A Great Rise to 50 (Redux)

3.5mi in 30min yesterday.  I prepared for my upcoming long long long run by going out to a happy hour, drinking wine, eating tater tots, and going to bed at 2:30am.  This seems like a good idea.

Mike MacLellan wrote:3.5mi in 30min yesterday.  I prepared for my upcoming long long long run by going out to a happy hour, drinking wine, eating tater tots, and going to bed at 2:30am.  This seemed like a good idea at the time.

Here, I fixed that for you.  But wait, wine is carbs.  Tater Tots are definitely carbs.  And minimizing sleep only mimics the night before the big race.  Seems OK to me

Tom - Hahahahaha, still a master with words.  I actually like the casual approach I'm taking to this, so I don't get too worked up about it.  Though I'm definitely starting to notice the nerves, now.

Tom H wrote:

Mike MacLellan wrote:3.5mi in 30min yesterday.  I prepared for my upcoming long long long run by going out to a happy hour, drinking wine, eating tater tots, and going to bed at 2:30am.  This seemed like a good idea at the time.

Here, I fixed that for you.  But wait, wine is carbs.  Tater Tots are definitely carbs.  And minimizing sleep only mimics the night before the big race.  Seems OK to me

and wine is 85% water so you were more than hydrated.

And sleep deprivation will help you prepare for that 100-miler we signed you up for last week.

Oh, oops. Had we not told you yet? Sorry!

Oh, you guys.

4:33:4x. Race report here.

Good race Mike!  I've yet to run a 50k but have read a lot that says the difference between it and a marathon is not just 6 miles, it is a lot more.  What do you notice as the biggest differences and what are the key changes to the race plan between the two?

Given my n=1 experience, I'm not sure I'm the expert to ask, but my observations were as follows:

-Terrain matters.  The idea of even splits is silly, unless you're running on flat asphalt.  Having an awareness of your effort is key.
-Go out slow.  Like, recovery run slow.  Maybe long run slow, but better safe than sorry.*
-On that note, I found that breaking the race into sixths was beneficial.  Fortunately, with 3 laps and aid stations at each half lap, that one was kinda handed to me.  I gauged my effort and my plan on what I'd do between each aid station.  

*For your first one.  If I were to run this one again, I'd probably train to run the first mile somewhat harder, so I'd have a better seeded position on the trail.  You can lose time easily by getting stuck behind people.

Good observations, Mike, and good job out there. Better to ease your way into the longer distance and get a feel for it before you start pushing the envelope. Better to find out what works before discovering what doesn't. Makes sorting the lessons learned a lot easier. (Now if I could only follow my own advice...)

Nice job on the 50K!

Mark - Very true.  I've got 2 more possible 50k's in the winter/early spring to use as tune ups.  We'll see if I do them or just train on my own.

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First run since the race.  Surprisingly, it didn't beat the shit out of me the way TCM did.  I'm going to attribute it to the dirt as opposed to roads.  

I've been having to pass by Great Falls Park to get to work lately, so I decided to bring my stuff and head out there after work today.  The free parking lot was full save a very narrow slot which I squeezed in.  At noon.  On a Tuesday.  Though, it is Veteran's Day, so...

Anyway, wanted to go out and put in an easy effort without being too anal about HR.  Good thing, because the hills (6-12%) immediately spiked my HR.  I did walk the steepest parts.  Most of the trail was covered in leaves, which made for hidden rocks and roots.  Much more technical when you can't see where your foot is going.  

Total of 7.6mi in just under 1hr20min.  Still fatigued from Saturday for sure, but feeling much better than I thought I would.

10mi today.  Sort of impromptu on the distance, but I felt good at the turn-off for a ~7.5mi option, so I kept going.  My body is a little tired, legs lacking snap, but on a mostly flat route, I didn't notice too much.  The last 2mi were mentally tough, as I was ready to be done.  1hr26min total time.

I think the mentally tough days are very valuable as a training tool to help you get used to pushing when you are tired or just not feeling the love.

Tom H wrote:I think the mentally tough days are very valuable as a training tool to help you get used to pushing when you are tired or just not feeling the love.

+1 

(what love?)

They certainly can be.  This far out from the race, I wouldn't mind putting them off a bit.

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10.0mi in 1hr56min today.  Don't let that fool you into thinking I've gotten much slower, though.  

I've been scoping out Sugarloaf Mountain in MD for a couple days and decided I'd better get there before it starts raining/snowing, so today was the day.  After a pretty leisurely and pretty 50min drive, I got to the lower parking area to find that it was full.  Headed up the mountain a bit to find plentiful parking, quickly rearranged my plans to accommodate some different trails, and set off.  

I'll cut to the chase about this run: it was rocky - no, like really, really rocky - and had just under 250' gain/loss per mile.  I broached the summit from each of the 3 possible trails (each ~.25mi long with anywhere from 250-350' gain; terrain varied from rock-steps to scrambling to log-steps), which added a considerable amount of elevation to the run.  Unfortunately, well over half of what I ran today was barely runnable due to the aforementioned rocks, which slowed me quite a bit.  With punchy hills just about every 100m, there was no room to find a groove save a .5mi long section on the back of the mountain.  

I'll probably visit again to check out the trail I had wanted to run, but it won't be on the top of my to do list.

15mi this morning.  Had an easy 2hr planned, and ended up coming in just over that.  Sometimes, runs feel exceptionally easy and smooth, HR is very low, weather is perfect (mid-30s, light breeze, sunny).  Yep, today was one of those days.  I'm sure the low HR was due to a bit of fatigue, as I was not mentally in the game at all until about 30min into the run, so I didn't push it up to 153bpm - just let it hover anywhere from 140-150.  

With no fuel and only ~200kcal for breakfast, the last half hour was a little bit of a gut check, but nothing too bad.  

Paid a lot closer attention to hydration today and actually ran out of water at 10mi (planned - there's a fountain near there).  Still not as much as I'll need to be consuming, but getting better.

1hr recovery.  Felt pretty dead at the start, felt great by the end.  Right calf/Achilles are tight again, but not in a concerning way yet.

Almost got nabbed by a car that came flying out of a parking garage (the entrance/exit crosses the sidewalk and is made blind by a wall) and ignored the stop sign.  Sweet.

14.5mi this morning.  Light rain for 3/4 of the run, moderate rain for about a half hour.  

I guess it's a good thing when you're at mile 10 of a 2hr run and get bored.  My HR was very low again today, so I made the run a sorta-fast finish, running miles 11-13.5 at a steady effort.  

Fatigue has definitely crept up a bit from the last 4 days, so tomorrow/Wed will be good for recovery before we head to CA for a week and I pack on the miles again.

Ah, a day of rest.  After 7hr in the last 4 days, it was nice to wake up and have nothing to do...  Except work all day.  Y'know, that whole career thing.  Felt like a bit of a trainwreck getting out of bed, but at least my joints and muscles seem to still be on my side.  I might just pop out for a (short) recovery jog tomorrow if work is light.  We'll see.

I'm a poster child for "do as I say, not as I do" in this case.  Rest is good for you.  A necessary part of training.  It all feels good until it doesn't.

Tom - No worries; I listen to weather.  With a balmy forecast of 19 degrees tomorrow morning, I think I'll sleep in.

Excellent choice. You could use the rest, and you could really use not having body parts freeze together.

Or off.

I'd welcome a balmy 19 degree morning...mine have been in the minus range for several days.

That said if I were in your situation I'd choose to sleep in. Enjoy.

nkrichards wrote:I'd welcome a balmy 19 degree morning...mine have been in the minus range for several days.

That said if I were in your situation I'd choose to sleep in.  Enjoy.

Balmy 15F here, but since the track is still a bit icy and snow covered, I'm hitting the dreadmill for some speedwork.

And Nancy - it too will pass, right?  I had no idea that it got so cold in central Oregon.

Did I mention I don't have tights/anything to cover my legs?  That's the only real concern.  

That said, I've decided to follow the plan and not run today (even though it's beautiful out now).  Instead, I'll do a core/upper body workout, since I tend to neglect that side of training.