations themselves (though the ice cold towels were great!).  Because I wasn't worried about following a pre-programmed race plan, I hit the lap button each time I passed through one, giving me valuable data about how long these walk breaks take.  This is vital to devising my race day strategy for MCM, where the current plan is to walk through the aid stations every 2 miles.  I'm hoping that each break can be done in 30 seconds or less, maintaining at least a 20:00 pace, and today's data (averaging 21-second breaks @ 18:01) suggests that's very doable...provided that racing with 10 times as many people doesn't slow me down TOO much.  If all goes well, running 9-minute miles between the 12 aid stations will get me a sub-4.  :)

Today's race wasn't particularly eventful.  I ran pretty smart, fairly fast (for me), and quite happy the whole way.  I picked it up at mile 8, running 8:18 pace from that point on (faster than my last 5K and nearly a min/mile faster than my 9:13 average for the race).  As is my goal, I finished breathless and felt good.  I was off my target of 1:24:12 (equivalent of a 4:15 marathon 15 weeks before MCM), but I hadn't really committed to that because I've had so many problems trying to hold 9-minute miles with my heart rate soaring in 80-degree heat and figured the rain/humidity would only exacerbate that.  Using the Jack Daniels (not that Jack Daniels) run calculator--less conservative than McMillan but with a feature to factor in the heat--today's result, adjusted for the long course, would give me a 4:06:23, suggesting I'm still very much on target for my marathon goal...especially given that I still have 15 weeks to train.

After the race, I picked up my medal and shirt, then found my friend Pam, who won her age group in the 5K.  We'd ridden to the race together, and on the way home, I had the strange sense that I needed to keep running.  Sundays are usually long run days, and 15K isn't a long run for me.  While it was great to feel so fantastic after a race (especially after my last race experience), it also told me that I hadn't pushed quite hard enough.  Likewise, while I was content with today's result, I wasn't particularly elated about it either.  This taught me a valuable lesson: The sense of accomplishment from achieving a goal is directly proportional to the clarity of and commitment to that goal.  50% clarity and/or 50% commitment = 50% satisfaction.  The upside of not fully committing to a clear goal today was that I didn't set myself up for disappointment like last time.  But I also robbed myself of a little joy by not feeling like I had really achieved something.  Because of what it taught me, I'm okay with that today.  And I do have a very clear goal for my next race: I want to run the Hottest Half in less than 2 hours, Lord willing and the creek (and my heart rate) don't rise.  :)

Happy Feet

Everyone knows runners are known for their ugly feet, right?  Toenails turn black...and/or fall off.  They make t-shirts: Toenails are for sissies!  And one guy, Marshall Ulrich, actually had his toenails surgically removed! 

This season I have been lucky enough to keep all 10 for several weeks, but they keep turning all sorts of ugly colors.  So, I decided to take action to keep my feet as pretty as can be.

Last month, I solved the black toenail problem by embracing it.  Painting them all black seemed a little macabre for summer, so I added a touch of whimsy:

This time, I decided to try something new, channeling my inner cheetah...
Hope they make me faster come Sunday!

MCM Countdown: 16 weeks to go....and Killing It!

It's been an awesome week of training, worthy of a recap:

MONDAY

Easy Day.  4 miles.  Just recovering from the 20 on Sunday.

TUESDAY

AM - Tempo Run (a.k.a. the Dolly Parton run).  Holding 9:00 (pace) to (mile) 5.  1-mile warmup and cool down, for a total of 7.  Thanks to cooler temps, I rocked this.  Ran each of the 5 miles just below 9:00 and kept my HR in the green zone (160s) the whole time.  Win.

PM - Hills - Part One.  Promised myself I'd do one hill repeat for every 10 calories I was over my targeted average daily net last week.  Thanks to PMS, too much peanut butter, and poor burn rate (< 1600 calories during the 20-miler instead of expected 2000), I owed myself 15 hill repeats this week.  Ouch.  A couple easy miles to the hill, then up as fast as I could go 5 times, with easy running down for recovery in between.  Easy running back home, for a total of 5 miles.

WEDNESDAY

Rest Day.  Massage.  Therapist gave me good feedback, saying that my muscles are in excellent condition and don't show the same kind of damage he usually sees with runners.  Apparently, all that foam rolling is making a difference!  He also said I have good form, that I lift my knees just enough and don't seem to heel-strike or over-pronate (which my shoe wear patterns also suggest).  Said he was also impressed with how well I care for my skin.  Too bad he wasn't hot & single! 

THURSDAY

17.76 Run to celebrate the 4th of July.  Drove down to Trinity Trails in Fort Worth and enjoyed running along the river.  Felt a little fatigued, as this put me over 50 miles in 5 days but had a goal of finishing in under 3 hours.  Thanks to a nice steady pace throughout and just a bit of a push at the end, I hit my goal.  Yay!

FRIDAY

Rest Day - walked just to keep things moving and to burn a few calories.  Don't want any more of those extra hill repeats next week!

SATURDAY

The Beast.  A 4-part workout, not counting walking to warmup/cool down:

A.  An adaptation of my old 1:1 run, where I would run for a song and walk for a song.  Today, I ran hard for one, easy for one, hard for one, then walked for one.  I was targeting yellow and blue zones (170s and 150s, respectively), and the up and down pattern of my HR reminded of a big M, so I deemed this one a Michigan run.

B.  Hills - Part Two.  Opted for a different hill, close to the other one but on a wider, more even road in a neighborhood, which meant less traffic.  10 repeats, with a little extra recovery running halfway through the session, just to bring my HR back down again.  Done.

C.  Sprints.  Also an M-shaped workout.  30-second sprint, 90 seconds of easy running, followed by another 30-second sprint, and 60 seconds of walking.  Repeated 10 times, for a total of 20 sprints.  Average sprint times not my fastest, but acceptable given the fact that I was running (not walking) between half of them, and doing 20 of them just after doing 10 hill repeats.  Pleasantly surprised to see best pace during a couple of them started with a 5:xx.  That's a new number for me.  :)

D.  More Michigan running, alternating hard, easy, hard, and walking for the length of a song.  Subbed one walk song for a hard one when going back up a monster hill...and my HR was still quite high, so that was the right call.  Finished strong.

All together, nearly 14 miles.  As I was cooling down, I realized I completed this 3.5-hour workout on just 4 hours sleep!

That brings me to 48 miles for the week--before a planned easy run on Sunday, which I may or may not still do, since 48 was my original target for the week.  Going back to last Sunday, I'm at 68 miles in the past 7 days...and my goal for marathon training peak is to cap at 60/week.  Oops!

I know that I need to be careful about over-training here, and yet, I am doing several things to aid my recovery:

- 2 days without running
- Chiropractor on Monday
- Massage on Wednesday
- Compression during/after long/hard runs
- Faithfully stretching and foam rolling after each run
- Ice baths after long/hard runs
- Supplementing with echinacea & vitamin C to boost my immune system
- Drinking green tea for anti-oxidants
- Taking advantage of the holiday weekend by napping to my heart's content!

Bottom line: Feeling good.  Feeling strong.  And feeling like another nap...

July 4

Happy Birthday, America!

Overachiever

Since I've been collecting all this marathon wisdom from the gurus, even though I've already created my plan, I thought I'd see what I'd be running if I was following one of their plans 17 weeks before the marathon.  Just wanted to get some perspective and see how my training stacks up.

Some of their runs are prescribed by time rather than distance, but if I do the math, here's the comparison:

HIGDON

Novice 1 = 15 miles

Advanced 2 = Approximately 26 miles


GALLOWAY

4:00 Plan =  Approximately 9.4 miles


HANSON

Beginner = 10 miles

Advanced =  26 miles


FITZGERALD

Level 1 = Approximately 15 miles

Level 2 = Approximately 19.3 miles


Coach Haley (the hamster in my head) = 48 miles

Holy schnikes!  

So nearly 4 months out, I'm already running nearly double what the most advanced plans would have me doing, and this week's long run will exceed in a day what each of the beginner plans are running for the week.  Um, yeah, I'm gonna be fine...