Lumberjack Days Re-Cap

Lets start by saying this is the fastest year that I can remember for the the Lumberjack Days 10 Miler. Five guys running under 51 minutes?? That's great to see. It was a good day to run, as most of the summer has been. 70ish degrees, a nice wind from the NW, the sun did come out at the start, and there was some humidity, but for July 25th...I am not going to complain. About as nice a day as you could have for July. Which made not being in good shape for this a bit disappointing...but that is/was the plan for the year.

The start was moved up the hill from previous years...must have re-measured the course. Last year there were very few people who wanted to line up on the front line...this year it was packed on the front line. It was nice to see a bunch of the bright yellow Run N Fun jerseys, and to see those jersey's on some younger, good runners. I joked with Kelly, after seeing who was there for the team, that we would look like Team Astana.

The first few miles were alright...struggled to find a good pace or rhythm. I found my rhythm around a mile and half and worked my way up to Pete. Kelly caught up to us at 2 miles, and the three of us hooked up for a few miles, trading off little surges. I crashed down the hill before 3 miles, Kelly kept flying as we bottomed out on the hill. I thought he was pushing it a little too much for that early, and Pete seemed to agree with me as we looked at our 3 mile split, and he yelled something at Kelly. Shortly after 3 miles, we grouped up again, and ran together past 4 miles, up the short hill after the railroad bridge. When it finally leveled out again, Pete put in a move that Kelly or I were not willing to cover. One of those moments when you are mentally weak, and kick yourself later for not trying to cover. So at that point Pete was gone, and Kelly was pulling away. Went through 5 miles in 26:55.

As I reached 6 miles, Pete seemed to almost catch the group in front of us, and Kelly was not pulling away anymore, and I knew when the big downhill started just before 10k, that I would be able to blow by him during that stretch...and it was my hope that I could crash down the hill fast enough to catch Pete again. If I was not confident in my fitness, I was confident in my new found ability to run down a hill at a fast pace. I did catch and pass Kelly with ease, but I failed to gain any ground on Pete and pack he was catching. As we bottomed out just past 7 miles I could feel someone catching me, and it wasn't Kelly. Mike went by me just after 7 miles and put a quick 10 meters on me before I toughened up and decided to go with him. My thought for the next 2 miles as I chipped away at him, was that I would catch him in the final mile, since I know the turns and layout very well. The only problem that occurred...was that I ran out of steam in the final 1/2 mile. I was able to muster an average kick when I knew I had to hustle to get under 54.

With my current state of fitness, I was pleased with this race. I ran only 20 seconds faster last year, and ran the exact same time two years ago. Two years ago I was getting ready for Chicago, and last year I was in better shape. The only difference is that I was fried the previous two years, and each step felt like a struggle. This year I am feeling a bit more fresh, but I am in a little worse shape. So maybe you can call that a wash?? For myself, fitness is more a confidence type of thing, and I had very little confidence or toughness in me on Saturday. The Como Relays start in 10 days, and so does my "real" training. So running 53:59 in a down segment...I will take that. Now I need to work on racing as well as Pete does.

Song of the Day: Computer Camp Love - Datarock

Crying Lightning

The title has nothing to do with anything I am about to write, I just needed a title, and nothing seemed fitting this time.

This week has been a lot like the previous two weeks. Will end up with 6 runs and probably about 70 miles...with no up-tempo efforts, with the exception of the Lumberjack Days 10 Mile on Saturday. The only difference this week is that my legs are starting to feel recovered. The knees do not ache, the quads are feeling fresh. That being said, I still took Wednesday off, because it seems to be the routine now. That will change in August, when the Como Relays start. When I thought about training for the rest of the year, the Como Relays was what I targeted as starting throwing in up-tempo work. So far...I am on schedule.

As far as running the past few days...Monday was a recovery day...just 8 miles, pretty easy. Tuesday was a group run from the store of 12 miles, ran a pretty good pace, but we usually do on Tuesday. Took Wednesday off. Ran at Willow last night with Finch, Tony and Wynn. Felt pretty relaxed, except for the hills (they never feel relaxed).

When Finch and Tony turned in early, it was just Wynn and I for the final 1/2 of the run. We talked about how the trails and races in Vermont/New Hampshire are "different" than around here. You will just randomly encounter a steep grade that you cannot find around the Midwest. That being said, we were talking about running the Mount Washington race next year, and possibly staying out in the area for a week to run the Cranmore Hill Climb the following weekend. The week in between we threw around the idea of getting a group and staying at a condo or camp for the week while exploring the area, the trails, the towns, the micro-brews. Pretty much sounds like a slice of heaven to me...since I was already planning such a trip before talking to Wynn. I guess you could say I am having a shift in focus (in concerns to running) since I find myself getting more excited for trail races and hill climbs than I am about Lumberjack Days or the MDRA 15k.

Song of the Day: Treat Me Like Your Mother - The Dead Weather

The Education

Today I learned more about the marathon, in a two hour time frame, than in any other time (besides the race itself) in my brief marathon running "career". I ran along the Red Cedar Trail just outside of Menominee, Wisconsin with Mike and Finch. It was not from those two that I learned anything new about the marathon. It was from the person who biked along with us, Sean Hartnett, that I learned some insight into the race that has defeated me in four attempts. Nearly everything he told us on the run made sense. He gave each of us a sheet of paper as we left that gave, "10 Ways to think like a marathoner". All good advice, that I have never seemed to consider or follow in the past. Does this make me want to marathon sooner than I had planned? Yes. Will I marathon sooner than I had planned (2011)? I don't know.

Another thing I learned on the run today...I am not in peak, or even good, shape. It was a struggle to hang on at times. I am happy I chose to stay in last night as opposed to going out for the night. If I had gone out, would have missed out on a great learning tool, and I would still be running.

As far as running is concerned...I am running about 70 miles a week right now on 6 runs. No up-tempo work, no strides. I am starting to feel a bit better, but I am going to hold off on adding in up-tempo work til after Lumberjack Days.

Song of the Day: Electric Relaxation - A Tribe Called Quest

The Will or A Way

Both seem to be lacking right now...

I would like to believe that the Cranmore Hill Climb along with combination of not taking a huge break after Green Bay Marathon has caused my current tiredness, but I know that's not entirely true. It seems that each July I just feel tired and slow. And this year is no different. The only difference between this year and the previous 3 years, is that I am not trying to run workouts. I am treating July like I would treat January...running moderate mileage, doing all the drills and exercises, but not attempting anything up-tempo. The funk in July could be a mental thing, but it is not something I am willing to work on...to me it just feels like a good time to take it easy. Plus when we get to the first Wednesday in August the Como Relays begin, and those always get me to jump start the training.

The next few races I have planned could be interesting. Lumberjack Days and the MDRA 15k. We will see how well I can race off of just base work. In the past I have done alright on purely logging miles, but I also haven't felt as tired during the phase. I can usually find motivation for Lumberjack Days since it is the hometown race, but the 15k will be something else.

As far as running the past few weeks...the week between Cranmore and Afton Trail Run, I ran about 45-50 miles, with 2-3 days off, and extremely sore quads. It took 5-6 days for my quads to not hurt while walking down stairs or running down hills.

Last week I logged 72 miles on 6 runs. Pretty happy about that, though I should work on running for 7 days, the day off last week was pure laziness. Again...nothing to special about the last few weeks. Just running to run right now.

Song of the Day: The Blues Are Still Blue - Belle and Sebastian

Cranmore Hill Climb

The Cranmore Hill Climb, mountain race in North Conway, New Hampshire. Never, have I experienced anything remotely close in my running life to what I encountered on Sunday. I read through the course description, looked at all the course photos. Trained at Afton Alps. Was ready for a pace slower than I was accustomed to running...but none of that was remotely close to preparing myself for a mountain race.

When we arrived in the White Mountains area on Friday, we drove around to see the national forest, the mountains, and the area in general. The first few ski areas we encountered has enormous ski hills. When we drove to the actual site of the course, I knew that I was not fully prepared for what we were going to encounter in a few days.

Race morning was a bit different than most race mornings. The weather was cool, but humid. There seemed to be the threat of rain all morning. Driving to the course took only a few minutes. We did not warm up on the course...figured we had to run 2 loops during the race, may as well avoid hills during the warm-up. It is quite a different experience being at a race and not knowing anybody else there. All of the usual crutches that you have for performance measures are non-existent.

Now for the race...if you can call that a race. Started at the bottom, the one of only two flat sections on the course (bottom and top). You start the race by taking a quick right hand turn and the start of the ascent. The course narrows into single track trails within the first 400 meters. I was caught off guard by how fast it went out the initial 400 meters. I was caught behind a lot of people during this initial stretch. When the course opened up a bit, I was able to work my way through the pack, and towards the very back of the lead pack. The climbing was tough, but the pace wasn't too bad yet. I figured the back of this pack was a good place to position myself. Well...then the real climbing started. The first 7-8 guys hit the steep section and kept powering up the hill. I hit the steep section and thought I was going to pass out. Within a matter of seconds I was full-on walking. And not a fast walk. Felt pretty discouraged at this point. 10 minutes into a race, and I am walking?? A quick look behind me saw almost everyone else walking. It was then that I developed an entirely new level of respect for those few guys who kept motoring up the steep hill.

The first steep section seemed to take a while to walk up...and I knew there was a second steep section before the summit. And I was intent on running that entire portion. That didn't happen either. I was experiencing a new level of pain and hurt at this point.

On the drop down the hill...that was a relief. I took the first few minutes of the drop to get control of my breathing, and find a good pace. It took about two minutes to get into aggressive downhill mode. I was pleasantly surprised on the downhill...I was really only passed through the extreme technical portion. I held my place on the rest of the downhill, and even caught the guys who passed me on the technical portion towards the bottom of the hill.

When we got to the bottom of the hill, I felt pretty good. I was catching some guys on the flat, and went through the first lap in 26 minutes, and I knew the winning time was 52 minutes last year, so I knew my pace was decent. On the initial climb up the hill on the 2nd loop, I was catching and passing people. I was thinking that my strength on hills would help me with the 2nd lap. Well...that feeling was short lived. It turns out the steep portions were even more brutal on the 2nd lap. And it turns out that I am not a fast walker. The guys that I passed while running, were blowing me away walking up these steep parts. I lost quite a few places during the walk, and not to guys running past me, but to guys walking past me. Kinda frustrating, but nothing I could do at that point. Tried walking faster...couldn't, tried running a bit...couldn't, tried to move my feet in a running motion...couldn't. All I could do is walk slowly.

By the time the final downhill portion came around...I didn't really care about place or time anymore. I just wanted to get to the bottom and finish running. I was quite frustrated at how unprepared I was for this race. A few guys passed me on the 2nd downhill portion...I didn't make any effort to go with them. I didn't let them blow me away, but I didn't put up much of a fight either.

I ran the 2nd loop in 30 minutes...56 minutes for the entire race, and 24th place. Not what I had envisioned. The funny thing about the entire experience, is that within an hour after the race, I was preparing myself to do this again next year...and going over what I can do to better prepare myself. I think seeing the mountain in person is now a huge preparation tool. I am hooked now! The challenge is amazing, and I want more!


Song of the Day: Cuts Across The Land - The Duke Spirit