So this morning, I don't. As I've gotten older and delved into this ultra running thing, I've learned how recovery is so vitally important. You may be able to knock out a great run one morning, but if you don't recover well, you're not going to knock out another great run for some time.
This morning I wanted to do a hard half marathon distance training run, but instead settled for a not-so-fast 10 mile run. It was a struggle.
Sleep is so very important to recovery and I didn't get the best of sleep this week. It's tough for me to sleep during the summer because my body wants to wake up when the sun comes up. I wish I could nap during the day, but my current employer wouldn't care for that so much. I bet pro athletes sleep a lot. I spoke with a pro-mixed martial arts fighter a while ago and he said that his life pretty much consists of 2-a-day training sessions, a big meal post training session, then sleep the rest of the time.
I miss those high school days where practice after school every day was no big deal. Now, at 32, I don't think I'd survive a Tuesday track workout after a Monday track workout.
Ugh, getting old sucks.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
2010 El Moro 50k
When a 50k was scheduled in my favorite place to run and mountain bike, El Moro Canyon, I was pretty excited about it. The race was directed by Molly Kassouf, who is also a member of the running club, SoCal Trail Headz. The race was going to be made even more fun by the fact that I would be running it with so many other club members.
Come race morning I felt great and ready to run. The field wasn’t too stacked for this race. Dean Dobberstein and Michelle Barton were the only two elite runners in the field that I knew of. Everyone else was like me – a regular person who enjoys trail running in their sparse free time.
When races start, I never go out hard with the elite runners because I know that’s dumb. I always start an ultra, ultra slow and build up my pace. Most of the first five miles were going to be a long climb, so I definitely didn’t want to blow my wad 30 minutes into the race. Dean and Michelle rocketed off from the start and a few people tried to go with them, but I let everyone go, even my running friends, Shannon Wagoner and Greg Hardesty. I figured I’d see them again soon enough.
I felt great all through the first loop of the race and moved into fourth place overall just before the turnaround point. This was the first race I was doing not wearing a camel pack, but just a hand-held as per the advice I received from Michelle. The camel pack never felt very heavy when I wear it, but I did feel lighter and faster without it during this race.
Iain Jones was the runner in front of me and at first I felt confident that I would run him down, no problem, but then the climb got to me. The climb from the turnaround point was tough and wears on you. After it peaks, there’s a bunch of ups and downs over the next several miles. I’d close on Iain during a few of the ups and think I’ve got him, but once I’d reach the top of the climb I’d see he’d put a good gap on me again until we reach the next climb. Damn, he was doing it right – easy on the up-hills to save yourself to run hard on the flats.
I was starting to wear myself out trying to chase Iain down so quickly. I had to remind myself I had 13 miles left to do it in, so I eased back on the pace and recouped some strength. Coming into the Ridge Park aid station (the biggest one on the course), I saw Iain was kind of dawdling and enjoying the company of the large aid station crew. I took this as a chance to pounce. I asked for a water refill of my bottle, ignored offers of food and other drinks, glanced over one table for a gel pack, didn’t see any, but grabbed an electrolyte tablet and I was off!
Leaving the aid station Michelle Barton’s dad gave me a big grin ‘cause I made a pass for position in the aid station. I jetted down the hill and back on the trail with a few seconds lead of Iain, but he made it back up pretty quick. He’s a tall guy with long legs and I knew it’d be tough for me to out run him on the flats. After we crested one hill and started going down a rough single track, Iain dropped off. When the course leveled out again, he caught back up. This is where I realized my strength over him as a runner – technical downhills. Coming up in another mile was the most technical downhill section on the course. If I could push on this flat section and keep him behind me, I could probably put some massive distance on him in the downhill.
I blasted down the trail like I was running a half marathon, all the while I could hear Iain’s big footsteps behind me, but I held him off coming to the peak of Rattle Snake. Then the technical downhill started and I hopped and leaped over those rocks as fast as I could in an effort to shake the big South African. Once I got to the bottom I looked back, and sure enough I had a good minute lead on him. I still kept my pace going, but made many a look over my shoulder to see where my adversary was. I normally never look over my shoulder, but I normally am not in the position for an overall podium and the chance to win some cool Oakley sunglasses, so I was really interested in keeping tabs on the people behind me.
When it came to the last couple of climbs, I was pretty tired, and my right achilies was hurting, but I had felt worse. Once I reached the final aid station I knew all the hard stuff was behind me and it was literally all downhill from here. I still did a lot of looking over my shoulder but was pretty relaxed and knew I had it. If need be I could push a tad harder. Once I rounded the corner for the final straight to the finish line I suddenly felt like I could run 100mph. I charged for the finish line pretty hard and could have broken into a full sprint, but didn’t because I thought that would have looked dumb. As I neared the finish line I glanced down at my Garmin and saw that I was going to break 4:30 – that’s a pretty fast time for a 50k, though this was a fast course.
After crossing the finish line I felt elated, but also that I could throw up, which totally sucks because I wanted to scarf down on all the food they had at the finish line. I did manage to get a veggie burger down and some chips, but not a whole lot else. Though when Molly handed me my new Oakley’s for finishing 3rd overall, I felt a whole lot better.
Come race morning I felt great and ready to run. The field wasn’t too stacked for this race. Dean Dobberstein and Michelle Barton were the only two elite runners in the field that I knew of. Everyone else was like me – a regular person who enjoys trail running in their sparse free time.
When races start, I never go out hard with the elite runners because I know that’s dumb. I always start an ultra, ultra slow and build up my pace. Most of the first five miles were going to be a long climb, so I definitely didn’t want to blow my wad 30 minutes into the race. Dean and Michelle rocketed off from the start and a few people tried to go with them, but I let everyone go, even my running friends, Shannon Wagoner and Greg Hardesty. I figured I’d see them again soon enough.
I felt great all through the first loop of the race and moved into fourth place overall just before the turnaround point. This was the first race I was doing not wearing a camel pack, but just a hand-held as per the advice I received from Michelle. The camel pack never felt very heavy when I wear it, but I did feel lighter and faster without it during this race.
Iain Jones was the runner in front of me and at first I felt confident that I would run him down, no problem, but then the climb got to me. The climb from the turnaround point was tough and wears on you. After it peaks, there’s a bunch of ups and downs over the next several miles. I’d close on Iain during a few of the ups and think I’ve got him, but once I’d reach the top of the climb I’d see he’d put a good gap on me again until we reach the next climb. Damn, he was doing it right – easy on the up-hills to save yourself to run hard on the flats.
I was starting to wear myself out trying to chase Iain down so quickly. I had to remind myself I had 13 miles left to do it in, so I eased back on the pace and recouped some strength. Coming into the Ridge Park aid station (the biggest one on the course), I saw Iain was kind of dawdling and enjoying the company of the large aid station crew. I took this as a chance to pounce. I asked for a water refill of my bottle, ignored offers of food and other drinks, glanced over one table for a gel pack, didn’t see any, but grabbed an electrolyte tablet and I was off!
Leaving the aid station Michelle Barton’s dad gave me a big grin ‘cause I made a pass for position in the aid station. I jetted down the hill and back on the trail with a few seconds lead of Iain, but he made it back up pretty quick. He’s a tall guy with long legs and I knew it’d be tough for me to out run him on the flats. After we crested one hill and started going down a rough single track, Iain dropped off. When the course leveled out again, he caught back up. This is where I realized my strength over him as a runner – technical downhills. Coming up in another mile was the most technical downhill section on the course. If I could push on this flat section and keep him behind me, I could probably put some massive distance on him in the downhill.
I blasted down the trail like I was running a half marathon, all the while I could hear Iain’s big footsteps behind me, but I held him off coming to the peak of Rattle Snake. Then the technical downhill started and I hopped and leaped over those rocks as fast as I could in an effort to shake the big South African. Once I got to the bottom I looked back, and sure enough I had a good minute lead on him. I still kept my pace going, but made many a look over my shoulder to see where my adversary was. I normally never look over my shoulder, but I normally am not in the position for an overall podium and the chance to win some cool Oakley sunglasses, so I was really interested in keeping tabs on the people behind me.
When it came to the last couple of climbs, I was pretty tired, and my right achilies was hurting, but I had felt worse. Once I reached the final aid station I knew all the hard stuff was behind me and it was literally all downhill from here. I still did a lot of looking over my shoulder but was pretty relaxed and knew I had it. If need be I could push a tad harder. Once I rounded the corner for the final straight to the finish line I suddenly felt like I could run 100mph. I charged for the finish line pretty hard and could have broken into a full sprint, but didn’t because I thought that would have looked dumb. As I neared the finish line I glanced down at my Garmin and saw that I was going to break 4:30 – that’s a pretty fast time for a 50k, though this was a fast course.
After crossing the finish line I felt elated, but also that I could throw up, which totally sucks because I wanted to scarf down on all the food they had at the finish line. I did manage to get a veggie burger down and some chips, but not a whole lot else. Though when Molly handed me my new Oakley’s for finishing 3rd overall, I felt a whole lot better.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Why The Hell Do I Like To Run So Far?
Me becoming an ultra runner was a few years in the making. I picked up Dean Karnazes Ultramarathon Man book in the spring of 2006 after I heard about it on a morning radio show. I actually bought it for my mom as a birthday present, but read part of it because I was intrigued by the ever popular eat-a-pizza-while-running story. I love eating and if this was a way I could eat a whole pizza and not become a fat-ass, I was all for it.
It wasn’t until November of 2009 that I actually did my first ultra-distance race – the Santa Monica 50k. I finished 12th overall in a time of 5:36. That may have been my first ultra, but I’d been racing a lot the previous few years, but all short distances - 5k to 5 miles. I liked the short distance stuff because I was always a sprinter, but after doing an ultra, I loved how there’s so much strategy in it. In something shorter than a half-marathon, you just go out and run your ass off for whatever distance the race is, but the longer the race is, the more thought and preparation goes into actually running the race. You have to have patience, listen to your body and be disciplined.
Ultras have gotten me to take on new challenges that I never thought possible, before. I’ve run 61 miles in one 12 hour stint. I’ve run 30 miles in under four and a half hours. The training runs and the actual ultra races have allowed me to experience the beauty of the outdoors I otherwise would miss. I’ve also made some good friends as a part of the running club, the SoCal Trail Headz and I can eat by the shovel full.
The human body can endure some pretty amazing feats of endurance, but you have to get off the couch to experience it.
It wasn’t until November of 2009 that I actually did my first ultra-distance race – the Santa Monica 50k. I finished 12th overall in a time of 5:36. That may have been my first ultra, but I’d been racing a lot the previous few years, but all short distances - 5k to 5 miles. I liked the short distance stuff because I was always a sprinter, but after doing an ultra, I loved how there’s so much strategy in it. In something shorter than a half-marathon, you just go out and run your ass off for whatever distance the race is, but the longer the race is, the more thought and preparation goes into actually running the race. You have to have patience, listen to your body and be disciplined.
Ultras have gotten me to take on new challenges that I never thought possible, before. I’ve run 61 miles in one 12 hour stint. I’ve run 30 miles in under four and a half hours. The training runs and the actual ultra races have allowed me to experience the beauty of the outdoors I otherwise would miss. I’ve also made some good friends as a part of the running club, the SoCal Trail Headz and I can eat by the shovel full.
The human body can endure some pretty amazing feats of endurance, but you have to get off the couch to experience it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)