2013 the wrap up

2013 the wrap up.

Here is the wrap up of the years results and races, no major breakthrough at any point. I did manage to keep training for the most part and start to get my weight under control. No longer going in the wrong direction at least. Setting myself up for further improvement next year after a good 2013. Of course 2013 was a big year for weddings and 2014 looks to have just as many big non running events, just have to tie some races in with them I guess.

January 13 Hot Chocolate Run 15K. Time 1 hour 42 m 23 seconds
A surprisingly warm day for this winter run with temperatures in the mid 60's.  Course was an interesting in town loop with plenty of the usual ups and downs of any Atlanta run. Very surprised by the size of the event, with 7,351 finishers in the 15 K and another 9,083in the 5 K this was certainly a mega-event.
Considering that I was only starting to get back in shape I was very happy with how this run went. The 15 K distance was a good challenge without over extending myself. This did reenforce my need to get training more regularly and to drop weight back to decent levels.

January 19 Hog Pen Gap 18 K. Time 2 hours 33 m 13 seconds
Again very nice weather for a winter event. Ran early section of the race with Ray Henry, also met Tim Roberson and Krazz at the race. A very enjoyable run even with the hills kicking my ass and my ass being way too heavy to push myself up them at any sort of respectable pace. The climbing is always the breaker in this event and continues to be my biggest challenge.

February 16 Sweetwater Creek Trail Half Marathon 13.1 m. Time 2 hours 45 m 50 seconds
Temperature around 40F not too bad although the wind did make it feel rather brisk. Managed my pace well throughout the race and was able to give a good kick during the last few miles. The course was changed a little from the previous year which made for a less congested start and a tougher finish, overall a good adjustment. Nice to run this race with Amanda as she shook off the flu to do this. Ray Henry did not have as happy a day and found the course a little too much for him. Of course Pete Eckman went out way too quickly and couple with a nasty bang on the knee had a rough day.
For me all went well and I considered this to be a good kick off for the year, better than I expected.

February 23 Thrill In The Hills, Trail Half Marathon, Ft Yargo, GA.13.1 m. Time 2 hours 27 m 58 seconds.
The course was extremely muddy for this after a few days of heavy rain, this only added to the challenge. That the course has no big climbs made for overall a fast run and for me it was a great run, really enjoyed it. Amanda had a brilliant day out and in her second trail race ever she came second in her age group and broke the 2 hours. Kieran Reynolds choose to do the marathon as his first attempt at the distance finishing strong and coming second in his age group. Ray Henry enjoyed this one a lot more than last week even if he did tweak his knee a little again with a few miles to go. Overall a great day out for everyone.

March 9 Dirty Spoke Off Road Duathlon 3.8 run, 10 bike, 2.1 run, Ft Yargo, GA 2 hours 21m 29 seconds.
My first time every doing any sort of a race on the mountain bike, I got talked into doing this by Ray Henry as he figured his running fitness and biking experience would really come together on this. Having not been my mountain bike much in the last twelve months it is not a surprise that I found the biking to be really tough and a hell of a lot of fun. The second run after the bike did seem to take forever as my legs really were not all that interested in running agian. A wonderful feature of triathlons and duathlons which I had not prepared myself for. Oh well a fun event and all the better because I managed to beat Ray by a few minuted with myself and himself being second last and last in our age group. Ah sure we can only improve, hopefully.

March 17 Publix Georgia Marathon 26.2 m Time 5 hours 26 m 53 seconds.
Well this was not exactly the way this race went this year, of course a look back at the events I have completed over the last few months paint a good picture of the path I put myself on. Following my training plan never really worked out as I expended way too much energy taking part in actual races and then needing some recovery time from them. Just to top things off I got a dose of the flu so along with a nice hot day coupled without the ability to breath well this was a very long and painful day. Happy to say I finished but it was five and a half hours of hard labor. Oh well maybe I will learn some lessons from it, number one of course being do not get the flu and as importantly do not over do it by signing up with too many events.

 March 23 Trillium Trek Trail Run at Elachee Nature Science Center, Gainesville, GA. 10K. Time 1 hour 13 m 21 seconds
The kick off event for Ray Henry's bachelor party. Ray, Shayne and I headed off to Gainesville despite the constant rain and sporadic lightning. A good race on tough trails and some challenging climbs late in the event, of course all of the mud made thinks a little more interesting. All of us finished in one piece. No great kick in me as recovery from the marathon is still on going.
The rest of the day was also a great success right up to Hurley breaking out of the yard but that's another story for another time.

April 1st Clonakilty, Ireland. 10K. Time 0 hours 59 m 59 seconds

So now time for a trip back home for my sister Frances' wedding and a chance to do a 10k down in West Cork in beautiful Clonakilty. Dragged all the Whooley  runners out for the morning. A great showing by all and a good fun race. Despite the extremely cold temperatures for early April. Very happy to have broken the hour. Followed up with a week of running in Ireland and all wrapped up with Francis' wedding. Good times.

April 20th Sweetwater Creek 50K. Time 8 hour 42 m 1 seconds
So following a great wedding and fun week in Ireland I arrived back in Atlanta to try and be prepared for the Sweetwater 50 k. Unfortunately a chest infection meant that it was a long slow day. Cannot claim that my training had been great but being sick was a killer. Completed under the offical cut off time but not the success that I had asspired to at the start of the year. Once again over doing things earlier in the year meant that I cannot get the results I want in what are supposed to be my goal events.Not very motivational for bigger things later this year, time to reconsider my plans for later in the year.

May 18 Twisted Ankle Marathon 26.2 m. Time 6 hours 38 m 18 seconds
Good weather generally after a wet week made for a nice day on the trails once I got passed the new fire trail section which was a brutal life sucking mud pit for a mile all uphill. Rest of the course is pretty rocky so no concerns about the wet week. The rest of the race went very well and ended up running the last 12 miles with two guys I met during the race, Wayne Shelton and Tom Jarosz. The conversation and company made for a very enjoyable day on the trail with the peak being the water melon at the 19 mile mark, very refreshing and helped put life back in dead legs. Generally felt good all the way though even if I was wrecked at the end. Amanda really kicked ass and won the women's half marathon. Ray Henry had to give the race a skip due the minor hiccup of a really weird stroke a few weeks before, he is planning on hitting this one hard next year to show that he is fully recovered. Tim & Katie Roberson and Pete & Kristy Eckman all really loved this so should be a good crew of us back up again next year.

June 22 Haw Creek Trail Race, Cumming, GA. 5.5 mile. Time 0 hour 56 min 0 second
A great two loop course with some quick pulls on a very fast course. Lil and Colm were visiting so it was great to get out and do a race with them. Amanda won her age group and Colm won his and Lil shattered her expected time coming 5th in her age group, I was delighted to break the hour, so fun was had by all.

September 1st Georgia Jewel 100 miler, not happening this year, I just never got my act together properly in order to do this. Going to be part of plans going forward, possibly as part of a build up to Leadville again in the next few years.
I did decide to sign up for the Pine Mountain 40 miler in early December so there is plenty of work to keep me motivated for the next few months.

October 12 Oakhurst Arts Run 5K. Time 0 hour 26 m 13 seconds
Been training hard, getting a lot of miles in as well as being consistent with speed work. All paid off this morning when I was able to push hard for the entire race and delighted to come in well under the 30 minute mark. Some very good positive feed back and affirmation that I am improving. Having dropped multiple pounds and keeping them off has of course also been a huge improvement and help. Very surprising how much this race took out of me given the short distance, training was certainly effected for the next week.

November 28 Atlanta Thanksgiving Half-marathon 13.1. Time 1 hour 59m 17 seconds
Well it was the coldest Thanksgiving day in Atlanta in 102 years which made for a very brisk morning. Rather cold waiting for the start and after the first mile and half I just had to push harder to change my pace which meant I disconnected from Ray. The result was a great race for me with my best half marathon time since late 2010. All the training for Pine Mountain really helped, of course the plan had been to take it easy today to save myself for Pine Mountain, hmm, hopefully I did not take too much out of myself and will be ready for Saturday week. All said things appear to be coming together now as I have shook off the cold that I had which sidelined Amanda for today. Just need to give my legs some rest time.
Ray had a great race also and finished much better than he expected, a great recovery from April.

December 8 Pine Mountain 40 Miler. Time 10 hours 12 m 24 seconds.
So good it got it's own entry, click here

December 31 final day of 3 mile minimum since December 14.

Made it out every day once I let myself recover from Pine Mountain, felt good to have a achievable yet still a stretch goal to push on for the end of the year. Also helped to get through the holiday period with mandatory running to keep me somewhat in shape.
Recorded mileage for the year 1329 miles, will have to shoot for 1500 next year.

That said there is going to be a lot of work to do in 2014 which of course is good that is what will keep me going. Also going to try to stick to the plan of doing less actual races, takes too much out of me and prevents focus on a good training plan. I think I say the same thing every year, maybe I will use the lessons learned more in 2014, maybe.

Bring on the new year and the new challenges.

Recovered from Strolling Jim, intro to the real ultra world, ass kicked

Sorry for the break in reporting on progress just sort of lost the rhythm of doing this weekly. Funny how wandering off the training schedule impacted other things also. Guess I did n't feel the need to fess up to dropping training for a week after the Strolling Jim. Oh well cats out of the bag now and I'm back on training and blogging track it appears.

Since my last update;
The Strolling Jim 40 Miler was all that I could have expected and then some. Actually an additional 1.2 miles worth of the some. This was  a nice surprise from the race director, Mike Melton, on Friday night when I was picking up my number. "Oh by the way the course for the 40 miler tomorrow is 41.2 miles" - well what else would you expect, duh! This was a good reminder that things in the ultra-marathon world are different from the marathon world of certified courses etc., an extra mile is a bonus to be enjoyed. Also of course when you are told that the course starts with a hill the acceptable responses are, "excellent", "great", "bring it on" or any variation of such. Naturally this race starts with 20 flat yards then around the corner and you guessed it up a hill, yeah baby!
Kicking off on Saturday morning there was more great advice from Mike regarding the incoming thunder storms "If it gets really bad you might want to consider taking some cover."
Well the race itself lived up to all expectations plenty of road and plenty of hills. There was a nice heavy rain shower to ensure that shoes, socks and feet were well soaked. Of course that was around mile 11 or 12 of the 41 miles. Starting to be a bit of a habit running with wet shoes, luckily my feet seem to be able to handle it so far. The views of middle Tennessee were as beautiful as one could imagine, this is serious horse country and home to the Tennessee Walkers horse breed. Plenty of perfectly run fences and evenly cropped pastures with beautiful horses trotting around. Oh and did I mention plenty of rolling hills with nice quite roads, perfect running country. For some reason I got myself fixated on the 35 mile aid station and I think it was mainly thanks to Sean McNally from Chapel Hill, NC that I covered the last few mile in any sort of respectable shape. Sean and I ran together for the last ten miles, plenty of mutual encouragement, cajoling and lying to each other, connecting up with a fellow runner with the same pace and goals really is a huge boost when  you get to such long distances. Even with a solid plan and good focus I find that my mind can still get  negative at times when the going gets tough. Sean and I met during the earlier mentioned hills called The Walls. Thirty miles in and we were both feeling the distance. Sean was not impressed when I informed him of the additional 1.2 miles, mind you when we got to the "2 miles to go" notice painted on the road just after the 39 mile mark he was happy that he was not finding out at that time.
The last two miles were a steady drag up hill back into Wartrace, all 20 buildings that it is. Mind you at that point it was a very welcome sight. So there I was done, 8 hours 16 minutes and 50 seconds worth of effort complete. Time to settle down and enjoy the barbecue, excellent. Thanks to the now steady rain all finished racers were clustered together under the tents with the barbecue, the place was filled with an air of quite self satisfaction as people chatted away and cheered each finisher. This was a group of people that had set and accomplished a goal which most people consider crazy and certainly would not even think of attempting. Yet no one was boosting, each person was just happy that they had finished and possibly met whatever was their own personal goal for the day be that to finish or to finish better. People would be sure to ask about your experience and were genuinely interested to hear what you had to say about the course, the weather, the whole experience. No one pushed there race experience on you, only when asked for.  As I chatted to people now, before the race and during I realized that there were a very large number of repeat offenders. Also found that it was an extremely pleasant crowd which was nice to be around even if just for a few hours. You know I think I can do  a little better next year.

Sunday evening I headed off to Chicago, I'm glad it was a short flight as my legs were not too happy at being cramped up. Yet considering Saturday's run and the drive home I was overall feeling pretty good.
Chicago was a work trip but no report could be complete without a thanks to Michelle and Mat for the wonderful Chicago style bruschetta pizza, now that was the biz with a few beers on Sunday night. Right Michelle. Only run of the week was a pitiful two miles on Tuesday morning. My legs were dead as a Dodo, apparently I was feeling the effects of Saturday after all, what a waste of a trip to fantastically flat city.  Oh well. Got back on the running track following a good hot yoga work out on Thursday night which seemed to clear the junk out of my mussels. No major problem getting out for the long runs over the weekend.

Last weekend was a return trip to the Twisted Ankle Marathon in Summerville fifty one people that finished in front of me were able to handle it better. Rough as this course is and challenging as I find it, this is still a great day out in the woods running and chatting with like minded people. Despite feeling so drained I do believe that I managed myself much better in this years event. No water problems, no food problems, legs shot but still able to push myself along, all good points.
Slowly learning how to maintain a sustained effort on the trails, they always seems so reasonable at the start but oh what a price later if you fall for that illusion.


Next on the list is the Cork City Marathon on June 7th, hopefully a little cooler than last year and my trip over is volcano ash free.
Getting the travel plans of Colorado locked down now, next trick a place to stay in Denver for the start of my altitude adjustment period. Priceline I hear you calling.
Thirteen weeks to go to Leadville.

Good weekend with no pressure

Recovery from last weekend has been surprisingly swift, managed to stick with my full running schedule for the week without any undue difficulty.

Saturday was an 18 mile day when I tried to keep the pace consistent and deliberately took as hilly a route as I could. Hills are the major thing that I have to work on. Found the joys of Emory and North Druid Hills neighborhoods, plenty of hills. Rules for the run were that each turn was to be uphill whenever possible. Tied that in with the spring weather which has stepped up the temperature a few notches the challenges are increasing. Carrying water has become a requirement now not an option. Time to start testing and get used to the various options.Guess I'm becoming a bit of a running nerd as I debate the merits of my Camel back or the Nathans water bottle belt. For the record the bottle is good in town where you can refill Camel back is the way to go if you are not sure of water sources along the route.

Well the training is officially having some serious effects on me. Sunday morning I was very nonchalant about heading off to do 15 miles, just a matter of deciding which direction to head off in and make sure that the battery in the Garmin watch is charged so I know how far I've gone. Strange thing was it was that straight forward hopefully I can get to that point for 50 or 60 miles in the next few months, well maybe. Mind you no way I'll ever be able to take sure distances so casually.

Have to note that when I started running 13 years ago I would never have believed I could build myself up to the point that I could be able to run double digit days back to back a week after having my ass kicked doing 32 miles. This was not where I ever expected I'd be. When I started running the plan was to help get back into somewhat decent shape after many years of boozing, poor eating, smoking and a generally crap lifestyle. Back then my dream was that at some point I would be able to do a marathon some day. A goal that seemed very unlikely as I struggled to do a few laps of the 1/2 mile circuit off Northside Drive where I started running.

I am still amazed by where I have gotten to so far, now I've just got to keep pushing forward. Still along ways to go but I believe that I can make it.

Doing a marathon seemed liked one of my least likely to ever happen pipe dreams. Strange now to talk and write about trying to get up to 100 miles, next pipe dream.

19 weeks to go, stuff that dreams are made of.

Sweet H20 50K rocks and kicks my ass

Now I can say that I have officially crossed into the world of Ultra-marathoners. The Sweet H20 50K was certainly a serious initiation. Complete with multiple river crossings and non-stop up and downs with killer climbs that sucked every bit of energy and resolve out of me and the experience of  the amazing power of a few salt caps and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
The entire setup by the Douglas County Rogue Runners was very impressive complete with civil war actors and a cannon to kick the race off. Complete with warnings to hold on to your animals and don't stand in front of the cannon as it kicked us off. Then it was down the road to get let the crowd spread out before heading into the woods for first surprise, one and half miles in then across the river at the slipway complete with ropes to get down to the river and back out, it was just ankle deep but it delivered the joy of wet feet for the next 30 miles. That was just a warm up for the full on river crossing complete with guide rope at mile 17 and again at mile 20. Oh the joy of ultra trail running. This race had it all, river and stream crossing, river hugging trails which had been washed out by the winter floods, trees to climb over, rocky stretches, and sandy stretches, even a little flat piece here and there. The defining section of the race for me was on the second lap of the course working my way back to the stretch known as Top of The World, before it there are several miles of a power line section which goes up and down relentlessly with each up hill stretch being a little steeper and a little longer. First time round the pull up was tough but this time round it was a different ball game, pushing me to my limits. I got to the point where I was struggling to keep putting one step in front of another and get up the hills. My head was spinning and catching my breath was a full time job. My entire body had to put out every ounce of effort to get me up the last few hills. My resolve was seriously challenged, not quite sure I was having fun. Ah but then at the top of the final stretch there is a mini aid station with ice cold water and an oh so wonderful seat. Complete with two of the most wonderful volunteers ever that convince you that you will recover and that the next few miles are so very do able. It's quite amazing what a few minutes sitting down and ice cold water coupled with positive support can do to rejuvenate you. Following that few minutes it was over the top of the world high point of the course and onto the full aid station at mile 26, peanut butter and jelly sandwich coupled with some chocolate chip cookies and a few salt caps. Back on the trail for the last six miles to the finish line. A few more hills and then you reach aid station #3 who I must say were one beautiful bunch as they are the marked for end of the serious hills. There was the minor hiccup of finding out that it was 32 miles not 31 miles which meant two to go but no worries at this stage it made no difference I was going to finish, no question just a matter of time.
Round that last corner and up the steps (yes stairs at the end of a 50K) and the last 20 yards to the finish shut with the clock showing 8 hours 42 min 55 seconds. A little off the planned 8 hours and the hoped for 7 hours but I could not have been happier with it. Finished with my ass kicked and my pride and resolve in place.
With Angie doing the chauffeuring it was time to unwind and let the body relax. A good plate of finishers barbecue and a few bottles of water and I was right as rain. Ready to keep on pushing my boundaries.

19 weeks to go, the build up continues to Leadville. More running, more focus, more fun.

Learning to walk again

The need to learn to walk is not part of the recovery from an injury but the next step in training. As many people have delighted in pointing out there is no way I will run the whole 100 miles. Knowing this it is time to start practicing the run/walk method of long distance running that helps to greatly extend the distance a person can cover in one big overall effort. The basic logic is that you recover during the minute or two that you walk to the point that you can run better for the six or seven minutes that you are running, thus continuing a productive cycle.
So Sunday morning back to Kennesaw Mountain Park to start working on the plan, will one & seven work or what is the best pattern for me. Well did not resolved that this Sunday because thanks to a very enjoyable and fast (realtively) twelve mile run on Saturday my legs were not exactly in the great of shape. You'd think that by now I could knock out ten miles without too much difficulty but not so on this day. Of course the one mile climb up to the top of Kennesaw did n't exactly get me rolling on the right foot.
A few miles in heading on  the east trail to Chetham Hill things did take on a bit more a rhythm. Not sure I should have been looking forward to the walk breaks as much as I was, no doubt that will pass with time. Another lesson I've suffered and I am now trying not to repeat is that it is not necessary to bound down hill at full speed all the time, especially when the ground is very rough. This I believe was a major contributor to my knee and ankle issues. At this point they seem to be healing up but no need to redo the damage.
The return trip showed up how much Saturday had taken out of my legs, another lesson learned, have to balance out the effort over time.

Of course now the trick is to put these things together during next Saturday's run in the 4th Annual SweetH2O 50K Trail Race. Have to take it easy from the get go, set a pace that I can maintain for the distance and take it easy where the terrain requires it and of course don't fall in to the water at the river crossings. Should be interesting.

Georgia ING Marathon 2010, another lovely day in Atlanta

Perfect marathon weather was on tap for the 4th ING Georgia Marathon. Temperatures in the 50s with a few rain showers called for. This marathon has certainly grown up and filled up. It took 13 minutes to cross the start line from the coral where I started but unlike previous years it went much more smoothly. The aim for today was to maintain a reasonable pace to finish in around 4 1/2 hours but still feeling reasonably good. Ah the best laid plans despite using my Garmin to keep an eye on my pace I was still pulled along by the crowd and the urge to jump ahead of every walker I saw for the first few miles. Relief came after 7 miles with the split of the marathon and half marathon at North Highland Ave. It's always like starting a new race after the split with the huge change in the energy as 10 runners for every one peal off in another direction toward the finish while the marathoners keep on going heading further out into the world to have more fun. Once the marathoners have settled down again a mile or so down the road everyone becomes a much more social crew. There starts to be lots of little chats for 10 seconds to a few minutes amongst the runners, as you synchronize pace with someone for a few yards or longer. As the race moves on in to the higher mileage it's always a pick up to give and receive a few words of encouragement.
After heading through Decatur and winding around the Emory campus the ongoing ups and downs of Atlanta's topography start to wear you down. So it's into the Virginia Highlands area with some delightful hills that were an extra test of my resolve. Across North Highland for the trip down to Piedmont Park to start the final push for the finish line. A quick trip around the park, up twelfth street and though Georgia Tech to swing around to the finish line. At this stage of the race the pull up North Ave to Tech Pkwy was a bit of a challenge but now that I've been seeing the same people go back and forth for most of the last six or seven miles I found it motivational to try and stay ahead of people that I've already passed once or twice over the last few miles back. Managed to pick off most of them, a good way to keep the challenge going. There was a surprise extra push as I turned on to Marietta Street which is the final stretch. Just after I hit the turn on the other side of the street 800 kids kicked off the last mile of their personal half marathons, a series of 13 single mile races. It was great fun to watch the kids trying to kick it for the entire mile, for the record they did not all kick my ass. Of course amongst 800 10 to 13 year olds you know several hundred did kick my ass.
Now no report on this year's event would be complete with a section dedicated to Dan and his cousin Jim sign. Dan managed to make appearances at 5 various locations around the course, Moreland Ave, College Ave, Emory, Ponce,  5th street, Marietta Street by the finish line - slightly cut off by the 800 kids. Fully kitted out with his sign and Cork hurling doll (don't ask) he was quite the celibrity amongst a lot of the people that were running a similar to pace to myself. Hanging out at the end close to the food table there was a series of people that had to check in and thank him for his support. Very impressive, Dan was certainly the celebrity supporter of the day. Thanks for the great support Dan.
For the record I finished in 4 hours 31 minutes and after a good 2 hours in bed I was feeling pretty good so goals were met.
Next outing is the SweetH2O 50K Trail Race on April 3rd, a lovely romp in the park and of course lots of up and down as well as across the river hip deep in water.
Right now I'm focused on recovery from Sunday and keeping to the training schedule with a nice quite life.
Lots more fun to come just have to be sure I prepare properly so I can enjoy it all.

Breaking barriers, 31 miles the new experience

Well I'd been contemplating it all week and decided to follow through with my 30 mile plan. Figured that last weekend was a good push on the mileage and I might as well build on it right away. Had been an ok running week without a push and the legs had a good rest so I was ready for action this morning.
I'm once again amazed by the change in mind set that now has me attempting such things as a thirty miler the weekend after a marathon. Once upon a time I'd be taking a few weeks off and probably would n't run more than 5 to 8 miles for at least a month. Amazing what happens when you change your expectations. To say the least I am now doing more than I ever expected of myself, already, and I know that there is much more to come. The most amazing thing today was that over the course of 6 hour and 9 minutes I was never bored and was constantly paying attention to how I was doing, pace etc. Of course it was easy pay attention for the last 7 miles or so as I was really feeling under pressure. But hey it was perfect day today for a nice long run, clear skies, temperature around 60 and not really much of a breeze to talk about. Took the Path from Decatur out to Stone Mountain with one lap of the park to make the mileage, ended up being 31. Great to see loads of other people out on the trail and at the mountain, it's always uplifting to see other people putting in a similar effort. Does n't matter how far or fast a person is going I've noticed that for the most part all people pretty much have a smile and content look on their face when there are out exercising. Of course this is particularly true when they are back in the parking lot and finished. No doubt that the endorphins from outdoor activity is a boost to everyone, people just don't look as happy leaving the gym. I guess the gym serves the purpose of getting the heart rate up but does n't make the same connection to the mind and soul.
Now after that spiel, I must say I am enjoy a lovely evening by my fire pit having a few beers and a lovely pizza. Have to say that it's important to reward one's self after making the big goal. I figure this evening coupled with my nap this afternoon and icing of the knees should have me in good shape to run a few very easy miles tomorrow morning and then hit the hot tub for awhile. Need to let the muscles unwind.
Hurling makes it's way back into the scene tomorrow, just a puck around warm up for next weekend's game against Madison but I know I'll be itching to play. Oh well there is always September.
Next event is the ING marathon here in Atlanta in two weeks time so an easier weekend next weekend as I let the legs get ready. The adrenaline of the crowd will pull me along in the ING and the results will be a lot harder on the body, oh well all part of the building process. On ward and upward.

Marathon this weekend, Ft Yargo here I come

Well since my last post I've had a very enjoyable ski trip to Colorado with a little side trip to Leadville to check out the scene for August.
Skiing was a blast and a welcome change from all the running. Coupled with the major benifit of giving my ankle some rest. Not a lot of movement in a rock hard ski boot. Spending 5 days at altitude also reinforced my plan to get out to the Colorado area two weeks before the race if possible, minumim of 6 to 7 days. It took at least 4 days to really adjust and that was without trying to run, I blame the snow and my ass being worn out from skiing. Nothing to do with me being slightly lazy or hung over on Sunday when I should/could have run. I feel I was much better served saving my energy for the afternoon spent sledding, walking back up the hill was a killer.

 On Tuesday afternoon before flying back I made a quick run over to Leadville to see what the center of all the action was like.
No doubt about the altitude issue, the joy of starting at 10,152 and then dropping off to 9987, oh what a nice easy start, lets not think about the fact that it is an out and back course which means a slight uphill drag for the last 14 miles. This just gets better and better.
 As for the town itself it's a small high mountain town that no doubt will be completely dominated by the crowd for the Race Across the Sky. Should be a great buzz there for the weekend.

Well being that I managed to not do myself any injuries I would rate this as a most successful trip and look forward to my next trip to Colorado in mid August.

For now my focus is back closer to home, this weekend was absolutly perfect for running and I'm happy to say that the ankle feels like it is coming around. No major runs this weekend but it was great to get out in the sunshine and run around the neighborhood for a few miles. Even if Alan did offer some encouragement to join him for a pint at Stienbecks mid run, very tempting I must say. I may have to change my Sunday routes so I don't get side tracked by the brunch crew or just get my ass out earlier so I can participate.
Taking it easier than usual this week to be ready for the Ft Yargo trial marathon on Saturday, going to be my peek distance so far, the trick will be to also run a few miles on Sunday afterward. I'll get to find out how well my ankle has healed. Looking forward to running the first 13 on Saturday with Wayne, will be good to have company. Also appears that the weather is going to cooperate and be dry and cool, 40s at worst.
Time to wrap up with a great Chinese proverb I came across today in Runners World, very appropriate,

"A journey of 100 miles begins with a single step".

Kennesaw Mountain reality check

End of the first month of steady training and headed up to Kennesaw Mountain Park for my Sunday run. Being that the trail kicks off with a nice mile straight up it was good place to test my progress. Apparently I have quite a lot of hill work to do, not exactly a shocker. Still an amazing place to go for a run especially this morning as the trees up higher were hung with beautiful icicles after the freezing rain yesterday. A lot photographers out capturing them as they glittered and melted in the sun, very surreal. Later as they started to fall it was like running in strange glistening raining shower. A beautiful day to be out running in the woods.
Despite the need to get more hill work in I am feeling that I'm making good progress. Considering that today I was able to do 9 miles with 3 very challenging miles of climbing after completing 18 1/2 on the road yesterday my base building is going well. Looking forward to the marathon at in Ft Yargo at the end of February, this will be first of my big trail runs which will give me another great gauge of my progress. The goal is be around 6 hours or a little better in this one, going to be setting the mark for how I can handle the long distance on the trails, furthest up to now has been 13.1 in The Granite Grinder - 2 hours, 6 minutes & The Twisted Angle 1/2 - 2 hours 40 min last year. The difference in times is a fair indication in how much tougher the terrain is for the Twisted Ankle, so of course being smart I'm doing the full marathon at that one this year. More build up.

Another highlight in the last month was running out at Arabia Mountain State Park last weekend, it's a total change of scene from the regular trails of Georgia with a hugh amount of expoused granite which just pulls you along. Amazing setting and totally engulfing setting. Very easy to forget that you are just a 20 mintues from Atlanta. It is most spectacular on the far side of the road from the nature center. Even more so when it's raining and there is water running off all of the surfaces in sheets. Mind you not great for running at that time, rather slippery.

Also expanded my experiences last week with a leap into Hot Yoga thanks to a encouragement from Heather. Must say that holding poses is challenging enough then kicking in the 105 F temperature takes it up several notches. A non-slip yoga mat is a necessity and several towels. I'll be better prepared in future. It was an amazing experience and very eye opening as I strugged to get into a pose (say all of them) and there are other people in the room that very elegantly and gracefully assume the pose with no fuss. The work that they have done does seem to allow them a degree of flexibility that I at this time see as unimaginable. The entire session was as much work if not more than any run I've done, no slacking at hot yoga. The pay off the next few days was surprising and I must say that I have felt great, hot yoga will be getting fitted into the schedule. Just have to figure out how to get my arms in position for the eagle pose and all the rest. More work.
And for the record, Noreen you were correct I did enjoy it.

Heading into training week 9 now, runs are getting longer. Saturday is going to be my first 20 miler so thing are heading into the big numbers. The total running for the week will be almost 50 miles, hey now I just got to work on dong twice that in 30 hours.
Ah the joy of a challenge.