Monday; June 20th: So, I took the day off! Spent it with my mom and two of the dogs.
Tuesday; June 21st: Dropped Mom off at the airport for the 630am flight YUCK!!! And out to Garden of the Gods for an 11 miler. Since the ole bones were feeling great, I pushed the pace quite a bit and found as many hills as possible. . Remembering JD's technique of speeding up on the uphills, I forced a quicker pace on these sections and used some of the downhills to recoop some oxygen.
Wednesday; June 22nd: In the gym at 5am for abs, back, and triceps and then out the door with Traysen. For whatever reason, he had a foot/leg issue and came back home after about a mile. (He probably tweaked something while playing stick on Tuesday.) Off I went for another 11 miles, again pushing the pace since all was feeling well.
Tile Man, aka, Jim the husband, has the house in disarray again. He is redoing his tile work from 10 years ago and adding a new section...so the carpet is almost gone!!! Oh yeah!!!! Do I help during these episodes? Oh NO...I just stay out of the way! Maybe I should have gone on an afternoon heat training run?!
Thursday; June 23rd: Lazy girl here.....slept til 515am! Woo Hoooo.....and then out the door with Traysen....but let's back up to yesterday for a minute....I found a few minutes to finally watch/listen to the film clip with ultra runner, Geoff Roes.
http://wpblogs.runningtimes.com/blogs/performancepodcasts/2011/06/video-geoff-roes-slogging-to-the-top/
In this short video (by Joel Wolpert), Geoff gives us insight as to what drives him keep running, to keep racing, and what to do when the racing gets tough. In particular, he points out that a runner will always experience a low/bad/sinker spot during any ultra. He explains that it is often what a runner does during this low/bad/sinker spot that determines the personal outcome of the race. If the runner can just get through the rough patch without losing their head, the race outcome is usually positive; however, if the runner blows up and falls apart mentally, it is all over and disappointment is the result.
As Traysen and I were trotting through a rather lethargic run (not a bad run, just not very "lively"), these thoughts came to mind: During our overall training we will always experience low/bad/sinker days where the running is not fast, long, or the quality we were hoping for and applying Geoff's theory of dealing with the rough patch will determine the outcome of the overall training. So, during today's effort, the goal was to keep running smoothly and comfortably and not get too wrapped over a slower run (or the fact that Traysen had to stop three times!). When race day arrives, the overall training will have been good and (barring any other disaster), the outcome will be positive.
One other note about the video: Like many of us runners, Geoff enjoys the training more than the racing. Just getting up in the mountains, outside in the woods, and testing our abilities is more meaningful than any one day of racing. I have often told myself that if I would race more and train with faster runners more, I would be a faster runner. But it is the solitude of running alone in the mountains or out with a few friends or just with Traysen that gives the real meaning to the running.
Friday; June 24th: At the Mueller visitor center parking lot at 530am for an early start to a very long and hot run. It all started with this sound.....
http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Animals/Sound%20Effect%20-%20Turkey%20Gobble%2001.wav
(you gotta click on the link)
Then it was off to the hills and dirt for 30 miles of pure bliss....well, the first 4.5 hours was bliss, venturing all over the state park and discovering a couple of new trails I had not run yet. (Lynne and Lori, you gotta try out trail number 33....yes, it's hilly, but very beautiful). After a refill of water at the visitor center at 4.5 hours, the run went downhill; no really, it went downhill for a few miles, down to Brook Pond. Knowing it was getting hotter and the legs were very tired from 237.0 miles so far in June, the uphill portion was to be some training in walking and running uphill and transitioning back and forth between the two. This actually went very well and then to round out the 30 miles, I opted for the easy cruiser section of trail number 1. This particular trail is mostly tree covered and moss covered and it is amazingly pretty.
Sightings from this run:
Wild Paint Brush. Very abundant.
Colorado State Flower, Columbine. Just a few of these near the Brook Pond.
Saturday; June 25th: Sleeping til 5am was almost Heaven! An assortment of dogs (no, no husband...he is out earning the bacon this weekend...darn) kept me pinned in til all had to step outside.
And then out the door by 6am with coffee cup in hand. You know it's going to be a slow start to the run if you head out with a cup of coffee. That first half mile was a nice stroll and then off we went....like a herd of turtles! Traysen the doberman was rearing to go but ole Mom here needed to ease into the effort. Nevertheless, a nice 9 miler was the result. We walked, trotted, and charged up some of the hills and trotted all of the downhills. (no flat land near the house).
This morning I was thinking that at the moment I am bit overtrained. OHHH NOOOO!!!! Meeee? Overtrain? Run too much? NEVER!!! Well, maybe it is so at the moment BUT that is ok. At this point, there are 1544.0 miles in the logbook for 2011..as compared to 1369.0 at this time in 2010....so there has been some serious running this year...plus I have really worked hard at getting stronger and a bit faster....and a bit leaner! So, being overtrained right now is ok since I know the results come race day will be worth it. I also know that the next couple of weeks will be the taper weeks and the mileage will reduce as we get closer to the Leadville race. I am also aware that I can still cannot wait to get out the door in the morning and enjoy a nice run in our beautiful mountains.......additionally, after the Leadville race, there are no racing plans. Remember, I like the training/plain ole running more than racing. So, the overall weekly mileage will come down and the body/ head can recover.
Oh...out of curiosity, the formal definition of "overtrained" is :
Overtraining is a physical, behavioral and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individuals exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness.
Yep, that about covers it! The good news is that this ole girl is just on the very edge of overtrained and recognizes the condition.
Sunday; June 26th: Off we (Traysen and ole Mom here) went to Leadville...well before daylight! Arriving in town before 7am, we blasted off on the Leadville Silver Rush 50 mile course.....needless to say, it climbed ...and climbed....and climbed....all was going well as we nonstop trotted but THEN, my phone rang! Ringadingdingdong! No idea why I even answered and was even more amazed that I had enough air to say hello! It was my dad...he was in Florida...the other extreme from Leadville! (hot, flat, and humid) Somehow, we kept moving, talking and huffing....
The run was awesome....beautiful trails with lots of mud, lots of flowing water but no snow! and lots of climbing! The mining district in this section of Leadville is really lesson in history and it was all I could do to keep moving verses stopping and exploring some of the old mining remains. Once we reached a huge stream across the trail, we turned back and headed back down, but took a slightly different route and ended up on a paved road (eeewwwyuck), but took a final detour onto the Lake County Mineral Bike Trail. Even though paved, it was really pretty with lots of aspen and of course, it climbed..what else would it do? Ending up back at the truck after just over 3 hours, mapmyrun says we did 13.0 miles.
http://www.mineralbelttrail.com/
As for the quality of the run': could not have been better! a good pace up the hills, with an easy effort at altitude and hoping over rocks and dodging Traysen when he decided to stop directly in my path. (he also had to pull over three times...again! No more tuna for that boy!)
A few pics to highlight the run:
What tha? A wooden erector set?
Just a few of these in bloom. Scarlett Gila flower. Grows right on the roadside, very little moisture and rocky soil.
Summary: What a nice week of running, despite realizing the being a bit overtrained. This will be the last high mileage week until the Leadville race, July 17th. It is time to taper but not lose the intensity. Am I ready? Well, we will see...there should be about 2-3 more trips to Leadville to run the race course as well as one solo Pikes Peak Marathon next weekend. Other than those runs, there will be a few interval/hill repeat sessions and some basic "keep it together" runs.
Total for the week: 85.0
Total for 2011: 1590.0
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