Getting Excited to Run to the Hills!

Yeah yeah yeah, I know, it's been forever since I've posted. As soon as someone out there wants to pay me quit my busy busy busy job so I can run all day and write about it, I'll promise to post more!

Here's what I've been up to the past couple months:

1) Got really super crazy sick the two weeks before the Bull Run 50 so I had to skip that race. Missing two weeks straight of running felt like forever, but both Lizzy and Sam were also sick as dogs, so clearly whatever we all passed around to each other was nothing to mess with!

2) I haven't had the time to run my usual long runs (30-40 milers) every week while ramping up for 100+ mile training, but given my crazy work schedule this spring and my daddy duties (which I love, mind you), I'm actually quite happy with the miles I've been able to squeeze in.  Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays have all become routine double-run days, which I really enjoy. No huge mileage totals, but quality miles and definite fitness benefits have come out of this schedule. Also, Sammy and I have found a sweet hilly 10k loop that we do every weekend morning. I like it for the resistance training (he's getting heavier every day!) and he likes it because we pull over at a sweet playground about 4 miles in so he can get his 20 mins of cardio in as well.

3) I realize I'm not in top form for the Black Hills 100 at the end of the month, but I'm still super-excited to head out there. My brother in-law (and master crew chief) Jeff is flying up from Dallas to join me in the fun, so I'm psyched to have him out there to help get me home faster. I never mind running solo in races, but even the simple act of not needing to stop and refill my Camelbak at the aid stations will save me 30+ mins over the course of the race. I'll happily take that time off the end when the hours are wee and the legs leadened!

I've been familiarizing myself with the BH100 course description, etc. over the past couple days, and have learned some great info about the area which we'll have the pleasure of exploring before/during the race: The race itself runs almost 100% on the Centennial Trail which was first explored during Custer's Army Expedition of 1874, and the gold mining history of the Deadwood and Lead areas are legendary (see: the amazing HBO series). I'm really looking forward to taking in as much of both areas as I can while out there (cuz really, when am I going to get back to South Dakota?!).

I also found this video from the 2011 race that I thought was worthy of passing on. The course and scenery look great, but really, the best part is the hail storm at the end. I mean really, is there a better way to run a 100 miles than while being pelted by giant hail? I can't wait!

"Spring" Update!

Cherry Blossoms and Snow...something's not right here!

Sure, the calendar says Spring came last week, but the snow storm I ran through to get to work this morning obviously didn't get that memo.  I guess this was a year for March to come in like a lion, out like a lion, and probably spill its lionishness over into April as well. It's all good though, as I've turned the corner from some early season issues and am rounding nicely into shape, so the weather can't get me down too much! The key for me getting healthy this year was finally figuring out that my ongoing hamstring issue in my left leg (that dates back a couple years) isn't actually a hammy problem at all. Turns out it's all connected to a sciatica issue in my back. As soon as I figured that out, it was an easy fix to get my back warm and loose before my runs to keep the nerves from misfiring down my leg. It's always great to find the true root to a nagging injury like this one, and it's beyond great to be back running full steam ahead!

In terms of miles, I've slowly and smartly ramped up the miles the past 3 months (150 in January, 200 in February, and 300 this month), and now that I'm 100% healthy, I'm looking forward to a couple "normal" 400 mile months before the Black Hills 100. I'm really looking forward to that adventure in South Dakota, and while I normally don't run these things to win, I will admit I'm hoping to bring home the giant skull trophy from this one!

In addition to figuring out my sciatica issue, I also credit mixing up my shoes a bit to take care of a foot problem that shelved me for a couple weeks in January. Since then I've run most of my road miles in the super cushy Hoka Bondi Speeds to help "actively recover" from the foot pain, and on the trail the past month I've enjoyed the low & responsive Salomon Sense Mantras quite a bit. I've also just come into a pair of shiny new Adidas Boosts, which, if you believe all the advertising hype, will give you more cushioning and energy-return than any other shoe...while also apparently making you smarter, more attractive to the opposite sex, and guaranteeing you low low interest rates on any future mortgage refinancing deals. I think I need to run a few more miles in them to see if all their claims pan out, but for now they do seem like a comfortable shoe to run in, and that's really good enough for me.

On the race front, I won't be running with the fellas up front this soon, but I am excited to say I'll be heading back to test out the early-season legs at the Bull Run 50 miler on April 13. I've even teamed up with a couple speedy friends in the Team competition to keep me motivated to grunt through some lung burn in the last 20 miles or so. Nothing like a little peer pressure to keep the ol' legs moving! I'm looking forward to writing a Race Report in a couple weeks to recap all the fun. Now if only we can figure out a way to get the temps up out of the 30s and 40s by then...hmm...maybe the Adidas Boosts can also help with that?

Frozen Birthday Run Fun!

This past Saturday I dragged my frozen legs 36 miles around the rolling trails of Lake Anna State Park in central VA. The occasion was my annual Birthday Run, on which I run my years in miles to remind me both that:

1) My chosen sport makes me do stupid things, and  
2) February is a horrible time to have a birthday when you're forced to run outside for 5+ hours in sub-freezing weather.

Now that the adventure is over, I'm sarcastically happy to say that 2013's edition succeeded in validating both counts yet again!

This year my actual b-day (Feb 5) falls on a very busy work Tuesday for me, so I took the liberty to run my 36 miles the Saturday before (Feb 2). This was especially convenient for me since the "Icy 8HR" race took place over the weekend, so it was as if 125 others came out to celebrate my birthday run with me too! Notable in that field was my buddy Andy, with whom I planned on running the whole time...and not just because he promised me some homemade pumpkin birthday cupcakes at the finish. In the end, I enjoyed those cupcakes quite a bit, even if Andy made me look bad by running an extra 4.7 mile lap to push his total over 40 for the day. Show off. For me, I very much enjoyed not having to run for the full 8 hours as I sat wrapped in blankets at the timing tent for a couple hours enjoying hot soup and sipping a special birthday gift from Gary Knipling (it was the kind of eggnog they don't let Santa drive the sleigh after drinking!).  All in all, it was my most enjoyable birthday run to date, that's for sure!

Bundled up in the coooooold. I guess it's true old people feel drafts all the time.

The added bonus of stopping at 36 miles was saving my out-of-shape legs from being wrecked this week. I caught a case of the dreaded "too much, too soon" running disease at the start of January and needed to be smart and slooow in ramping up my miles all month while hamstring/foot issues healed. I pretty much stuck to an easy 6 miles most nights all month (while wearing my cushy Hoka shoes to protect the foot), and while that type of light training won't allow me to run a quick marathon in March, my eyes are most definitely on the real prize of giving the Black Hills 100 a solid effort. I'd like to do well in that race, if for no other reason than to see the look on the TSA agents' face when I try to get my "trophy" on the airplane home!

If I fill it with magazines and candy, can it count it as my carry-on?