Stalking 50

Can't imagine living without A/C anymore.  I grew up that way in New England in a house built in the 1960s, but my parents put in central air in the middle 1980s (after I was gone, but I had it by then wherever I lived). I use it sparingly here in western NY, but the humidity has been a challenge this past week.  

Sounds like taper is going as well as can be expected!

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Can't imagine living without A/C anymore.  I grew up that way in New England in a house built in the 1960s, but my parents put in central air in the middle 1980s (after I was gone, but I had it by then wherever I lived). I use it sparingly here in western NY, but the humidity has been a challenge this past week.  

Sounds like taper is going as well as can be expected!

Well, going a/c-free has its challenges, to be sure. There's that ritual of when to open the windows to let the air start to circulate, and when to shut the house up and trap the cooler air inside. We're lucky that we get a nice northwest breeze on all but the nastiest days once evening comes along - I can feel it blowing through my office window at this very moment. Ahh...

It's probably a biggest challenge while driving. The a/c in both of our cars has gone out, and getting it fixed isn't going to be cheap. I have a feeling we won't last the summer without getting at least one of the cars fixed, despite the cost.

Taper is going pretty well so far. The mileage really drops this week, with only two midweek runs and only one weekend run. Then it's race week with just a few runs of progressively shorter distance to keep the legs moving. I am definitely glad I started taper a week ago, when I should, rather than risking one that was only 12 or 13 days long.

Glad to see that taper is going well.  Hopefully the madness doesn't get to you too much.  I have found that the three week taper seems like a long time, but I really think that it helps your body heal up.  I mean, you have put in the work, now it is time to get your body as strong as it can be for race day.  Hopefully you are keeping the intensity of you training runs the same as your mileage decreases.  I have found that doing so keeps your body at that high level/peak.

With Week 2 comes a couple more miles added to the weekly total.  I will soon be into the mid 40s, gradually heading up to my peak week of upper 70s.  There are some two-a-days thrown in the mix, too.

Nick Morris wrote:Glad to see that taper is going well.  Hopefully the madness doesn't get to you too much.  I have found that the three week taper seems like a long time, but I really think that it helps your body heal up.  I mean, you have put in the work, now it is time to get your body as strong as it can be for race day.  Hopefully you are keeping the intensity of you training runs the same as your mileage decreases.  I have found that doing so keeps your body at that high level/peak.

Good point on the intensity, though the intensity in running an ultra comes from hanging in there more than, you know, speed. Still, I made a point of doing my 8-miler today on my hilly route, to keep my legs used to the uphills - and maybe more importantly, the downhills.

Nick Morris wrote:With Week 2 comes a couple more miles added to the weekly total.  I will soon be into the mid 40s, gradually heading up to my peak week of upper 70s.  There are some two-a-days thrown in the mix, too.

That looks like a good approach, Nick. I think you'll be in a good place come race day.

Walk: 2.5 miles

Weather: Sunny, warm. 76 degrees. 

I'm working a night shift, so I talked my family into a short walk beforehand on the Salmon Creek Greenway Trail. It was pleasant and sunny, warm but not too hot. It gave me a chance to keep the blood flowing and give them a chance to stretch their legs before it gets too hot.

Saw a heron, several robins -- and a fat 'n' happy garter snake working its way across the bike path.

Back to AC issues for a minute - sometimes all the car needs is a recharge of the refrigerant, which is inexpensive. You can actually do it yourself. Might be worth a try before pouring money into it at the shop.

Michael Enright wrote:Back to AC issues for a minute - sometimes all the car needs is a recharge of the refrigerant, which is inexpensive. You can actually do it yourself. Might be worth a try before pouring money into it at the shop.

Oh, if only it was that easy. The dealer checked out the a/c system a few months ago, and it needs new parts, as tubing and valves are leaking. A many hundreds of dollars (probably >$1,000) fix. Which we'd probably be willing to pay, if we know the weird hesitation we're feeling in the transmission when the car can't decide to shift into overdrive isn't a harbinger of imminent doom.... We will be getting that checked out first.

Mark B wrote:

Michael Enright wrote:Back to AC issues for a minute - sometimes all the car needs is a recharge of the refrigerant, which is inexpensive. You can actually do it yourself. Might be worth a try before pouring money into it at the shop.

Oh, if only it was that easy. The dealer checked out the a/c system a few months ago, and it needs new parts, as tubing and valves are leaking. A many hundreds of dollars (probably >$1,000) fix. Which we'd probably be willing to pay, if we know the weird hesitation we're feeling in the transmission when the car can't decide to shift into overdrive isn't a harbinger of imminent doom.... We will be getting that checked out first.

I feel your pain! I now have five drivers living here, with four cars, all over 100K miles. Every time something goes wrong on one, I'm wondering whether it is worth it to fix it. The mechanic always says they are good for 200K if you keep maintaining them. Of course, he's the one I'm paying to fix them!

I just pumped some refrigerant into the 96 Accord, which is why I was thinking about it. We'll see if that does the job, or if it is just gonna leak into the ozone layer...

Michael Enright wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Michael Enright wrote:Back to AC issues for a minute - sometimes all the car needs is a recharge of the refrigerant, which is inexpensive. You can actually do it yourself. Might be worth a try before pouring money into it at the shop.

Oh, if only it was that easy. The dealer checked out the a/c system a few months ago, and it needs new parts, as tubing and valves are leaking. A many hundreds of dollars (probably >$1,000) fix. Which we'd probably be willing to pay, if we know the weird hesitation we're feeling in the transmission when the car can't decide to shift into overdrive isn't a harbinger of imminent doom.... We will be getting that checked out first.

I feel your pain! I now have five drivers living here, with four cars, all over 100K miles. Every time something goes wrong on one, I'm wondering whether it is worth it to fix it. The mechanic always says they are good for 200K if you keep maintaining them. Of course, he's the one I'm paying to fix them!

I just pumped some refrigerant into the 96 Accord, which is why I was thinking about it. We'll see if that does the job, or if it is just gonna leak into the ozone layer...

Five drivers? Yii! There's just two of us for now, but we have a 97 Contour with about 208,000 miles and a 99 Escort with about 143,000. We got them both new, and our goal is to keep them going as long as possible. Crossing fingers on this one.

If either is equipped with automatic transmissions, do not do a "power flush" of the transmission.  Just do a replacement of the transmission filter, gasket and fluid lost during the replacement of the filter.  This replaces around half of the fluid.  Power flushes replaces all the fluid, but because of the pressure of getting all the old fluid out, you run the risk of dislodging the clutch material off the clutches and discs in the transmission, accelerating its demise.

ounce wrote:If either is equipped with automatic transmissions, do not do a "power flush" of the transmission.  Just do a replacement of the transmission filter, gasket and fluid lost during the replacement of the filter.  This replaces around half of the fluid.  Power flushes replaces all the fluid, but because of the pressure of getting all the old fluid out, you run the risk of dislodging the clutch material off the clutches and discs in the transmission, accelerating its demise.

 Lovely. Yes, it's an automatic.

Barefoot Run: 4.18 miles

Weather: Sunny, mild, not so muggy. 60 degrees, 77% humidity. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. Fuel: Grape Nuts and coffee before. Took one S-Cap. Nothing during.

Up early this morning for some barefoot laps through the neighborhood. One nice thing about taper is that the percentage of barefoot miles is increasing relative to other miles, which ought to help keep my form improvements as fresh as possible - and let me speed up a little bit, too.

I had some GI distress in the first few miles (ugh) but that faded as I warmed up and I cruised along at just under a 10-minute pace, with my HR well below my MAF target. The biggest challenge technically was avoiding the bits and pieces of fireworks left behind in the street after the nightly artillery barrage. (Sigh.)

Average HR for entire run: 131

Two taper-related notes:

1) I had my first taper dream last night. It involved heading out on a trail and noticing roots ahead. Then I realized that the roots were SIX FEET TALL, smooth and unclimbable and with no clear way around them. D'oh!

2) I just check an alternate forecast site (through Weather Underground) and they're saying sunny and 88 on race day. (AccuWeather says 76 and sunny.) Hm. Glad I got that second bottle. (For what it's worth, NWS only goes out until next Wednesday, and they're predicting 79 that day -- higher than AccuWeather, lower than Weather Underground.)

Also... I have just realized this week that the campground at the race site is so basic that there are no showers. Guess I'll be going swimming after the race! Either that, or sleeping outside with the mosquitoes.

Mark B wrote:Two taper-related notes:

1) I had my first taper dream last night. It involved heading out on a trail and noticing roots ahead. Then I realized that the roots were SIX FEET TALL, smooth and unclimbable and with no clear way around them. D'oh!

2) I just check an alternate forecast site (through Weather Underground) and they're saying sunny and 88 on race day. (AccuWeather says 76 and sunny.) Hm. Glad I got that second bottle. (For what it's worth, NWS only goes out until next Wednesday, and they're predicting 79 that day -- higher than AccuWeather, lower than Weather Underground.)

Also... I have just realized this week that the campground at the race site is so basic that there are no showers. Guess I'll be going swimming after the race! Either that, or sleeping outside with the mosquitoes.

A swim after the race sounds perfect to me!

There is a botanical name for those - tap roots (a long, tapering root).

Michael Enright wrote:

Mark B wrote:Two taper-related notes:

1) I had my first taper dream last night. It involved heading out on a trail and noticing roots ahead. Then I realized that the roots were SIX FEET TALL, smooth and unclimbable and with no clear way around them. D'oh!

2) I just check an alternate forecast site (through Weather Underground) and they're saying sunny and 88 on race day. (AccuWeather says 76 and sunny.) Hm. Glad I got that second bottle. (For what it's worth, NWS only goes out until next Wednesday, and they're predicting 79 that day -- higher than AccuWeather, lower than Weather Underground.)

Also... I have just realized this week that the campground at the race site is so basic that there are no showers. Guess I'll be going swimming after the race! Either that, or sleeping outside with the mosquitoes.

A swim after the race sounds perfect to me!

There is a botanical name for those - tap roots (a long, tapering root).

Cool!

I've been searching for images that did the dream justice, but have been failing miserably. 

This is about as close as I could come:



Imagine the roots being a few feet taller, and stretching across a trail, and that's sort of what it looked like.

---

No run for me today as Taper Week II continues. I have six on tap tomorrow, then a rest, then a 10-mile run on Sunday with a MAF test thrown for giggles. Then it's a few short runs until ...

Hill Run: 6.4 miles

Weather: Overcast, mild, a little muggy. 57 degrees, 87% humidity. Gear: Altra Instincts, shorts, T. Fuel: Grape Nuts and coffee before. Carried nuun in handheld (S-Caps at start, 30 min)

Six miles on the schedule today. I'm planning to do a MAF test Sunday on a flat track, so it made sense to take this run into the hilly country north of my house. I kept the effort level low and eased up the hills and tried to relax on the downhills. I figured a mild strength stimulus was the right choice.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 130

ounce wrote:Fully engulfed in TAPER MADNESS!!!!!!!!

Not too much, so far. At least, not the gut-knotting anxiety that has come with some of my marathons.

I'm trying to spend some time visualizing the course (another reason that preview run was so helpful), planning the logistics and drilling into my noggin' that my experience next Saturday will be more adventure than racing. 

I will have plenty of time, beautiful scenery and lots of support as I find out whether I can cover 50 miles in one shot. It should be an awesome day.

Not sure I can take another week of waiting...................

Wow, this is great! I have Michele chewing her fingernails and Ounce unable to stop hitting the exclamation point!

Could it be that I've outsourced my taper madness?

(Well, probably not. But I am happy to share.)


BTW, most extended forecasts are still around 80 degrees for the big day. Warmer than I'd like, but not horrific.

Mark B wrote:Wow, this is great! I have Michele chewing her fingernails and Ounce unable to stop hitting the exclamation point!

Could it be that I've outsourced my taper madness?

(Well, probably not. But I am happy to share.)


BTW, most extended forecasts are still around 80 degrees for the big day. Warmer than I'd like, but not horrific.

 First time I've heard of anyone letting someone else take over their taper madness for them!

Good luck with your race...just in case we get busy and I'm not able to post in the days prior...

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:Wow, this is great! I have Michele chewing her fingernails and Ounce unable to stop hitting the exclamation point!

Could it be that I've outsourced my taper madness?

(Well, probably not. But I am happy to share.)


BTW, most extended forecasts are still around 80 degrees for the big day. Warmer than I'd like, but not horrific.

 First time I've heard of anyone letting someone else take over their taper madness for them!

Good luck with your race...just in case we get busy and I'm not able to post in the days prior...

Hi, Nancy! It's funny how contagious taper madness can be. I remember a few years ago having a friend have a taper dream on my behalf. It was hysterical.

So, I'm now a week out. I have to admit that I *might* be getting just a little antsy. Which, I suppose, is a good thing.

MAF Test+ 10.28 miles

Weather: Overcast, mild, muggy, windy. 58 degrees, 88% humidity, winds 3-13 mph. Gear: Altra Instincts, shorts, T. Fuel: Oatmeal and coffee before. 1 S-Cap before. Nuun in handheld (didn't drink until MAF Mile 3, I think)

I have a tradition of doing an expanded MAF test as I get ready to enter the last taper week before a race, so I headed out to the track for an objective measure of how well I'm doing right now. The conditions weren't bad for a run -- 58 and cloudy -- but it was a bit muggy and windy, which probably threw the HR off depending on what direction I was running.

No matter. I kept the average HR at 140 bpm (which is where a lot of these MAF tests end up, as I try to get as close to the edge as I can) and was pleased with the first mile results: 9:31, 9:32, 9:35, 9:42, 9:35.

The consistency was a pleasant surprise, but that Mile 5 at 9:35? That's the fastest fifth mile I have run in a MAF test, EVER. Woot!

I hit the porta-potty for a minute and extended the run a few more miles: 9:33, 9:40, 9:47, 9:43. Still quite respectable. I started to feel an unpleasant crampy sensation in my legs at about Mile 9 overall, which I suspect has to do with the fact that I didn't take any S-Caps during the run. I licked my wrist to check (yes, I really did) and... yup! Very salty.

It's interesting, because the 9-10 mile point is where I've run into trouble in marathons... when I have never used S-Caps or Endurolytes. I think I  know why now. (My last two miles were at a HR of 141, which isn't surprising, I guess.)

All in all, very encouraging. I hadn't run this fast in training for so many miles in a row. It's nice to see that it went well.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 135

Weight: 166

Just for giggles, here's the whole progression of MAF tests since 2009.



Me likey.

Me likey too!  Nice work, Mark.