All posts by Brian

Running, Training Log

September 29 – October 5 Practice Running

Monday, September 29, 2014, 5:56 pm

4.11 mi, 38 ft gain, 30:01. Road in town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

A little achey in general yesterday and today. Planned to just keep it moderate today, but I started feeling better and better as I ran. Splits: 8:46 mi 1, 7:19 mi 2, 7:09 mi 3, 6:06 mi 4, 5:54/mi pace last 0.11. Strava estimated best efforts: 5k 21:12, 2 mi 13:01, 1 mi 6:03, 1k 3:39, 1/2 mi 2:56. It’s my actual best 5k, 2 mi, 1 mi. I’m not sure about 1k and 1/2 mi.

 

Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 5:38 pm

4.18 mi, 38 ft gain, 38:34. Green belt in town, with dogs. Alta Superior 1.5 Red.

Still slightly achey joints. Not sure what the deal is. Felt good after warming up. Sped up the last 1.5 mi or so. I heard a train whistle in the distance. The direction would put it in the next town, about 3-4 mi away. I wanted to get back to the RR crossing for my street before it got there. Trains often stop along the stretch of track next to the green belt/park. There are 3 or 4 sets of tracks, and they wait for other trains to go by. The train stopped there today was about 1.15 mi long with 2 engines on each end. I looked up the hazmat placard on the tankers. They were all full of crude oil.

 

Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 4:12 pm

6.37 mi, 740 ft gain, 1:38:14. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #2, with dogs. Alta Lone Peak 1.5.

Out to the little hill, Olney creek, part way over the bigger hill and then some off road wandering through the woods. Felt pretty good mostly. Still a little issue with my left achilles. Logging roads might be OK for now, but I’m itching to get back on actual trails. It might be a little while though.

 

Thursday, October 2, 2014, 4:22 pm

6.09 mi, 634 ft gain, 1:24:31. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Alta Lone Peak 1.5.

Some wandering mixed in today. Went off the logging roads uphill into the woods about 2.4 mi out or so. A little mossy forest floor running, but mostly finding my way through thigh high ferns and deadfall. Felt a little stiff to start, but good after warming up.

 

Friday, October 3, 2014, 5:52 pm

6.12 mi, 578 ft gain, 1:01:53. Sultan Basin Rd tree farm gate 1, with dogs. Alta Lone Peak 1.5.

Was going to do out and back on a couple routes on just one side of the road. When I got most of the way around the loop, someone started target shooting near where I’d have to run back by. I decided to finish the loop instead. I knew there was a trail from one road back to the one I started at, but this was my first time on it. Fun little section of trail somewhere between single track and game trail. I still had over 2 more miles planned for the day, so I crossed the road to the other gate and headed out. Found another cool spot for sunset views at the end of the road. Legs felt good.

 

Saturday, October 4, 2014, 6:05 pm

10.24 mi, 1684 ft gain, 1:35:53. Olney Falls DNR rd, solo. Alta Superior 1.5 Red.

A little late start, so I brought a headlamp and flashlight. I saw a smallish cougar about 2 miles in. I came around the corner and it was running up the road away from me. I wasn’t fast enough with the camera for a pic though. Legs were good after the first 10-15 minutes warming up. Climbing wasn’t very tough. I’ve definitely gotten better at extended downhills. Pulled out the lights with about 3 miles left back to the car.

 

Sunday, October 5, 2014, 3:12 pm

19.70 mi, 4037 ft gain, 4:04:26. Road to Wallace Falls, Upper falls, dnr road, Wallace Lake, solo. Alta Superior 1.5 Blue.

I think I’ve lost my climbing legs a little bit sticking to relatively flat runs for the last month +.

I decided to take a spur road off the dnr road before heading to Wallace Lake. I hoped to find a possible route up Mt. Stickney from the south side. More or less went straight uphill. Lots of small blow down, but not too bad. Rather steep though. Came across a couple abandoned logging roads. I’ll have to look at some satellite images again to see if it looks promising beyond where I turned around. Very fun to run back down.

Back to the dnr rd, I continued out to Wallace Lake. Decided not to go around to the beach on the north side. I wanted to make it back to the TH with light left. With leaves on the trail in some technical parts, I didn’t want the added difficulty of darkness.

It probably would have been better if I had brought a water bottle along, rather than just the 2L bladder. I didn’t drink as much as normal and still ran out a little before getting back to the TH. I knew I had enough to make it, but I prefer being well hydrated. Drank a bit at the fountain and added some more to my hydration bladder before heading for home.

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Weekly totals: 56.8 mi, 7749 ft gain

Feels good to get back to some climbing.

September total: 212.4 mi, 13,724 ft gain. Personal Best Monthly Mileage.

Practice

Practicing Willpower

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Willpower is a tricky thing. In some aspects of my life it’s easy. In others, not so much. I’ve never been tempted by drugs, tobacco or alcohol.

Sugar was a different story. I spent a couple years trying to deal with my food addictions with moderation. Moderation doesn’t work very well for me. It was only when I decided to cut processed sugars out completely that I was able to maintain control, and after several months the cravings disappeared.

I’ve had similar experience with running. For several years I only ran 3 days a week. It worked for me then. But when I tried to move to 4-5 days a week, I had trouble. It was a lot easier to skip planned runs the day after a planned rest day, much like occasionally eating candy sustained my sugar cravings.

Now I run everyday, even if some days it’s only a couple miles. I don’t have to worry about the will power to go for a run, because it’s just something that I do everyday. It’s become habit.

Maybe I’ll build breaks into my training again eventually. It’s just easier for me when I’m all in, removing as much temptation as possible.

Running, Training Log

September 22-28 Practice Running

Monday, September 22, 2014, 4:22 pm

3.05 mi, 481 ft gain, 38:02. Sultan Basin Rd DNR road W, with dogs. Alta Lone Peak 1.5.

I haven’t run from the gate on this side of Sultan Basin Rd. Didn’t realize it was so hilly. It was pretty rough. Walking was faster up the hills. Felt better at the end, but still quite sore.

 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 3:10 pm

3.23 mi, 28 ft gain, 34:37. Roads in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

Legs still sore. Right calf and left achilles more so than the rest. Better after the run.

 

Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 5:31 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 31:14. Road in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

Already bored of roads after only 2 days, but I will likely stick with them for a while. Legs less sore, but not fully recovered. Calf and achilles a little better. Rainy run.

 

Thursday, September 25, 2014, 3:47 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 31:13. Road in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

Legs getting there. Right calf almost on par with the rest of my legs. Left achilles still going to take some time. It stopped raining, and the sun came out this afternoon. Have to take advantage of the Fall sun when we get it up here.

 

Friday, September 26, 2014, 4:49 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 28:34. Road in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

Starting to feel more like normal. Left achilles area was swollen since Monday, but nearly back to normal size today. Still very minor discomfort, so it looks like more short and flat running for me. But at least I’m able to run.

 

Saturday, September 27, 2014, 12:19 pm

3.16 mi, 28 ft gain, 29:28. Road in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

Still a little discomfort in achilles, barely noticeable. Legs felt good. I would have liked to go longer, but was heading to visit family.

 

Sunday, September 28, 2014, 5:43 pm

12.04 mi, 1936 ft gain, 1:57:16. Olney Falls DNR road, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Legs feel back to about 95%. Took a little bit to warm up. Felt pretty good after that. Descending was great. I’m getting better at going faster downhill. I had to slow down the last couple miles because it was getting dark. Still a pretty good run.

 

Weekly totals: 31 mi, 2557 ft gain

I’ve already broken my highest monthly mileage with 204.1 mi. About 35-55% of the elevation gain of the previous 4 months. Not bad for running through groin and achilles issues though. My run streak is up to 47 straight days.

Practice, Running

Practicing Transcendence: Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 7 Hour Race Report

I ran the Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 7 Hour Race at Magnuson Park, Seattle on Sunday, September 21. I thought about running it for a couple months, but didn’t actually decide to do so until about 10 days prior. I sent my application in on the 12th.

I got everything I might need together the night before. I had more food than I expected to need, but wanted to have different options just in case. I had an extra pair of shoes, sunscreen, salt caps, water bottles, body glide, gaiters, a button up golf shirt and a few other odds and ends.

My sleep schedule was even further from ideal for race day leading up to it than my last race, the Rattlesnake Ridge 50k. I was able to get nearly a full 8 hours of sleep the night before, however.

I woke up at 5:40 am, got ready and put everything in the car. I headed out just after 6:30 to give myself a little time before the 8 am start. It’s a little over an hour drive to Magnuson, with a few minute delay due to construction on SR522.

I stopped at the gas station across the street from the park to pee and pick up a bag of ice. A few minutes later, I found parking right near the aid station. I checked in and went back to the car to get ready. I had about 17 minutes to start time. I needed a longer restroom stop before the race started, but the park staff hadn’t unlocked the restrooms at the start/finish line. So I drove down near the boat launch. I took my shoes and bib in with me to finish getting ready.

Back to the start line with a few minutes to spare. The pre-race briefing had just started. It was a pretty small crowd, about 20 runners. We had 7 hours to run around a 1.528 mi course as many times as we could. No credit would be given for partial laps.

I decided that I’d carry one handheld bottle and wear my UD Jurek Essential belt to carry food and my car keys. I could have gone without the belt. I had a second bottle that I left at the aid station, so I could swap out. I asked whoever was manning the aid station when I swapped if they could refill the empty bottle and leave it for me to pick up later. It worked pretty well. There were a couple times that I found an empty bottle waiting for me, but I don’t know how well I expressed what I wanted at times later in the race. I also had a cooler that I left by the aid station with fruit and ice.

The race started to the sound of a conch. Four other guys and I took out in the lead, following the race director, Daulot Fountain, on his bike, showing us the route.

I probably went out too fast, but I really wanted to see how far I could go in 7 hours. I still think that I might be able to hit 50 mi on a perfect day. Sunday wasn’t perfect, but I still put in the effort.

After a few laps, I had settled into 2nd place. The temperature was comfortable for the first few hours. I stopped at my car a few times during the race, because I forgot to put the freezer bags of dates that I brought.

I kept a fairly even pace for the first 20-22 miles or so. I was fairly comfortable to nearly 30 mi. By then, I had slowed a bit and stopped at the aid station almost every lap. Earlier, I went 2-4 laps without stopping for aid.

About halfway through, I took off my tank top and went sans shirt for a couple laps. By then it was starting to get rather warm. It hit the mid-80s and most of the course was exposed to the sun.  I then stopped at my car again and grabbed the Nike golf shirt that I brought.

I’m so glad I brought the button up shirt. The first lap wearing it, I left it unbuttoned. It kept the sun off most of my upper body for at least half the lap. Almost every lap after that I either took the shirt off and dunked it in my melting left over bag of ice or squeezed sponges of ice water from the aid station over the shirt to act as sort of a swamp cooler. I also started doing just the top button. This kept the shirt from flapping all over, protected me a little more from the sun and still kept air circulating around my body very well. This was the first time I tried a button up shirt and I will definitely do it again.

The early leader lapped me twice somewhere around the marathon mark. I lost 2nd place somewhere around the same time as well, to the guy who eventually won. He had an impressive day, keeping a pretty even pace throughout.

I kept on trucking along. I had definitely slowed from my early pace, but I tried to maintain at that level.

The course was fairly flat, much flatter than nearly anything I normally run. There was one small hill, about 15 ft gain over 30-40 yards. Around 22-24 mi or so, I started walking the hill. The miles and the pace were catching up with me and I decided it was better to conserve that little energy. It was also good to stretch my legs with a different gait.

Starting to run again from a stop at the aid station was rough later in the race. It took a minute to get back into the rhythm each lap. The paved portions of the course started to get to me as well. About 1/4 or so of the course was paved. I started trying to run on the small grass strips along the sides.

Somewhere north of 34 mi, I unlapped myself from the leader once. The eventual 1st place also lapped me somewhere around there too. I wasn’t really in the mindset of running against other people though. Sure, it would be cool to win, but I was running for me.

I came around for what turned out to me my second to last lap, and my lap counter told me there were 15 minutes left. My current pace was around 16 minutes per lap. I decided to go. I looked for my bottle swap, but it was empty. The aid station volunteer helped me quickly fill it most of the way, and I was off.

I pushed the pace to about the same as my first few miles. My last 1.8 mi were between 8:38/mi and down to 8:16/mi. I saw the women’s winner coming back on the lollipop section as I went out. I was a few hundred yards from the finish line when I heard the crowd of volunteers, other runners, friends and families cheering her on to finish. Looking at my GPS, I thought I had less time than I actually had, so I sped up again.

As I neared the finish, everyone was cheering and the other runners created a tunnel with their raised arms for me. It was an awesome feeling to finish a race to that kind of support. I crossed the finish line with about 1 minute left on the clock, the last runner to come in.

I came in 3rd place, 2nd in my age group. With that last lap, number 28, I finished the same distance as the early leader, though he finished about 10 minutes earlier.

After the race, there was a picnic and awards ceremony down by Lake Washington. I took a dip in the water to cool off. Then a quick shower to rinse off the algae and grime from both the race and the lake.

It was a great event. The volunteers were kind, helpful and very supportive. Three of them also took part in the run as a team. Other volunteers walked around the course cheering runners on as well. The layout of the course was such that you didn’t go very long without seeing other runners. Even if you weren’t passing or being passed by someone, you could see them on the lollipop section. All the runners were supportive of each other as well. All of their compliments definitely helped. And they were a friendly bunch to chat with after the race as well. I look forward to seeing them at races in the future.

I may not have hit my reach-goal of 50 miles, but I’m thrilled with my performance. I ran farther and for a longer time than I had ever run before. I had a little concern, beforehand, that running laps around a course would be too repetitive. I didn’t find that the case at all. I’ve written about reaching a meditative state while running before. I was in it for most of the day. I was so deep in the zone that I nearly ran off the very well marked course a couple times, even though I had already run multiple laps. It was a transcendent run in many ways.

 

Official distance: 42.784 mi

GPS data: 43.77 mi, ~500 ft gain (difference due in part to restroom trips, not taking the most direct line, etc.)

 

Gear:
Altra Superior 1.5 (blue)
Injinji Trail mini crew
UD handheld bottles (fastdraw plus and fastdraw 20)
UD Jurek Essential belt
Under Armor tank
Nike ACG Drifit button up shirt (thrift store purchase)
RGear Stash & Dash 3” split shorts

 

Fuel/Hydration:
Unsure how much water I took in. Started with 20 oz every 3 laps, went to every 2 laps, then every lap for the last hour.
~5-6 bananas
~1 orange
5-6 small slices of watermelon
~5 Pluots
~20 medjool dates
~15 salt caps

Running, Training Log

September 15-21 Practice Running

Monday, September 15, 2014, 4:27 pm

6.45 mi, 262 ft gain, 1:01:26. Road to Wallace Falls State Park TH & back, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

It was around 92 degrees when I started and very little shade on this route. Too hot for a road run with the dogs. My groin loosened up more quickly than the past few days. Settled into a relatively easy tempo.

 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 4:16 pm

6.44 mi, 293 ft gain, 1:12:13. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

Took it pretty easy. Was looking to get about 5 mi. More bad running math. For some reason adding 1 mi each way out and back to a 4 mi loop made sense. No harm though. I felt pretty good with the groin better than Monday. The out and back was on the road connecting to the gate #2 road, just to the beginning of the hill. Then a stop at Olney creek. It was warm and I could tell the dogs could use the cool down. Then around the loop and back to the car. Just about no matter how far into a run I am going clockwise around this loop, I always feel good for the last .75 mi or so of the loop. It’s not particularly scenic and the road has a pretty good crown. Whatever it is, I’ll take it.

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 3:26 pm

3.1 mi, ft gain, 29:28. Green belt in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

No groin issues during the run. Decided to dial back the mileage on my runs leading up to the 7 hour run on Sunday. I’ll keep it pretty flat until then as well. Grabbed a large apple from a tree in the park on the way back home. Finished about half of it by the end of the run. Pretty tasty.

 

Thursday, September 18, 2014, 4:19 pm

3.17 mi, 33 ft gain, 28:52. Road through town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

No problems at all with the groin today. Still a very slight soreness pushing my left leg inward, but almost gone. My legs were a little heavy today. I’m not sure why. It rained earlier, but held off during the run. Finished the last 100m or so reasonably fast to stretch out the legs. Felt good and sort of surprised at the pace I hit briefly given the effort.

 

Friday, September 19, 2014, 3:32 pm

3.16 mi, 35 ft gain, 31:05. Green belt in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

It was warmer today than expected. About a mile into the run, Vida was already lagging behind a little. She seems to be more sensitive to the heat. They’re both black, so neither does great in the heat in direct sunlight. So I went across the RR tracks to the river side. Trees line the river, so there was plenty of shade. Vida did a little better there. After the turnaround, I took the dogs down to the river for a quick dip. Almost hit a sprint the last 100m, but couldn’t get the dogs to turn up the speed anymore. These short runs through town are getting old. One more before race day.

 

Saturday, September 20, 2014, 3:45 pm
3.19 mi, 33 ft gain, 32:17. Green belt in town, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

Down to the river for the dogs on the way out this time. A little warmer today than yesterday. They held up fine though. Let them off leash for the last little bit so they wouldn’t slow me down for my sprint finish. Kind of cool to outrun the dogs. If it were cooler out, and/or there was some little critter they wanted to catch, I have little chance of beating them.

 

Sunday, September 21, 2014, 8:02 pm

43.77 mi, ~500ft gain, 6:58:23. Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 7 Hour Race at Magnuson Park, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

Had a great run. Personal best distance and length of time run. Officially 42.784 mi, but GPS said 43.77. Full report to follow.

 

Weekly totals: 69.3 mi, 1190 ft gain.

As well as my single longest run ever, I beat my previous best weekly mileage by a little over 9 mi. Looking forward to getting back to the trails and running up mountains soon.