Well its another year. I have to say that I am getting even more ultrasore as the years pile on. I now seem to be coming down with a cold. I have built up a mileage base of 30 to 40 miles but have dropped that off due to icy surfaces and lack of drive. Its the new year and I will hit the trails again tomorrow morning. I am working towards the John Dick 50K but may have to skip due to a tenant moving out from our condo in Del Rey Oaks that will require us to head west in early Feb.
Badgers lost another Rose Bowl this evening. They made a gallant effort but just could not pull it off.
My goal this year is to post more than 2 or 3 entries for the year. Yeah!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Monday, August 15, 2011
Restart
I don't know what its like for others. I really don't know much about training routines or schedules. My personal running schedule is something like this:
1. Around January, make some sort of goals for spring runs around here
2. Start training and increasing mileage from my base of mid 20's and 8-10 mile long runs
3. April,May and June run a few good local ultras; usually with insufficient base and not enough long runs.
4. Try to keep running in the summer; usually not very effective due to heat/humidity; weekly miles drops down to about 20 to 30 miles.
5. Enter a Fall ultra (last few years I have run the Glacial Trails 50 mile. Have a terrible run and stagger into the finish around 10 to 11 hours.
6. Drop back down to 20 to 30 mile weeks
I guess that for me it is really tough to maintain high mileage year round. I think I am going to try to develop a new strategy that will keep the base levels OK but not kill me. I just have to figure it out.
1. Around January, make some sort of goals for spring runs around here
2. Start training and increasing mileage from my base of mid 20's and 8-10 mile long runs
3. April,May and June run a few good local ultras; usually with insufficient base and not enough long runs.
4. Try to keep running in the summer; usually not very effective due to heat/humidity; weekly miles drops down to about 20 to 30 miles.
5. Enter a Fall ultra (last few years I have run the Glacial Trails 50 mile. Have a terrible run and stagger into the finish around 10 to 11 hours.
6. Drop back down to 20 to 30 mile weeks
I guess that for me it is really tough to maintain high mileage year round. I think I am going to try to develop a new strategy that will keep the base levels OK but not kill me. I just have to figure it out.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Winter Running Again
It feels like it has been a cold winter. There have been several periods with wind chills below -10F. As I mentioned last year, I do have a routine and set of clothes.
Here was my morning:
Wake at 6AM, put on long underwear, wind briefs and running tights, long sleeve shirt, wind coat and fleece pullover, socks, balaclava, hat, light two pairs of gloves. This takes about 15 minutes to find and put it all on. Stagger out the door and head up to Owen Park (right behind my house). I run up Old Sauk to warm up and then enter the park from above. We have about 16 inches of snow pack but it has been over a week since the big snow so things are packed a bit.
I wanted to run on 'trails' to see how it is going after my drop at the John Dick 50K last weekend. The morning was beautiful with a pink light glowing over the snow as the sun rose above the horizon. I could look in the distance at steam rising above the buildings at Hilldale and the UW campus.
I ran about 6 miles and change and called it a morning. I got back and noticed I was covered with frost and ice around my face. The temperature was -11F with wind chills at -25 or so. Another winter morning run.
Here was my morning:
Wake at 6AM, put on long underwear, wind briefs and running tights, long sleeve shirt, wind coat and fleece pullover, socks, balaclava, hat, light two pairs of gloves. This takes about 15 minutes to find and put it all on. Stagger out the door and head up to Owen Park (right behind my house). I run up Old Sauk to warm up and then enter the park from above. We have about 16 inches of snow pack but it has been over a week since the big snow so things are packed a bit.
I wanted to run on 'trails' to see how it is going after my drop at the John Dick 50K last weekend. The morning was beautiful with a pink light glowing over the snow as the sun rose above the horizon. I could look in the distance at steam rising above the buildings at Hilldale and the UW campus.
I ran about 6 miles and change and called it a morning. I got back and noticed I was covered with frost and ice around my face. The temperature was -11F with wind chills at -25 or so. Another winter morning run.
Happy 2011
Well...... The new year has started out rather ominously. I ran the John Dick 50K last weekend and did not have a good run. I made it to about 20 miles but then dropped. The surface was just too soft. I don't know how to describe t but it seemed to be about 2 to 6" of cold soft snow that you just couldn't get enough friction. I guess I just wussed out but I was at about 4 1/2 hrs after 30K and realized it would be a 7 hr day. I had already had plenty of exercise so I felt there was no point to just keep plodding along at 14 minute miles. I am still conflicted about this as I almost always finish what I start.
Anyway, I like this even. Good job by the Badgerland Striders and RD Robert Wehner.
Anyway, I like this even. Good job by the Badgerland Striders and RD Robert Wehner.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Tangent
My brain has been churning for a few days after the midterm elections. I am a political junkie of sorts. I oscillate between hope and severe cynicism. Anyway I think there may be something at play that I wanted to jot down.
I think there is national funk going on. I think that many people (especially outside the Washington beltline) are starting to feel that the best times are behind the USA. They see that incomes are flat or falling while at the same time things (health care, food, utilities) are increasing in price, even though the government says that inflation is flat or non existent. Young people have to go into debt to get through college and still cannot get a job. Senior citizens see their life savings riding on the stock market roller coaster or no cost of living increases from Social Security.
\
What this all means is that people are scared, angry and frustrated. What do you do when you are in this funk?
1. You can become a Tea Bagger . Yes government is failing to solve anything. They keep spending money they do not have.
2. You can latch on political party and hope beyond logic that they will finally do what they say in the soundbites.
3. You can look for someone to blame for all the problem: illegal immigrant, socialists, aliens?
4. You give up. You do not vote because you believe (with some good logic) that nothing will change.
We are in trouble! Why would the same parties that have been in charge for the last 100 years do something radical to change the direction of the country? If you add in the factor of money and special influence, it is unlikely that we will see any real change in the next several years. A Tea party activists is not much different from a hard core Democratic party idealist. I think they hold these strong and passionate beliefs because the alternative is to accept that it possibly hopeless.
I got into a heated discussion with someone after a 'progressive rally'. This person was criticizing me because I was critical of Obamas middling health care reform, lack of follow through on closing Guantanamo and the practise of assassinations of both foreigners and US citizens without any due process. His point was that we have to support the Democrats because the alternative is so much worse.
I really hope that is not what we have come to. I also feel that things are in a bad shape in this country. We cannot continue to do nothing because we are sliding backwards.
I often fantasize about a party or group of leaders who would lay out a vision for the future. I hope that things do not get much worse before we see some alternative future.
I think there is national funk going on. I think that many people (especially outside the Washington beltline) are starting to feel that the best times are behind the USA. They see that incomes are flat or falling while at the same time things (health care, food, utilities) are increasing in price, even though the government says that inflation is flat or non existent. Young people have to go into debt to get through college and still cannot get a job. Senior citizens see their life savings riding on the stock market roller coaster or no cost of living increases from Social Security.
\
What this all means is that people are scared, angry and frustrated. What do you do when you are in this funk?
1. You can become a Tea Bagger . Yes government is failing to solve anything. They keep spending money they do not have.
2. You can latch on political party and hope beyond logic that they will finally do what they say in the soundbites.
3. You can look for someone to blame for all the problem: illegal immigrant, socialists, aliens?
4. You give up. You do not vote because you believe (with some good logic) that nothing will change.
We are in trouble! Why would the same parties that have been in charge for the last 100 years do something radical to change the direction of the country? If you add in the factor of money and special influence, it is unlikely that we will see any real change in the next several years. A Tea party activists is not much different from a hard core Democratic party idealist. I think they hold these strong and passionate beliefs because the alternative is to accept that it possibly hopeless.
I got into a heated discussion with someone after a 'progressive rally'. This person was criticizing me because I was critical of Obamas middling health care reform, lack of follow through on closing Guantanamo and the practise of assassinations of both foreigners and US citizens without any due process. His point was that we have to support the Democrats because the alternative is so much worse.
I really hope that is not what we have come to. I also feel that things are in a bad shape in this country. We cannot continue to do nothing because we are sliding backwards.
I often fantasize about a party or group of leaders who would lay out a vision for the future. I hope that things do not get much worse before we see some alternative future.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
What Happened to the Year
Okay. Its still only October and the summer weather has not moved out yet. It was in the 80's last week which is a bit of a drag because last weekend was the Glacial Trail 50 mile race that I vowed to get revenge for a breakdown two years ago. Well, the good news is that that trail kicked by sorry ass again. I think I may have topped my time by 3 minutes from 10 hr and 58 minutes to 10 hr and 55 minutes - now the two slowest 50 mile times I have ever run (if you want to call it that).
Race recap - Kudos to Robert Wehner and all the volunteers. It is a blast to see Tom and Lorraine Bunk, Julie Treder, etc. at the aid stations. I ran the first half in 4hr 30 minutes and then I bonked for the next 6 1/2 hrs. I remember seeing Christine Crawford at the mile 30 aid station. I plopped down in the shade next to her and she asked if I was done. I replied that I was done but I was going on. It was about 5 miles past there that I had a bad vomiting episode where I lost all the fluids I had consumed for the prior 30 minutes. I could get nutrition to stay down. At Baker Lake, Julie T and Lorraine B. gave me ice and ginger ale and I plonked down for another 10 minutes before staggering on. I kept waiting for the second or third wind. Maybe I did get them because I finished but I cannot really differentiate between struggle and hope.
Next Year dammit!
Race recap - Kudos to Robert Wehner and all the volunteers. It is a blast to see Tom and Lorraine Bunk, Julie Treder, etc. at the aid stations. I ran the first half in 4hr 30 minutes and then I bonked for the next 6 1/2 hrs. I remember seeing Christine Crawford at the mile 30 aid station. I plopped down in the shade next to her and she asked if I was done. I replied that I was done but I was going on. It was about 5 miles past there that I had a bad vomiting episode where I lost all the fluids I had consumed for the prior 30 minutes. I could get nutrition to stay down. At Baker Lake, Julie T and Lorraine B. gave me ice and ginger ale and I plonked down for another 10 minutes before staggering on. I kept waiting for the second or third wind. Maybe I did get them because I finished but I cannot really differentiate between struggle and hope.
Next Year dammit!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Summer
Summer...... It has been a hot and balmy summer here in south central Wisconsin. Running has been OK. I have not been able to really get long runs in. I did run the Madison Marathon with my buddy Tom. The race was called around 4 hrs because of heat but I finished in around 3hr 35' which got me a 3rd place in my age group. Kind of a nice surprise.
Summer running is when you get up knowing you will lose about 1 to 2 pints an hour to sweat. It is hard to carry or access enough water to do long runs. Then there are the bugs. If you run in the woods, you can outrun the mosquitoes but the black flies will get you. If you stop or slow down too much, then the mosquitoes will swarm you and take blood. I am not really complaining because summer running is a real challenge and its a blast to try to work through it.
Summer running is when you get up knowing you will lose about 1 to 2 pints an hour to sweat. It is hard to carry or access enough water to do long runs. Then there are the bugs. If you run in the woods, you can outrun the mosquitoes but the black flies will get you. If you stop or slow down too much, then the mosquitoes will swarm you and take blood. I am not really complaining because summer running is a real challenge and its a blast to try to work through it.
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