Rogue Halloween Party

There were some groovy costumes there last night.

But Joe was the most beautiful...

Do I smell smoke??

The Burn... 400m at 10K & MGP for 10 miles. Thank you Cheryl for keeping me on track (and on the track!!) I am slowly feeling better and getting somewhat of a stride back. Cheryl and I rocked on our paces.

The MGP laps were between 1:57 and 2:01. (a 7:48 to 8:04 pace)
The 10K laps were between 1:43 and 1:47 (a 6:52 to 7:08 pace)

I would have to say that Cheryl looks to be ready to hammer her goal in SA. It was nice to run with someone who is steadier than me and who noticed that we were at the 10 mile maximum... THANK GOD!!

New shoes! Asics Hyperspeed 2. I got a little blister on the bottom of my foot but I think I had some gravel in there. So what...that was fun. Still, perhaps I should buy more shoes... hmmmmmm. I do love those Zoots...

Annual Halloween Poem

A Horribly Horsy Halloween
by Julia Wolffe 1998



I heard it through my bedroom window, thunder in the night,
It was 10pm on Halloween and gave me such a fright!
First very faint, then louder, louder to a deafening roar,
Then just as quickly, it was quiet and I heard no more.
I lied there silent in my bed, straining to hear a sound,
I fretted an hour, tossed and turned, watched the clock go round.
Then I thought I might have heard it, the tap of hoof to earth,
Should I go to the window? What was knowing worth?
I waited longer, sure I heard a bump here and there.
The window curtain slightly lifted from the cold night air.
And then the noise that beckoned me, a nicker deep and low,
It had to be horses in the dark, summoning me to go.
Oh so quiet, there I walked, to the window sill,
I focused my eyes to the black and stood very still.
Jet black horses, there they waited, for me to get out of bed.
Long curly manes, hooves like knives, eyes of dark, blood red.
I never hesitated but out I ran, barefoot and alone,
The horses turned and gazed at me, eyes as dead as stone.
And in an instant they spun around and disappeared in the gloom.
I stood bewildered in the light that drifted from my room.
I was afraid but could not go in so I sat down in the grass.
Listening and shivering in the cold, I watched the moon drift pass.
I fell asleep and in my dreams I saw them once again.
Dark black horses with blood red eyes, haters of all men.
And in my dreams I could not tame them no matter how I tried,
I followed them with a wishful heart until it broke and I died.
It was still dark when I awoke and it took a moment to see,
That the black horses with blood red eyes stared down at me.
I jumped to my feet and tried to scream, remembering the dream before,
But instead the noise that I made was a stallion’s roar!
Gone were the tethers of my human body, I galloped to join the herd.
I bucked and reared and leapt around with the freedom of a bird.
I never looked back as we raced away and I never was again seen.
I live with the black horses with the blood red eyes who came on Halloween.

Half Halt

Ok, who am I to bitch? (last post) My patient today is having a hard time breathing and understanding why she still is...

This morning I got to have the wind in my face, the company of my friends, and the use of my legs...be they ever so dragging. Not so bad for this day of mine on earth.

Besides that, one of my kids (and her horse) just won the Area Championships this past weekend. Check out this awesome photo:

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/photocard.aspx?pc=59230C2E1D5B2EFB60DCF9CA08EF2C47

It is an awesome day!

Hills were Hell...

Damn, and I like this run...

I was finally feeling a little fitter on my long run on Saturday. Went out for a little 5 miler last night and felt fine. Got up this morning...cool weather YAY!!! My warm up miles felt fine but then I got to Stratford... Now, I actually like Stratford (in a masochistic kinda way) but this morning was not my day. I fizzled out on the FIRST hill and never really got going. I did both loops, I ran ok on Lake Austin, but my hill running was NOT running...it was kinda a shuffle. My stomach was a little on strike this morning so I did skip breakfast. I am sure (and hoping) that this had something to do with my slogging. It wasn't anything in particular...just no get up and go. Thursday I will be choking down my oatmeal (yuk!) at 4am whether my tummy wants it or not...

How the Body Glides.

I never had to use body glide when I first started running. Midway through Pikes training I learned its usefulness in protecting sensitive underarm skin from the sports bra...all good.

Well, I don't know what it is lately but I have needed to use it for some of my long runs...a little on the arms, a little on the thighs, and once near my shoe tops. Ok, I am cool with that...except today...I forgot it. Needless to say, this turned out to be one of those "need it" days because for whatever reason, my inner thighs (sorry, maybe TMI) turned to sandpaper. Yowza! So, I came home and figured out how to get in the shower after losing a layer (or more!!!) of skin. Now I will share it with you:

From the baby department (thank you granddaughter June) I grabbed some Desitin (yes, it is stinky) and in the most brave fashion, I slathered it all over my missing skin areas before hitting the water. Hey, pain management is for running...not for showering or bathing. Takes a while to wash this off but man, was it worth it!

Issues...

My Lord... a poll on CNN asked people which issues were the most important to them in the coming election. These were the top 5 (in order)

Economy
Health care
Terrorism
War in Iraq
Illegal immigration

What the Hell? These are important BUT without EDUCATION none of them will ever be fixed...

CV workout

I really love (most of the time) running on the track. The track is a whole new "pain" experience and one that I thoroughly enjoy. The soft surface takes away all the aches in the legs and hips. It is pretty hard to get lost...lose count maybe but lost, no. It is far easier for me to feel tempo. I just watch the white line going by and imagine rolling... The "pain" experience is the burn of the lungs. I kinda like that. I feel like I am blowing out all the dust and pollen that I have gulped down on my outdoor job. Very cool.

Today was 4 x 2000 at Eastside track...15K (Critical Velocity) pace. While I am still in a quandry as to what that is for me...I was careful to listen to Steve telling us the benefit of the exercise. This is not too fast or slow, just enough to work with a little oxygen debt. The pace is one you are supposed to be comfortable running for 45 minutes. Mine went like this:

set 1 = 7:11 pace...a little quick
set 2 = 7:18 pace...better
set 3 = 7:17 pace...cool
set 4 = 7:11 pace...I actually felt good

I was "supposed" to be somewhere between a 7:25 to 7:45 pace for this one according to my anticipated marathon goal. But, I do believe the pace was good, even if it wasn't quite on target. It felt right. I am so glad that I am starting to feel better. I added my 100% iron cereal back into my diet a month ago. Could this be helping??? Who knows? I've got my sights on Boston...

Rest of the story...

Palo Duro 50K. I get so wrapped up in the cerebral side of things I sometimes forget the "nuts and bolts" stuff. Anyway, I did start my run career with trail running and I did it almost exclusively for my first year. I have noticed that some of my team mates still toy with it... Mike immediately comes to mind, among others... It makes sense to me that it is a useful tool. It jostles you around a little more and tends to loosen things up. It encourages you to find that sense of proprioception that helps you to be more aware of your body moving through space. It encourages you to be more light on your feet by the addition of sprain threatening stones and roots. It really works your feet just by your movement across the undulating ground.

Palo Duro trails were a little muddy, a little sandy, a little rocky, a little hard packed, a little cracked... lots of change with nothing too severe. Most trails were relatively soft from recent rains. The climbs and descents were enough to be interesting but not enough to labor you. The race was smallish... about 200 in the 20K, much less in the 50K, and even less in the 50 miler. I believe under 500 people total. It was still a bad idea to start out in the rear of the pack as there were many strolling type run/walkers who were just out to enjoy the hike. It was pretty impossible to pass at first... the 50K/50 mile bunch started in the dark and were forced to use head lamps to see the trail. The possibility of cactus in the grass off of the single track trail was strong. No wanting to run in that!! The first loop was only 6 miles so we were all able to ditch our lamps and grab supplies before heading out on the longer loops. The cool bite in the air lasted most of the morning although the canyon on the back side of the course got hot once the sun got high... I could see how this could have been horribly hot (as it was last year apparently!) Even this year got some heat exhaustion victims, despite the fact that the aid stations were plentiful and very well stocked. On the flip side of that, the nimble, experienced trail runner boys blasting past me to run the 50 mile run looked like deer as they galavanted over this pretty forgiving terrain. And, hot as the back side got, the last miles in amongst the trees along the river (part of the Red River starts in this region) was shady and soft. There was a bit of a fight with the local bee population as the day wore on... who can blame them??? Coke, m&ms, and snickers...c'mon, it WAS bee heaven! They weren't too aggressive, you just had to make sure you didn't eat or drink one! And lastly, the volunteers were awesome. The head race director, "Red" had died just the month before so it was quite emotional for all of them. They were SO thankful that so many runners had come.

Anyway, my feet were sore from the changing landscape but I believe the workout and stretching effect was good for them in the long run. I am not ready to head back to the trails full time yet but I hope to keep enthused about doing some of my base building work on the trails. I do believe this stuff gives you a core strength like nothing else. Your buddies love pulling up the lawn chairs out there communing with nature and waiting for you to come in. And the well liked recovery beverage of choice seems to often times be beer. That is good for your hair, right?

Palo Duro 50K

Gee, it was great to see how well my team mates did at the IBM 10K when I got home from this race. I am looking forward to joining everyone for our next race outing!

I did my own thing with my boyfriend John this past weekend. We both ran in our first 50K at Palo Duro Canyon in the panhandle. Weather was GREAT!! 40s in the morning and 70s in the afternoons (although race day probably hit 80s. It was a long drive (8 hours I think...John drove the whole thing!!) but it was so nice to have the RV to camp in. We stayed at the canyon and enjoyed the scenery, weather, lack of traffic AND cell phone reception, and the great company of fellow runners.

I held on to my race plan for this race...no racing, no Garmin, just do the mileage. I was a little worried about the mileage since I have been having issues with anything above 16 miles and I have only finished 3 20 milers. But, Steve told me to walk it if I had to...just do the miles. I had the perfect day for sticking to plan. I started out at the back (and in the dark!!) for the first two miles but realized that this was not the place to be when one of my buddies told me that the walk/running thing that we were doing had taken 35 minutes to go 2 miles!!!!!! So, we carefully (cactus!!) passed the pack of walk/runners and hit a steady, quiet pace. I stayed at this pace the entire last 29 miles and concentrated on relaxing, ignoring the pain in my feet, and just staying steady. I took my time at the aid stations and thought about what I was eating and drinking. I managed my calories pretty well. I hung out with an over heated runner for a little while. I tried to envision the canyon 100 years ago. It was long but I did (finally) a substantial bunch of miles and was no worse for the wear...

So, this was a good learning experience. I showed myself that I could listen to Steve AND I could relax and think about what I was doing. It was weird though. I know that all of us should try to experience all sides of something if we are to learn all the lessons that we need to know. I thought about this on the way home.

A relaxed "race" is a foreign concept to me. What is relaxed and what is indifferent? I know that I need the lessons of relaxing into my moment or my race pace but will I just get complacent...until I suffer from boredom??? What is this no man's land that I am in?? I am so happy that I completed ALL those miles but knowing that I did not compete seems weird... as if my race was still somehow incomplete. I did not even look at the placings... my old lessons of "you either win or you don't" ever swirling around in the depths of my brain.

Again, I want to learn all these lessons RIGHT NOW because I am impatient. I want to know that I can learn to relax at speed like so many of my buddies are learning to do. I want to know what MY speed is. I want to win. I want, I want, I want...

And then I think about the moment at Palo Duro, on the canyon side of the run. I slowed to round a corner and looked at the red layers of rock on the magnificent canyon wall. I thought about my run on Pike's Peak, when I ran alone above treeline and in my oxygen depraved state felt as if I belonged with that mountain. In that moment, I felt very connected to the strength of that mountain...and I ran home strong and fast.

I think that this is the relaxation that I am searching for...not a lethargic ho-hum kinda run but a joyful kinda run. Somewhere in the last year of injury, menopause, and just plain being a psycho I had lost that place. What I didn't realize was that I wasn't lost at all... I was just progressing along as I am supposed to. Peaks and valleys... just like running the rollers...

I spent last night looking at all the different "practice" marathons that I could run around the country. I plan to keep on rolling...

Not so Dead Zone

It is interesting that I have had a lot of discussions about death lately (and NO it is not from any of our work outs!!) Buddy Roger's mom is sick, my girlfriend's dad has pancreatic cancer, another girlfriend's mom died last week, buddy Ken has lost loved ones lately, and I am a Hospice volunteer...my patients usually don't see another 6 months... We even discussed death at office hours last night. Just shows you that it is a real part of life.

Obviously, I am often surrounded by death and I have been for years...losing friends and family many times in my life so far. But it was the death of my mother, almost two decades after my father, that gave me my understanding of it.

I won't go too deep into my reasons for joining Hospice. Suffice it to say that I think that someone's death is a very sacred and important time in their life. Unless the death is sudden, the time that someone is approaching their death is ALL about them. I am honored that I get to spend final days with people. Regardless of how they handle these days, this is the time that they are most human... most humble, most fragile, most alive... Some times I wonder if the grueling long runs that we do are my version of coming as close as possible (in a healthy way!) of feeling these feelings of human fragility and strength.

Fragility and strength... hummmm... aren't these the deep qualities of love???

My other understanding of death came when my mother followed my father in death and I was left an "orphan." My family is small and other than a niece, nephew, daughter, and granddaughter, I only have two living sisters. They are older than me so that puts me 3rd "in line" on the end of life scale. All these things kinda make you wonder about your mortality. It makes you wonder what your own life has been about. It can make you feel small and alone...until you realize that your daughter has your eyes or your friends use one of your favorite sayings or your students talk about traveling the world... and then you see your immortality right in front of you!

And I thought of this. And I realized that my parents (and others I had lost) were not dead either. All of those that touched my life were all inside of me (and by this were passed on to others.) I am the greatest gift to them because I do not let them die. And they are the greatest gift to me because they have made me who I am.

I will be running (I think!!) the Palo Duro 50K this weekend. I will call on my mother for stubborness and my father for humor. I will run on their merits and live on their strengths. I will just add a little of my own chutzpah on the gifts that they gave me (and continue to give me.) And then, I will come home and tell EVERYONE all about my adventure. Ahhhh, immortality... ain't it grand??

Don't ya love 200s?

I am still a green enough runner to actually enjoy running around and around on the track. Maybe it is comfortable because I am used to riding around and around an arena...or maybe I just enjoy how soft it is or the games I play going around and watching the white line on the track (you probably should not even ask...) Anyway, I did plan on really holding my 5K pace on the workout yesterday but I ran my sets faster than my MGP would indicate I should. So, in my effort to learn and become less green I went to office hours and asked Steve about it. Did I goof up and set my training back 6 months???? (ok, a little over dramatic...) Steve was ok with me enjoying my "speed" in our workout. His directive: If you run your sets faster, just make sure you can hold them all the same with a similar effort. Ok, I think I can do that... I just gotta pay attention...

Stupid is as stupid does

And I don't believe that I did anything stupid on the Soul Buster II. Is that possible??? I am trying a new thing...listen to the coach... It isn't that I do not listen to Steve. I think Steve is the greatest ever!! But I like to listen to what I like and disregard the rest. I have spent a lot of time trying to prove that I can skip stages in my running training. But, it caught up with me and now I am committed to listen to Steve (and to Katie reminding me to listen to Steve!!)

At one of the office hours a while back Mike asked me why I was running after listening to my diatribe on everything that was wrong with my running. I thought about this question for about a week...maybe longer...and I deciphered out every good thing that was a given - my running friends, scenery, being fit, etc. I thought about pure, basic, raw... the act of running. I realized that my reason for running was the same one that got me into it - running makes me feel alive. Breathing, sweating, heart beating running...so alive.

So I thought about this as we all set off on Soul Buster II. Steve had set up a little change in my workout (seeing how I had only 2 20 milers under my belt and still feeling kinda rough.) So I enjoyed my buddies until the 16 mile turn around and then (with a little guilt) watched them head away to run longer. I went to the track and did 2 miles at MGP, 2 miles at HMGP, and then a cool down. No 10K miles and no jog back to Rogue (since John picked me up at the track.) I had that pang of guilt as my girlfriends set off to jog back to Rogue and that little old feeling of inadequacy started to creep back in.

I went over to say bye to my coach before I headed off with John. Steve was all excited that everyone had run SO well and he actually looked kinda proud. So I sheepisly told him that I did what he told me to and that I did not run the 10K miles. I felt ashamed somehow. Then, in Steve fashion he said, "Well good, I knew you weren't ready."

I looked back on my buddies about to run to Rogue as I walked to the car and I thought of how proud I was of all of them too. What an awesome bunch of runners!!! Then I thought about what Steve said and I realized that when he "knew I wasn't ready" that it did not mean that I was a failure. It just meant I wasn't ready YET. I did the workout that he layed out for me. I listened!!! And, I ran 22 miles without having to walk or whine (too much!) I ran the hills, I ran the track, I did what I was supposed to do.

What that means to me: I belong in our awesome group of runners. Very cool.

Boo Boo?

And I am not talking Halloween here or about some little bear that hangs with Yogi. Did I mess up this morning or what??

I mean, I am happy that I did my paces close to what I wanted AND I stayed pretty regular without checking my pace on my watch. (I had my Garmin on but have switched off the “lap pace” setting so I can’t monitor myself while running.) So tempo wise I did it “naked” and it was pretty good. Take a look:

4 400s @ 1:41, 1:46, 1:47, 1:44
2 800s @ 3:36, 3:36
1600 @ 7:27
2 800s @ 3:39, 3:32
4 400s @ 1:44, 1:45, 1:44, 1:41

Yippee ki yay on staying kinda regular! That said, here is my question. Was I supposed to use my 10k pace according to my MGP according to the calculator calculation and then just divide it up myself into 400, 800, and 1600 times??? I did not do that. Instead, I went on the McMillan Calculator and looked (after punching in my marathon goal on the first page) at the times that were down for long distance runner speed workouts since it was already divided up into the distances. Looking back, I can see that they are not always what my 10K pace is supposed to be… Uh, I think I just answered my question.

What an idiot. hahaha I am listening Steve…I swear!!!! It just takes a little jolt now and again! 10K! 10K! 10K! Got it…

10K paces at 3:30 MGP (you can’t expect me to just suddenly listen ALL the time Steve) are: 1:48 (400) 3:36 (800) 7:12 (1600)
10k paces at 3:45 MGP are: 1:56 (400) 3:52 (800) 7:44 (1600)
And checking back on McMillan it looks as though these times correspond to the Stamina workout times. Ok…

What did I learn? Listen to the ENTIRE workout description…Use Rogue Calculator paces and do your own math…Steve is right, be realistic about your MGP and don’t try to push the improbable at this stage in the game. I just gotta stay under 4:05 in 26.2 to qualify for Boston…Focus Julia Focus!!!!!!!!!!

About Me

OMG, suddenly I have a verbal diarrhea (why is that such a vile word no matter how it is used?) of analogies between my horse training (past life) and my running (present life.) Skip all these epiphanies if they bore you but I hope some of you will be inclined to share some of your own with me. Either way, I am enjoying trying to sort out the s--t (no pun intended) that makes me tick.

Kirsten's comment on my previous post elaborated on the importance of "attention" or being present. In looking back, this is something that I had to learn over time in my dealings with horses. It was very easy to demand MY agenda (horses are so giving and easy) and disregard any input from the horse...uh, the one that is actually doing most of the work!! But a sound piece of advice from an old (Xenophon, BC 431 - 350 no kidding!) riding master hung with me: "For what the horse does under compulsion is done without understanding; and there is no beauty in it either, any more than if one should whip and spur a dancer.” And I took that to heart...and I learned to be present with my horses. Focus on that horse in that moment.

Did I apply this great knowledge to myself? NO!!! I didn't have to. I could carefully make EVERYTHING about the horse or its rider. Of course, the horses are quick to show you who you are but that wasn't enough. Between the horse and myself, I was the person I like...friendly, loyal, understanding, a leader, blah, blah, blah. But I did not have to be that way with ME. To myself I could be as rotten and mean and apathetic as I wanted. As long as I could throw a leg over a horse it never had to be ABOUT ME.

Then came running.

So today I did my recovery run over my little 3 mile course at home. I didn't dis myself for only going one loop and I took my dog (she has a heart murmer and I have to keep her slow in the heat) so I would purposely go slow. I thought about how Steve told me that I was not good at this and I struggled to come up with some revelations about recovery runs. I wore my Garmin and started to notice that every time I could feel myself "push" that I zipped right out of my designated recovery run pace. I wasn't doing this for the numbers but for the feel that was escaping me. Finally, I took impulsion (thrust, push, whatever you wanna call it) out of the equation and I do believe that I got a true recovery run...just shakin' out the legs. Wow, first time ever by myself... I think I got it!!!

Now this all may seem pretty stupid to some of you (ok, maybe all of you???) but I am not a good listener (yet.) My method of "being present" in my running was to run until I felt like vomiting and then focus on, "don't puke, don't puke, don't puke..." This was not right. I wasn't "present." I was actually disconnected from my running this way. But today, with my pace steadily in recovery run pace and my head focusing on what that felt like (right down to imagining my muscles stretching and the blood and lymph flowing) well... it was all about MY running...all about ME. And ya know what? That felt good.

Rogue Horses?

Running allows you more opportunity to evaluate how your past relates to your present. I was hanging with Steve at Office Hours last night and we started discussing my horse training and coaching with regards to my running. At some point I told Steve about my reputation of “fixing” bad horses, early on in my training career… “Oh, send that one to Julia Wolffe. She is good with rogues.” I found this rather funny seeing how things have turned out…I am still around a buncha rogues!! It is also kind of a weird poetic justice that my body has been a rogue of sorts in this last year or so.

Anyway, Steve asked me what I did with my rogue horses. Did I work them differently or did I have a tried and true methodology? So I told him. It came to light how similar this was to a runner working with his or her own body. Interesting… Basically, I followed a path that covered four main directives which had to be done in order:

ATTENTION – this one varied according to the needs of the individual horse. Some were peaceful and others quite violent…depending on just how ingrained the unacceptable behavior was.

(After the ATTENTION phase, the methodology was rather routine for all)

TRUST – develops communication, willingness, confidence, partnership

RESPECT – establishes direction, focus, leadership, a tone for the partnership

WORK – this is the meat and potatoes stuff that creates progress (which boosts confidence and focus) BUT is only possible after the first 3 directives are met. Work is about consistency and repetition (slog and grind) in your training. Work isn’t about instant gratification. It is about earning your way.

So…isn’t this funny how this so relates to our training of our own bodies to become runner athletes??

The idea of being present that Steve has talked about since the beginning of our training is generally the idea of getting the ATTENTION of your brain for your running. It is the ability to quiet all the “white noise” of both outside and internal demons so you can just focus on your body and your running. ATTENTION to the moment in your training.

Once you can do this then it truly is down to the other three directives. TRUST that you will learn this, that you can do this, and that this is what you want. Teaching your body to RESPECT your knowledge. Having your body RESPECT your brain’s decision to go farther or through the pain because experience tells you that you have done it or faith tells you that you can. And finally, just “walking the walk” and doing the WORK required to get the job done. It should be no surprise that to learn to run, one must run. Duh. All of us have to do the WORK to become the runner that is inside of us.

So on my way to the track tomorrow, I hope I remember to think of my responsibility to my training…attention, trust, respect established in the warm up and then…in the words of Steve Prefontaine, “To give anything less than your very best, is to sacrifice the gift.” So what is my responsibility to my training? Once my brain has told my body what needs to be done, I hope to do my best to follow that path and just put in the WORK.

This is how I plan to grow up to be a runner.

Medium Long 10/7

Did my 15 miles on the South Austin Ramble redo with Nedra this morning. Thanks to Nedra we stayed in a really steady rhythm even though she was having stomach issues all morning! We started out with some scary dude stories and kept that up for a few. But, the weather wasn't nice and cool this morning as we got into our easy/get it done tempos. It did seem to go on forever and at one point Nedra said "I feel like we should be in San Marcos by now!" which I found very amusing. We had lost our other compadres at the 12 mile turn around and were trudging along thinking that we should perhaps turn around at the 14 marker. Then we saw Ruth carefully working her way down the road on her injured leg and were inspired by that. Then we saw our 15 mile runner buddies heading back home and just kept trucking. So we managed to hit the 15 turnaround (although kinda by accident) and headed home ourselves. Getting tired, we slogged up the hill before the church and found Ruth waiting for us with her drunk Irish buddy chatting her ear off. We both found this highly amusing (although I am sure Ruth was a little over it) and it gave us some impulsion for our run back in. I wore my Garmin this morning but did not look at any pacing times...just wanted a mileage log. Plugged it in at home and saw the paces...ugh...but wait, counting in the water stops, lights, and potty breaks we were pretty steady. Maybe one day I will actually be able to do this for myself! Once again, my friends are my inspiration.

Guys? Really...Santa???

Santa is NOT dead
How can that be said?
He is alive in my head.
Perhaps too well fed,
Fashion a little too red,
By a buncha reindeer led,
Ho, ho, ho all he said,
Sneakin' in when you're in bed,
Drives an ol' sleigh, no moped,
And to Mrs. Claus is wed,
Time to be done with this thread...

Bad, bad, bad you non-believers...

Countdown

We are getting closer to our ultimate long run for 2008. CIM here we come.

So I like this "treat every Saturday long run as race preparation" thing. This was talked about at our meeting yesterday. Steve said that all of our quality workouts are designed around the long run and making us feel faster but... the long run is the king... don't skip it and do try to mimic what you plan to do (but running at easy pace NOT mgp) in California. So far, I have never really had a real race plan... ideas, yes but a plan, no. Stuff I have tried before is this:

• Do not go out too fast (so far a dismal failure at this one)
• Squish the cup together to drink your water on the move (dismal failure #2)
• Get in a rhythm (getting better)
• Get enough sleep the night before the night before (trying)
• Have the right nutrition before and after (no clue)

Ok, so I have learned that going out fast does NOT work. Squishing the cup together seems to be a skill that may take me eons. Sleep and rhythm are coming along sorta. Nutrition...ugh...

Going out fast feels kinda good and looks good on the Garmin. But, what I have learned so far in my limited running career is that if you do this, you WILL die out. Patience and an appropriate tempo really is a skill that you have to learn (by doing.) I realize that this is a mental issue for me and that makes it very hard. I have to learn to FEEL and to be able to focus on this feel. I don't think I am too much of an idiot... I really think that this skill is learned by doing and by analyzing what happens with your body on all of your different runs. This will take time AND mileage. (One big benefit to our long distance base phase for sure!!)

Squishing the cup together... damn... why is this SO hard??? Lately I have been carrying the small water bottle thingie ($10 at Rogue) to see how this works. I am considering carrying it in the marathon. It is easy to fill up and relatively easy to carry. It has a small pocket for salt tabs and stuff. It is not as heavy as the bigger trail running bottles. I dunno... I don't like carrying something but maybe???

On to nutrition. I have read, googled, studied, questioned, and gone to Meredith. This is the hardest thing. I think it is a big piece of the puzzle. I think that I got away with sketchy nutrition before because my body was ignorant. Now it knows better. I am working on different things while running and before running nowadays. I know my cramping and (lately) my running out of gas can be improved with the right nutrition but I have a lot of things to learn still yet. I have a lot of questions and love any input that any of you have!!

We have 9 weekends leading to CIM. CIM is on the 9th one and I guess we may taper two others?? So this means only 6 or 7 long runs left before the big day! I see what Steve means now! We have just this many days to iron out what socks to wear, what to eat, when to sleep, and any other "maybes" we may have. Countdown guys!! I need new socks for sure!

Electic Austin Rogue Post

Ok, this is a running blog (or a running at the mouth blog??) My intention was to write a race report on the Texas Twister Trail Race this past weekend. Then, I played my first wiffle ball match on Sunday and wanted to share that. Then, I enjoyed Karen's hospitality, Steve's speech giving, and Ruth's kitchen skills (!!!) at the Rogue team meeting. And THEN, I read Mike's post on the degradation of the world's wildlife population and now have a mix of anger, bewilderment, and frustration swirling about in my head. So...I have no other option than to put it all in a jingle. (to the tune of John Lennon's "Imagine" and for Pete's sake look it up if you honestly don't know that tune!!!!!!!!)

Imagine a Bryan trail run,
30K you can try,
Joe put together a good one,
Not a person did die.
Imagine shady, soft trails,
calling for your feet...

Imagine grown up people
With us that's hard to do
We played with a skinny plastic bat
And a little plastic ball too
Imagine tempting heart attacks
'cause we just wanna have fun... woo hoo...

You may say I'm a lunatic
But you know you are one too,
We have to save the planet earth.
It is up to me and you.

Imagine all your Rogue friends,
Together in a lovely place,
We eat and drink with our buddies
And get excited about our race,
Imagine what we can accomplish,
because we are a team... woo hoo...

You may say I'm a lunatic,
But you know you are one too,
We have to save the planet earth.
It is up to me and you.

And that is all I have to say (sing) about that. Peace and Love.

A Star!

This horse was a crappy jumper...

....but he had a great heart. In true horse fashion, he was a follower...obedient, subservient, and willing to take on whatever personality that was demanded of him. I rode my "All American Boy" to an area championship that was really way beyond his natural abilities as a jumper. But he did it because I told him he could. So what keeps me (or any of us) from believing that well in ourselves?? So many lessons we can learn from our pets!!! This horse was the epitome of "I think I can" and it was under my guidance. He believed me when I told him that he was a star...and then he proved to me that he was. How is that for heart?? He died several years ago (an old man) but when I think about it, I do remember the lesson he taught me... if you believe you can then it will happen. Way to go boy!

Rolling, rolling, rolling

CV workout this morning. I didn't know how it was gonna go but it was ok. How does one do a track/tempo/speed kinda workout when one has NO idea of paces?? That was my concern.

I am one of those runners who struggles with paces. I understand "run until you taste vomit" and I understand (kinda) jog to the workout but I do not understand 15K. To make matters worse, I am a different runner than I was during my last training - ie. different paces again!!! Geez! So this morning I just decided to push a little harder at first since I am feeling quite wimpy on speed. However, I was determined to stay in a non-puke rhythm. This worked but by set #4 I was getting tired and my form and attitude (I am REAL into self-depreciation) started to go to Hell. So, after the first lap I decided to concentrate only on relaxing my breathing...run a 15K speed...what I should be able to do for 9 1/2 miles... My last set then felt fairly slow but this is how it went:

Set 1: 9:15
Set 2: 9:08
Set 3: 9:01
Set 4: 9:13

So basically, just by relaxing my breathing I was able to maintain a similar pace but not feel too stressed by it.

I read "Running Within" by Jerry Lynch/Warren Scott a couple of months ago. It is a good book and talks a lot about attitude and the mental aspects of running. For an ADHD person, who is also very stubborn, it has been easy to agree with the book but much harder to put it into practice. I would much rather just run balls to the wall all the time and not break down. But, that is not how it goes. Balls to the wall is great but I did break down and now I am struggling to reprogram myself. "Running Within" has been a good book to go back to for reference now and again. From treating your fellow competitors as your inspiration (training partners) to learning to RELAX and FOCUS on the moment (and enjoyment) of your run, maybe this book will help me deal with just taking a deep breath now and again. Looks like it worked this morning! Rolling right along...