So, I've been a bit of a slacker. We had family in town this week and so things got really hectic. I managed to run eight miles last Monday then ten on Tuesday but then I didn't run the rest of the week. My legs really didn't like that. My left calf even cramped up pretty bad on Saturday night. I managed to go six miles yesterday and I did 5.4 on the elliptical today. Now that our visitors are gone, I should be able to get back into the swing of things. I really want to do a long run this weekend. It's been a few weeks since I've done anything more than ten except for the 20k race.
On top of not running for six days I was eating terribly. There was junk food gallor and a big birthday cake and ice cream. After my race on the seventh i weighed 169. I weighed myself just one week later on the 14th and i was 179. I know some of it was just water weight, but even after my workout today I was still 175. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really complaining about my weight, I'm just letting you how badly I ate this week. It'll probably take a few weeks to get back down to what I was and to flush out my body of all this crap food I ate. I really should eat better.
I have just five and a half weeks until the White River 50. I'm getting pretty excited. My family might actually decide to come up with me. We'll have to see how that goes, it would be fun, but we'll see. I think I will run close to 30 miles this Saturday, then do a 32-33 mile run on July 5th two weeks later. That will be my peak. Three weeks after that I will run 50 miles. I don't really have any expectation for the run. It is my first ultra marathon and so I just don't want to really set any time goals. The main thing in a race like this is to just finish. I'd like to think that I can do it in about 8 hours, but that more than likely is way out of my reach. I think I'll plan for a 10 hour time, but I won't get upset at all so long as I finish the race. 10 hours would be a 12 minute pace and I have never gone that slow, even for my 28 mile run several weeks ago I did about 10:30 pace. Yeah ten hours seems like a good aim. but like I said if I get out there on the course and find it harder than I had expected, then I'd be fine with slowing down to walk up the hills and such.
On another note, I really like the runners log that I use on runnersworld.com. I like being able to keep track of all my running and even other workouts. It's nice to be able to see weekly totals, monthly totals and annual totals. It's also nice to be able to graph them out to see my progress. I would recommend to any of you out there to use that tool they have. It's really easy to use to.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Oak Mountain Race Photos
As promised here are the photos from my race.
First up we have me here in line to register for the race. I was all excited.
Me pinning my number on my shirt, which by the way ripped my shirt. I've never had that happen before. Crazy.
You can see me there under the starting arch.
Apparently my wife tried to tell me to get on the other side of the side walk so that she could get good photos of me. I didn't really understand what she was saying, so her I am on the far side of the sidewalk.
And there I go.
These next three are at the half way point. The course was all up on the trails and Amanda coulnd't have hauled the kids up there to take photos and get back in time to see me at the start/finish area. They put a hair tie around everyones wrist to show that you had been around once and were going again. I'm getting my "bracelet" here
Amanda liked how my muscles seem to be bulging.
And there I go off on the second loop.
Here I am coming into the finish area.
I know it looks like I'm dead there and I'm giving up or something, but it was really in celebration.
As I crossed the finish line, they handed this to me. Wow, that was quick. As soon as I crossed it must have triggered the printer and there it was.
Nice cool refreshment. That was much needed.
Nothing could have been nicer than a few minutes in this cool misting tent. It was actually more like a raining tent. I'm sitting in about two inches of water right there.
To finish it off really quickly I jumped into the lake with my kids. We didn't have much time, and Alex got hurt, so we only played for about five minutes.
And there you have it. If you looked at Amanda's blog, then I'm sorry you had to see these pictures again. Let me see if I can find some more photos that didn't make it onto her blog...
Okay, I found one. This is at the half way point in the race. If you'll notice it looks like there is something that is floating just above my head. Well, the runner right behind me took his shirt off and threw it to his family that was there. Amanda just happened to snap a photo right after he had thrown it. So, that is the shirt of the guy that was just behind me. kinda funny I think
First up we have me here in line to register for the race. I was all excited.
Me pinning my number on my shirt, which by the way ripped my shirt. I've never had that happen before. Crazy.
You can see me there under the starting arch.
Apparently my wife tried to tell me to get on the other side of the side walk so that she could get good photos of me. I didn't really understand what she was saying, so her I am on the far side of the sidewalk.
And there I go.
These next three are at the half way point. The course was all up on the trails and Amanda coulnd't have hauled the kids up there to take photos and get back in time to see me at the start/finish area. They put a hair tie around everyones wrist to show that you had been around once and were going again. I'm getting my "bracelet" here
Amanda liked how my muscles seem to be bulging.
And there I go off on the second loop.
Here I am coming into the finish area.
I know it looks like I'm dead there and I'm giving up or something, but it was really in celebration.
As I crossed the finish line, they handed this to me. Wow, that was quick. As soon as I crossed it must have triggered the printer and there it was.
Nice cool refreshment. That was much needed.
Nothing could have been nicer than a few minutes in this cool misting tent. It was actually more like a raining tent. I'm sitting in about two inches of water right there.
To finish it off really quickly I jumped into the lake with my kids. We didn't have much time, and Alex got hurt, so we only played for about five minutes.
And there you have it. If you looked at Amanda's blog, then I'm sorry you had to see these pictures again. Let me see if I can find some more photos that didn't make it onto her blog...Okay, I found one. This is at the half way point in the race. If you'll notice it looks like there is something that is floating just above my head. Well, the runner right behind me took his shirt off and threw it to his family that was there. Amanda just happened to snap a photo right after he had thrown it. So, that is the shirt of the guy that was just behind me. kinda funny I think
Friday, June 13, 2008
Oak Mountain State Park, Xterra Fun Run
I've been slow about posting on here about my race. I wanted to put some pictures on here, but I can't right now. My wife has been really busy with the computer all week, so I haven't had the chance to. I finally decided to write this up on this computer and I'll add some photos when I get the chance. Or you can just go look at Amanda's blog and see some photos from the race.
They day started at about 6:20 when I rolled out of bed and started getting dressed. Breakfast at the hotel started at 6:30, so we were there right when it started. We ate quickly and headed on out. Even with the kids, we were pretty quick. We grabbed everything in case we couldn't make it back before checkout time. Our hotel was just about a five minute drive from the State Park. When we got there we went straight over to the Xterra Village they had set up. It was pretty cool. I registered for the 21k race. We had just a little bit of time to stand around waiting for the race to start. I ended up at the start of the pack, but i kept inching my way back from the starting line. I knew I wasn't going to lead the whole thing, so I got about ten feet back from the start. They told us just before they shot off the cannon that it was really only about 20 kilometers and not a true half marathon. It is pretty hard to get an established trail to change lengths. Finally the little cannon was fired and we were off. There were only about 80 of us in the race. We went about 200 feet up the sidewalk, then took a sharp right for another 200-300 feet up to the road. Then we were on the side of the road for about three quarters of a mile before we turned up onto the trails.
The first aide station was right there but I passed it by because I had my watter bottle with me. I had not seen the trail or even a profile of the trail, so I really didn't know what to expect. The first mile or two of trail was perfect. It rolled back and forth and only a little up and down. When we hit our first big hill I noticed that everyone was walking up it. I though that was a bit strange, but when I got to it, I realized why they were walking and I joined in. I was probably going faster with a walk than I would have been running anyway. About half way up, I told someone that this hill was going to kill me the second time around (it was two loops of 10k).
Just before reaching the top I thought I might be able to power up and over the top. I managed, but then coming down the other side I realized that going down was going to be just as hard as getting up the hills. On my way down the hills I would make sure that I had my one free hand ready to catch the trees to help slow my decent. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the trails were pretty well covered with rocks and roots and stuff. There were only a few times that I was brave enough to look up from the trail to look around at the beauty. It really was a pretty area. I was very grateful for all the trees. I thought that we might break out of the trees towards the top, but we didn't there were only a few places along the whole course that I saw the sun. That being said, it was still about 85 degrees and very humid. There were three main hills along the course. There were three or four bridges to run across. There were also two streams without bridges to jump across.
By the time that I broke out of the trails onto the road, i was completely soaked in sweat. My water was warm and I needed to get some more to cool down. there was about a half mile on the road to get back to the starting area. Amanda was ready with the camera and the kids helped cheer me on. I tried to go faster on the road because it was much easier to run on the smooth pavement. Just before I got to the trails, I downed my second energy gel. At the aide station I filled my water bottle with cold water, man that felt nice. I also grabbed a cup of Gatorade. Now that I knew what to expect on the course, I took this part of the course a little harder. I knew it would be about two miles before I hit any hills. By this point everyone was pretty much settle in to where they were going to finish. coming up the last hill, I saw two people that I wanted to pass. I caught up to and passed one of them. I caught up to the next guy at the top of that last hill, but he seemed to have more experience on trails that I did, because he cruised down the hill creating about a 100 foot lead. Coming out of the trail onto the pavement, I thought I wouldn't have any trouble catching him, but he picked his pace up just like I did. I finished the last half mile really strong, but only managed to shorten the lead he had on my to about 30 feet before crossing the finish line.
I finished in 1:58:43. I was 18 of 80 overall, 16 of 56 males, and 6 of 9 in my age group. I was very pleased with being able to finish in less than two hours. That is right about what I thought I was going to do. I ate some post race snacks then sat down in the mist tent to cool down. After just a bit, we took the kids over to the lake and let them swim for just a little bit. after only abut five minutes Alex tripped and cut his hand open, so we just left. Overall it was a fantastic day. I had a lot of fun. I am really glad that I chose to do this short trail run (yes 20 kilometers is short) before just heading out on the trail for the White River 50. It gave me the experience that I need to be more prepared for WR50.
Well, like I said I will post some pictures later.
They day started at about 6:20 when I rolled out of bed and started getting dressed. Breakfast at the hotel started at 6:30, so we were there right when it started. We ate quickly and headed on out. Even with the kids, we were pretty quick. We grabbed everything in case we couldn't make it back before checkout time. Our hotel was just about a five minute drive from the State Park. When we got there we went straight over to the Xterra Village they had set up. It was pretty cool. I registered for the 21k race. We had just a little bit of time to stand around waiting for the race to start. I ended up at the start of the pack, but i kept inching my way back from the starting line. I knew I wasn't going to lead the whole thing, so I got about ten feet back from the start. They told us just before they shot off the cannon that it was really only about 20 kilometers and not a true half marathon. It is pretty hard to get an established trail to change lengths. Finally the little cannon was fired and we were off. There were only about 80 of us in the race. We went about 200 feet up the sidewalk, then took a sharp right for another 200-300 feet up to the road. Then we were on the side of the road for about three quarters of a mile before we turned up onto the trails.
The first aide station was right there but I passed it by because I had my watter bottle with me. I had not seen the trail or even a profile of the trail, so I really didn't know what to expect. The first mile or two of trail was perfect. It rolled back and forth and only a little up and down. When we hit our first big hill I noticed that everyone was walking up it. I though that was a bit strange, but when I got to it, I realized why they were walking and I joined in. I was probably going faster with a walk than I would have been running anyway. About half way up, I told someone that this hill was going to kill me the second time around (it was two loops of 10k).
Just before reaching the top I thought I might be able to power up and over the top. I managed, but then coming down the other side I realized that going down was going to be just as hard as getting up the hills. On my way down the hills I would make sure that I had my one free hand ready to catch the trees to help slow my decent. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the trails were pretty well covered with rocks and roots and stuff. There were only a few times that I was brave enough to look up from the trail to look around at the beauty. It really was a pretty area. I was very grateful for all the trees. I thought that we might break out of the trees towards the top, but we didn't there were only a few places along the whole course that I saw the sun. That being said, it was still about 85 degrees and very humid. There were three main hills along the course. There were three or four bridges to run across. There were also two streams without bridges to jump across.
By the time that I broke out of the trails onto the road, i was completely soaked in sweat. My water was warm and I needed to get some more to cool down. there was about a half mile on the road to get back to the starting area. Amanda was ready with the camera and the kids helped cheer me on. I tried to go faster on the road because it was much easier to run on the smooth pavement. Just before I got to the trails, I downed my second energy gel. At the aide station I filled my water bottle with cold water, man that felt nice. I also grabbed a cup of Gatorade. Now that I knew what to expect on the course, I took this part of the course a little harder. I knew it would be about two miles before I hit any hills. By this point everyone was pretty much settle in to where they were going to finish. coming up the last hill, I saw two people that I wanted to pass. I caught up to and passed one of them. I caught up to the next guy at the top of that last hill, but he seemed to have more experience on trails that I did, because he cruised down the hill creating about a 100 foot lead. Coming out of the trail onto the pavement, I thought I wouldn't have any trouble catching him, but he picked his pace up just like I did. I finished the last half mile really strong, but only managed to shorten the lead he had on my to about 30 feet before crossing the finish line.
I finished in 1:58:43. I was 18 of 80 overall, 16 of 56 males, and 6 of 9 in my age group. I was very pleased with being able to finish in less than two hours. That is right about what I thought I was going to do. I ate some post race snacks then sat down in the mist tent to cool down. After just a bit, we took the kids over to the lake and let them swim for just a little bit. after only abut five minutes Alex tripped and cut his hand open, so we just left. Overall it was a fantastic day. I had a lot of fun. I am really glad that I chose to do this short trail run (yes 20 kilometers is short) before just heading out on the trail for the White River 50. It gave me the experience that I need to be more prepared for WR50.
Well, like I said I will post some pictures later.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I run a lot
Running is a hobby of mine. It is something I do for fun. I am able to relax and blow off stress when I run. For the month of May I managed to total 201 miles. For the last week though, it has been hard to pull myself out and run. It was my shortest week in over two months. Even today when I thought going for a run would make me feel better it just made me more tired. I'm now sitting here feeling very exhausted. I think that I need to go to bed earlier and maybe eat better too. I am however excited about running a half marathon up in Alabama this weekend. I really think that I will have my energy level back by then. It will be a fun trail run at Oak Mountain State Park. Maybe my wife will even take some photos so that you can actually see me run. Not that a tired, sweaty guy is really something worth looking at, but it should be a pretty place too. I'm sure we'll have lots of fun in the Birmingham area on Friday and Saturday. I might be able to get Friday off.
Keep running.
Keep running.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Missing John Alley was Found
Thank you for all the support that we have received. We have had a lot of help from a lot of people. John was found and there is an investigation going on, so I can't say much more than that.
Here is the article from the Pensacola News Journal.
Here is the article from the Pensacola News Journal.
Police have found a body believed to be that of John Alley, a pilot who had been missing since Saturday.
Alley’s 1996 green Toyota Corolla was found wrecked off of Scenic Highway near Summit Boulevard.
The body was found in the water along the edge of Escambia Bay, about a quarter of a mile northeast of the crash site, said Police Sgt. Mike Simmons.
“I can confirm we have located a body and I am about 99 percent sure it is Mr. Alley,” Pensacola Police Assistant Chief Chip Simmons.
Police detective Mike Reese said a 16-year-old boy was fishing and walking along the shoreline when he saw the body. The teen then notified some nearby searchers.
“We are still working on the crime scene investigation and we have not gotten a positive identification from the family yet. But he was last seen wearing a flight suit and the body found was wearing a flight suit.”
“It’s very difficult to say where he entered the water,” Simmons said. “We are doing our best to answer those questions, primarily how he ended up in the water to begin with.”
Alley, 26, a U.S. Air Force pilot from Milton, was a newlywed, a soon-to-be father and a former missionary.
“It’s a sad situation and we’ve been in contact with the family and the base command,” Simmons said.
An autopsy will be done this week to determine positive identification and cause of death, Simmons said.
Police initially were notified of the crash at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday after Alley’s locked car was found abandoned on Scenic Highway.
Alley is believed to have been southbound on Scenic when the car crossed the center line and hit a guardrail.
Police and search teams had been looking since Saturday for Alley, a 2nd Lieutenant stationed with the Air Force at Whiting Field.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
John Alley Missing
I have a friend here in Florida that has disappeared. Nobody knows where he is. Friday (May 23, 2008) he was in class from seven till three in the afternoon. After that no one has seen him. 2nd LT John Alley is an Air Force officer in pilot training. After searching all night Friday, police found his car totaled at about five Saturday (May 24th) morning. There was no sign of John though. There was no blood at the scene. John obviously walked away from the accident. He left his keys, wallet and cell phone in the car. Search dogs were called to the scene but the trail led nowhere which leads people to suspect that he was picked up by someone. It is possible that because of the wreck, he is disoriented and can not remember who he is. Please, for my friends sake forward this message to people. He might still be in the Pensacola area, but he also might be traveling somewhere. If he was really disoriented, he might not remember that he lives in Florida and thinks he lives in Colorado which is where he is from. This is a good standing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints which means that it was very, very, very unlikely that alcohol was involved.
If you have any information regarding this go to the web site that has been set up for him. www.helpfindjohn.inf0 Today hundreds of people were out putting up fliers in local businesses and on street corners.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Long Runs
I like my weekend long runs. Today I decided to get up early and do the same run I did two weeks ago. I left the house before 4:30 this morning to try to beat the heat. I did beat it. It was very comfortable for my whole run. It was 68 degrees when I left and by the time I got back it was 80. Just within that last hour though the temps went from 75 up to 80. I was feeling so good that when I was a mile from home, I decided to run an extra 1.7 mile loop. So, instead of 26.5 I ran 28.2. It was a great run today. I'm only a little tired right now from getting up so early. Maybe I'll take a nap, who knows.
This last week I hit a couple of milestones. as of today I have ran 542 miles this year. I have run 173 so far this month. Since I started logging my runs on the runners world website, I have ran 791 miles. That is from the end of September of last year. This last week I ran 57 miles. I feel great.
So, instead of just reading about all of the running that I do, you should go out and try it. Even if it is just a mile. It doesn't have to be much, just get out there and be active. In fact, you don't even have to run, you can swim, bike, walk or any number of other activities. Anyway, I think I'll go run now.
This last week I hit a couple of milestones. as of today I have ran 542 miles this year. I have run 173 so far this month. Since I started logging my runs on the runners world website, I have ran 791 miles. That is from the end of September of last year. This last week I ran 57 miles. I feel great.
So, instead of just reading about all of the running that I do, you should go out and try it. Even if it is just a mile. It doesn't have to be much, just get out there and be active. In fact, you don't even have to run, you can swim, bike, walk or any number of other activities. Anyway, I think I'll go run now.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Running
In case any of you don't know, I love to run. Why? you may ask. There are a lot of reasons. I just enjoy it. It is something I can go to that will relieve stress and give me a break from everything else. I can forget about life, or I can think about life while I am running. A lot of the time I listen to my favorite music. Sometimes I will think of nothing but the next mile or half mile and how fast I should run it. Running is also very healthy. My heart and lungs are in good shape.
Yesterday I decided to do a tempo run. For those who don't know that is a run anywhere from three or four miles up to 10 miles or longer that is a quicker pace than a normal easy jog, but not quite as fast as you would run a race. It had been three or four weeks since I had done one of these tempo runs and my body needed the speed. After the first mile I decided to do the next three or four miles at a sub-8 pace. The next four miles ranged from 7:44 to 7:13. My legs felt fatigued after mile three. I realized that my legs were still trying to recover from last weeks 54 miles and last Saturday's 26.5 miles. I also did eight miles on Monday. I guess my legs just wanted a rest. I think today will be a short easy run. I will probably only do five miles at a nine minute per mile pace.
It is funny to look back at my running log over the last six or seven months. Last summer I barely ran at all. It wasn't until October when I started running again seriously. At that time it was a chore to run three miles. I notice in my log that I even called a five mile run a "long" run. That is pretty funny considering the fact that I have now been calling my ten mile runs "easy" as apposed to "long." If you click here you can see a graph of my runs over the last eight months. It is pretty cool to see the progress I've made. I think maybe it is time for me to stop building miles for now. I'll try to maintain 50-55 miles per week with the long run of 26miles, for at least a few weeks. I'll work on doing more speed stuff. I'll probably just do a tempo run. Maybe I should do some hills in there too. Maybe in three or four weeks I'll start building mile by mile to 31 miles. My plan is to run 31 miles on July 5th. The 50 miler being three weeks later on July 26th.
All this talk about running makes me want to go running.
Yesterday I decided to do a tempo run. For those who don't know that is a run anywhere from three or four miles up to 10 miles or longer that is a quicker pace than a normal easy jog, but not quite as fast as you would run a race. It had been three or four weeks since I had done one of these tempo runs and my body needed the speed. After the first mile I decided to do the next three or four miles at a sub-8 pace. The next four miles ranged from 7:44 to 7:13. My legs felt fatigued after mile three. I realized that my legs were still trying to recover from last weeks 54 miles and last Saturday's 26.5 miles. I also did eight miles on Monday. I guess my legs just wanted a rest. I think today will be a short easy run. I will probably only do five miles at a nine minute per mile pace.
It is funny to look back at my running log over the last six or seven months. Last summer I barely ran at all. It wasn't until October when I started running again seriously. At that time it was a chore to run three miles. I notice in my log that I even called a five mile run a "long" run. That is pretty funny considering the fact that I have now been calling my ten mile runs "easy" as apposed to "long." If you click here you can see a graph of my runs over the last eight months. It is pretty cool to see the progress I've made. I think maybe it is time for me to stop building miles for now. I'll try to maintain 50-55 miles per week with the long run of 26miles, for at least a few weeks. I'll work on doing more speed stuff. I'll probably just do a tempo run. Maybe I should do some hills in there too. Maybe in three or four weeks I'll start building mile by mile to 31 miles. My plan is to run 31 miles on July 5th. The 50 miler being three weeks later on July 26th.
All this talk about running makes me want to go running.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
26.2 Miles
Today I decided to go and run a full marathon. I had been feeling good this week, so I went for it. I took it easy and walked quite a bit on the second half. It was really hot out today. I was well prepared for it. I had three energy gels, two granola bars, and enough money to buy three bottles of Gatorade along the way. I also drank four of my water bottles full of water. I actually drove the route after I ran it just to make sure of the distance and it turns out that instead of 13.1 miles to the turn around point it was almost 13.3 so I actually ran more than a marathon.
As I was running today I just kept thinking that the heat was good training for the Badwater Ultramarathon. That is a 135 mile race that I would like to do. It runs through Death Valley and ends up at the foothills of Mount Whitney 135 miles away. It is run in July when the average high is 117 degrees and highs often reach the upper 120's. At night the average low's are in the high 80's. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for wanting to do it, but I think it sounds fun.
I'm a bit tired now, so that's it for now.
Happy Running.
As I was running today I just kept thinking that the heat was good training for the Badwater Ultramarathon. That is a 135 mile race that I would like to do. It runs through Death Valley and ends up at the foothills of Mount Whitney 135 miles away. It is run in July when the average high is 117 degrees and highs often reach the upper 120's. At night the average low's are in the high 80's. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for wanting to do it, but I think it sounds fun.
I'm a bit tired now, so that's it for now.
Happy Running.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
I Ran 146 Miles in April!!!
With the White River 50 Miler to look forward to, I have stepped up my training. I've consistantly run more than 30 miles each week for the last five weeks or so. With something to look forward to, I stay more focussed and run better. By the end of this week I will top 400 miles for the year. That is pretty good for me. I've been feeling pretty good. My right shin still acts up a little bit, but for the most part it behaves itself. 146 mile is pretty good, but it is nothing like Anton over at Riding the Wind. He averages more than 170 per week. But then again I'm a back of the pack guy, he's an elite, usually winning the races he enters.
I think I will start making my easy runs 6 or 7 miles. Right now they are usually five. Just another mile or two each run will help increase my mileage for the week. This week I'll do 45 miles. I'll probably stop building weekly mileage when I get to 50 or 60. Then I'll shorten my weekday runs, and keep lengthening my weekend runs. I have a plan to build to 31 miles three weeks before the White River 50. Then I'll taper down to practically nothing that last week. This is fun. I really enjoy running. I get frustrated sometimes when I have to push one of my kids in the jogging stroller, but it's not too bad. I get over it. It relieves a lot of stress when I run so much. I also love to listen to music and thanks to my beautiful wife, I have a 1G ipod shuffle. I love it. It is so small and compact. It has given me no problems. I get to listen to hours and hours of good music while I'm running. Sometimes I just like it quiet though. On my 19 mile run last week up on Whidbey Island, I had to turn off the music for a bit. It is so beautful and peaceful up there that I just had to turn off the music and listen to the birds and beach and the sounds of nature.
If I don't get up to Washington before July to run the White River 50, then I'll probably make my own course down here and run it. I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I would running around the cascades, but this way I still have something to look forward to if WR50 falls through. I'll find my own support crew to help keep me going. Maybe I can even get people to run portions of it with me. I'm sure my wife and kids will help for at least part of it. I really probably don't even need much help. There are plenty of gas stations and stores along the route I would probably take. I just got a new water bottle too, so I would carry my own water and energy gels and even my cell phone just in case something happens. If I did a run here in Florida in July, I would definetly start it about four or five in the morning so that I could at least start in the cool of the morning. I'd have to be flexible too, if it is forcaste to be really hot, I would push it back another week. Well, all this is speculation. For now, I'll just plan on running the White River 50. Maybe I'll have to take a vacation and drag the family up to Washington if we haven't moved by then.
I'm going to start looking for a marathon to do here in the begining of June. That will be fun. That will go right along with my training plan.
I think I will start making my easy runs 6 or 7 miles. Right now they are usually five. Just another mile or two each run will help increase my mileage for the week. This week I'll do 45 miles. I'll probably stop building weekly mileage when I get to 50 or 60. Then I'll shorten my weekday runs, and keep lengthening my weekend runs. I have a plan to build to 31 miles three weeks before the White River 50. Then I'll taper down to practically nothing that last week. This is fun. I really enjoy running. I get frustrated sometimes when I have to push one of my kids in the jogging stroller, but it's not too bad. I get over it. It relieves a lot of stress when I run so much. I also love to listen to music and thanks to my beautiful wife, I have a 1G ipod shuffle. I love it. It is so small and compact. It has given me no problems. I get to listen to hours and hours of good music while I'm running. Sometimes I just like it quiet though. On my 19 mile run last week up on Whidbey Island, I had to turn off the music for a bit. It is so beautful and peaceful up there that I just had to turn off the music and listen to the birds and beach and the sounds of nature.
If I don't get up to Washington before July to run the White River 50, then I'll probably make my own course down here and run it. I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I would running around the cascades, but this way I still have something to look forward to if WR50 falls through. I'll find my own support crew to help keep me going. Maybe I can even get people to run portions of it with me. I'm sure my wife and kids will help for at least part of it. I really probably don't even need much help. There are plenty of gas stations and stores along the route I would probably take. I just got a new water bottle too, so I would carry my own water and energy gels and even my cell phone just in case something happens. If I did a run here in Florida in July, I would definetly start it about four or five in the morning so that I could at least start in the cool of the morning. I'd have to be flexible too, if it is forcaste to be really hot, I would push it back another week. Well, all this is speculation. For now, I'll just plan on running the White River 50. Maybe I'll have to take a vacation and drag the family up to Washington if we haven't moved by then.
I'm going to start looking for a marathon to do here in the begining of June. That will be fun. That will go right along with my training plan.
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