Sunday morning was nothing like the stormy Thursday. The sky was a pleasant blue, tarnished by the smoke from the burning substation off in the distance. We lost power during the storm Thursday (yeah… the one I was out running in). Then on Saturday the date-night movie was ruined by the power going out again, this time while we were in the movie theater. The cause of the outage was a sub-station that caught fire and exploded. On Sunday when I headed out for my 18 mile run, the station was still burning.
One lap around the Hillsboro airport is almost exactly 6 miles. Very handy for an 18 mile run. I parked my car on a little dead-end road near the airport and trotted out. It was cold (around 35 degrees) but pleasant when dressed right. Not much wind and overall just a wonderful day.
The first lap flew by. I stopped at the car and drank some fluids, ate a few slices of orange and chewed a bit on a powerbar and headed around again. After the second pit stop it was a bit harder to get moving again. Normally on my runs I only stop if I am at an Intersection, but I have to say after the second lap where I actually sat down, it was hard to get moving again. I felt like a train trying to build up some steam.
Everything felt pretty good until about mile 17. Then I started to hurt. Nothing in particular… just everything. I was trying very hard to hold on to 9 minute miles, and it appeared I was on my way. But after mile 17, I just wanted to finish… I didn’t care whether it was a 15 minute mile. When my watch beeped that I was done, I hit the stop button and my pace came up.
Exactly... 9 Minute miles.
For a split second I felt emotional and did the little suck of wind you hear when people are fighting crying during a sad movie. Of course, being a man I quickly beat that piece of emotion back into the closet when it belongs and threw the key away again. =) It was quite an effort to keep that pace, especially at the end. The goal I set for myself long before I knew better, was under 4 hours. If I kept the 18 mile pace I’d be at 3:54. The only problem is that… well… I know at this point I could not keep that pace up. I do have another 4 months of training though.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Through the storm
Last Thursday was my most ridiculous run ever. For the most part I believe in sticking to a schedule with robotic like precision. I don’t want to have to ask myself… ‘should I run today?” It is easier to just follow the chart. Sometimes the chart and the weather don’t get along very well though. Thursday I was scheduled for 6 miles. The weather was very iffy. By iffy I mean we were expecting 100mph winds on the coast and a ton of rain. I didn’t want to run at the gym though, so after testing the waters so to speak, I headed out anyway.
Big mistake.
When I started my run is was very blustery but just barely raining. I’ve been out in similar weather, so no big deal I thought. It was one of those days where the wind seemed to be coming from every direction at times, and the gusts bump you about like you are slam dancing at the Mayor’s Ball. (Not that I know anything about that) ;) Anyway… before I’d reached the 1 mile mark, the rain joined the wind, and the wind obviously thrilled at the new company, really started to rock. It was predominately at my back for the first 3 miles, and somewhere past the 2 mile mark it really picked up, and it occurred to me… ‘oh…my… God… I am going to have to turn around and head into this mess’.
My normal turn around point is a bridge over a beautiful pond. I couldn’t get there though… because the pond was flooded up over the entrances to the bridge.
And then I turned around.
In the NW our storms don’t have cool names. In general we don’t even refer to them once they are gone. Occasionally one will pick up a lasting name… like the ‘Columbus’ day storm, but in general they come and go with generic terms like the ‘wind storm’ or the ‘ice storm’. The storm last Thursday, while lacking a proper name, was one hell of a storm nonetheless. “Hurricane like” it was described as. And there I was, one man soaked to the bone plodding along in his Nike running shoes against a very pissed off Mother Nature... like I’d just brought her daughter home late from a date with lipstick all over my face.
The second leg was as bad as I feared. The wind was gusting near the airport at more than 50 mph. The next closest town to us recorded 70 and next the the airport I bet it was pretty darn close to that. The rain was stinging my face like little needles. Bits of trees were flying everywhere. I could hardly see, and I was not making much progress at ALL into the wind. A few hundred yards and I was just about spent, but I still had 3 miles to go. Those 3 miles were the slowest I have covered so far in my training, and unless I decide to run up Mt. Hood, they will always be my slowest. To say I was soaked might be an understatement. It was like I had been swimming. At times I was running through 3-4 inches of water... and there was no getting around it either.
When I stopped at an intersection to cross, with the wind and rain in full force, it really sunk in how stupid I was to be out there. I wished I could teleport myself my self back home. The whole thing wasn’t hard-core, it was idiotic.
I vow never to run in hurricane like conditions again, but at least now I know that if I am trapped in one with 6 miles to run to safety… I can do it. =)
Big mistake.
When I started my run is was very blustery but just barely raining. I’ve been out in similar weather, so no big deal I thought. It was one of those days where the wind seemed to be coming from every direction at times, and the gusts bump you about like you are slam dancing at the Mayor’s Ball. (Not that I know anything about that) ;) Anyway… before I’d reached the 1 mile mark, the rain joined the wind, and the wind obviously thrilled at the new company, really started to rock. It was predominately at my back for the first 3 miles, and somewhere past the 2 mile mark it really picked up, and it occurred to me… ‘oh…my… God… I am going to have to turn around and head into this mess’.
My normal turn around point is a bridge over a beautiful pond. I couldn’t get there though… because the pond was flooded up over the entrances to the bridge.
And then I turned around.
In the NW our storms don’t have cool names. In general we don’t even refer to them once they are gone. Occasionally one will pick up a lasting name… like the ‘Columbus’ day storm, but in general they come and go with generic terms like the ‘wind storm’ or the ‘ice storm’. The storm last Thursday, while lacking a proper name, was one hell of a storm nonetheless. “Hurricane like” it was described as. And there I was, one man soaked to the bone plodding along in his Nike running shoes against a very pissed off Mother Nature... like I’d just brought her daughter home late from a date with lipstick all over my face.
The second leg was as bad as I feared. The wind was gusting near the airport at more than 50 mph. The next closest town to us recorded 70 and next the the airport I bet it was pretty darn close to that. The rain was stinging my face like little needles. Bits of trees were flying everywhere. I could hardly see, and I was not making much progress at ALL into the wind. A few hundred yards and I was just about spent, but I still had 3 miles to go. Those 3 miles were the slowest I have covered so far in my training, and unless I decide to run up Mt. Hood, they will always be my slowest. To say I was soaked might be an understatement. It was like I had been swimming. At times I was running through 3-4 inches of water... and there was no getting around it either.
When I stopped at an intersection to cross, with the wind and rain in full force, it really sunk in how stupid I was to be out there. I wished I could teleport myself my self back home. The whole thing wasn’t hard-core, it was idiotic.
I vow never to run in hurricane like conditions again, but at least now I know that if I am trapped in one with 6 miles to run to safety… I can do it. =)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Storm Part III - Abort Abort
Due to bad weather, I diverted around my scheduled 18 mile run this Sunday. Instead, I bought a 11'4'' Christmas three and hauled it into the house, then out, then in... (it was one mother of a tree and took some coaxing to get planted straight in our living room) "Does that look straight to you?"
"Um well... it depends on how you have your head tilted." Actually... it wasn't really the weather. My legs were dead tired. I topped 40 miles this week for the first time, and there just wasn't enough juice in them for 18 miles the next day. Yes... I could have done it anyway... but I believe it would have probably done more harm than good. I have plenty o slack in my training schedule actually... I need to be careful or I will peek too soon.
I have a neutral foot. I suspected as much, and stuck my foot in some water and then on some black paper to verify. In that respect, from a running point of view (especially for long distances) I am very lucky. There is a lot you can do to train and take care of your body, but some of it comes down to genetics. I can remember my cross country coach, Jack Oft (yeah we laughed about his name) saying that I had a perfect body for running. It wasn't really my feet =) but the fact that I was skinny and had relatively decent form. I did definitely have the body of a long distance runner. Of course, sometime between adolescence and adult hood, that perfect long distance running body up and ran away. I do have relatively the same two feet though, and they have served me well.
Last night as I was nearing the ¾ mark of my run, the sun was setting to the west over the cascade range... lol... like the sun could ever set to the EAST... but anyway... it was one of those amazing and awe-inspiring moments that can just rock your world. Missing that sunset would have been a crime. Running takes you places (bumper sticker?, OK maybe not... how 'bout Marathon runners do it long and slow? Uh no... some do run fast... how about "My Dad went to Boston, ran a marathon and was too tired to buy me a T-shirt, so he just wrote this on my chest with a black permanent marker", or... "Pardon me... I've got the runs..." or "Boston Marathon 2008. I was going to run a 10K, but I got lost and was too stubborn to ask for directions")
ANYway... running takes you places that you may not ordinarily be, and sometimes the results are amazing. When I was in the Army, some of the most god-wakeful situations could be amazing in their own way. I remember being on an exercise in Alaskan wilderness near Fairbanks... it was very cold... -30 -40 -50 all the same... and the wind was blowing right through our SUSV (google it... it is a military vehicle built for snow) and at some awful hour of the morning (midnight) my SUSV was wandering around a snow storm trying to find our unit. The conversations went something like "where the hell are you?" "on top of a hill" "so are we... what do you see?" "nothing but blowing snow... it is pitch black". It was desolate. Finally we gave up and hunkered down for a break in the storm. I crawled into my super military sleeping bag... ducked my head inside... and I could still feel the cold blowing through the vehicle... through my bag. It was not good. It was the kind of night where the cold could do some serious damage. While I was in the shiver state (good sign... very good... the comforting numb bliss of hypothermia is where it gets dangerous) the wind died down, the snow stopped... and the clouds parted to show the most amazing northern lights I ever saw. If you have only seen them on TV... forget it... not the same... but there they were, so beautiful you could cry. That moment... like the moments I experience sometimes while running... would have been missed if I had not ventured out into the storm ( regardless of whether I had to abort on the 18 miler) =)
"Um well... it depends on how you have your head tilted." Actually... it wasn't really the weather. My legs were dead tired. I topped 40 miles this week for the first time, and there just wasn't enough juice in them for 18 miles the next day. Yes... I could have done it anyway... but I believe it would have probably done more harm than good. I have plenty o slack in my training schedule actually... I need to be careful or I will peek too soon.
I have a neutral foot. I suspected as much, and stuck my foot in some water and then on some black paper to verify. In that respect, from a running point of view (especially for long distances) I am very lucky. There is a lot you can do to train and take care of your body, but some of it comes down to genetics. I can remember my cross country coach, Jack Oft (yeah we laughed about his name) saying that I had a perfect body for running. It wasn't really my feet =) but the fact that I was skinny and had relatively decent form. I did definitely have the body of a long distance runner. Of course, sometime between adolescence and adult hood, that perfect long distance running body up and ran away. I do have relatively the same two feet though, and they have served me well.
Last night as I was nearing the ¾ mark of my run, the sun was setting to the west over the cascade range... lol... like the sun could ever set to the EAST... but anyway... it was one of those amazing and awe-inspiring moments that can just rock your world. Missing that sunset would have been a crime. Running takes you places (bumper sticker?, OK maybe not... how 'bout Marathon runners do it long and slow? Uh no... some do run fast... how about "My Dad went to Boston, ran a marathon and was too tired to buy me a T-shirt, so he just wrote this on my chest with a black permanent marker", or... "Pardon me... I've got the runs..." or "Boston Marathon 2008. I was going to run a 10K, but I got lost and was too stubborn to ask for directions")
ANYway... running takes you places that you may not ordinarily be, and sometimes the results are amazing. When I was in the Army, some of the most god-wakeful situations could be amazing in their own way. I remember being on an exercise in Alaskan wilderness near Fairbanks... it was very cold... -30 -40 -50 all the same... and the wind was blowing right through our SUSV (google it... it is a military vehicle built for snow) and at some awful hour of the morning (midnight) my SUSV was wandering around a snow storm trying to find our unit. The conversations went something like "where the hell are you?" "on top of a hill" "so are we... what do you see?" "nothing but blowing snow... it is pitch black". It was desolate. Finally we gave up and hunkered down for a break in the storm. I crawled into my super military sleeping bag... ducked my head inside... and I could still feel the cold blowing through the vehicle... through my bag. It was not good. It was the kind of night where the cold could do some serious damage. While I was in the shiver state (good sign... very good... the comforting numb bliss of hypothermia is where it gets dangerous) the wind died down, the snow stopped... and the clouds parted to show the most amazing northern lights I ever saw. If you have only seen them on TV... forget it... not the same... but there they were, so beautiful you could cry. That moment... like the moments I experience sometimes while running... would have been missed if I had not ventured out into the storm ( regardless of whether I had to abort on the 18 miler) =)
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Long runs are like...
Long runs are like hangovers. Soon afterwards when I am feeing the pain I think to myself 'never again!' This continues to the next day. By the 2nd day after to run have to hobble out again and do my recovery run. At that point I am still usually not very happy about the whole running experience. By the 3rd day I have forgotten about the pain enough that I am willing to try it again. Lather rinse repeat.
My computer room is littered with running attire. Hats, jackets, sweat pants, running shirts etc… etc… all hanging to dry out before I can toss them in the laundry. Actually, there are quite a few things hanging around that are probably dry already. I must have at least 10 running hats. I usually reject two or three with the sniff test before I find one that won’t make my eyes water during the run.
My cats know what it means when I reach for my running shoes. They are creatures of habit, and they are quite aware of my routines, and they know when I reach for the running shoes, I am getting ready to head out the door. The are also aware that when I come back in the house, I am in a sorry state of exhaustion. Neo, the most expressive of my cats, looks at me like ‘NOOOO!!! Don’t do it!!!’ when I reach for the shoes. In some ways… cats may be smarter than humans.
My computer room is littered with running attire. Hats, jackets, sweat pants, running shirts etc… etc… all hanging to dry out before I can toss them in the laundry. Actually, there are quite a few things hanging around that are probably dry already. I must have at least 10 running hats. I usually reject two or three with the sniff test before I find one that won’t make my eyes water during the run.
My cats know what it means when I reach for my running shoes. They are creatures of habit, and they are quite aware of my routines, and they know when I reach for the running shoes, I am getting ready to head out the door. The are also aware that when I come back in the house, I am in a sorry state of exhaustion. Neo, the most expressive of my cats, looks at me like ‘NOOOO!!! Don’t do it!!!’ when I reach for the shoes. In some ways… cats may be smarter than humans.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
The storm week 2
I live it a great place to run for a running computer geek. Sounded by Nike and Intel, it is a running computer geeks dream. My typical run route takes my by the Hillsboro airport, where if I am lucky, the Nike hanger is open. It is lit gloriously and on the back wall massive sports banners hang from the ceiling to the floor. Nike has a couple of private jets that call the hanger home, and if the jets are not parked inside, a couple of fancy sports cars may be waiting for their arrival to wisk their high profile cargo off to the just as impressive Nike headquarters.
My runs also take me by the Intel Hawthorn Farms campus. I have to say I am glad Intel is near. Geeks are awesome. When I live on the East site of the Willamette, geeks were a rare breed. Over by Intel, they are everywhere, and I feel right at home.
Today’s run took me by neither landmarks however. I was physically sick during yesterdays simple 4 mile run… but I was shaken enough that I decided to run around the track at the local high school, so I could make a quick exit if I was sick again. It turns out… I managed to finish the 16 miles without stopping. One Powerbar and 2 12oz bottles of sports drink was enough to keep me moving. Barely. My time was atrocious. I didn’t have my GPS watch, or even ANY watch, but based on the time my play list on my IPod should have taken, and when I finished… I think it must have been around 10 minute miles. That doesn’t make a lot of sense, because I think I was running at 9 minute mile pace… so I think I missed counting some laps. I know I covered at LEAST 16 miles though.
That is a LOT of laps around a track. The surface is sure nice on the feet and legs, but it is a bit repetitive. The weather was absolutely perfect. Cold… but perfectly sunny. Wonderful wonderful weather for this time of year. Next week I have an 18 miler. Hopefully somehow to pain of today’s run will be gone by then. =) I am almost done with the 10,12,14,16,18 long run sequence. The long runs are insanely long. Maybe I will download an audio book for next weeks run. That might keep my mind occupied.
I am exhausted right now. Hobbling around the house. I feel like I am 80. I am too tired to feel that good about my run… my longest ever!!! Maybe tomorrow or the next day I will get the wind in my sails to enjoy it.
"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard
My runs also take me by the Intel Hawthorn Farms campus. I have to say I am glad Intel is near. Geeks are awesome. When I live on the East site of the Willamette, geeks were a rare breed. Over by Intel, they are everywhere, and I feel right at home.
Today’s run took me by neither landmarks however. I was physically sick during yesterdays simple 4 mile run… but I was shaken enough that I decided to run around the track at the local high school, so I could make a quick exit if I was sick again. It turns out… I managed to finish the 16 miles without stopping. One Powerbar and 2 12oz bottles of sports drink was enough to keep me moving. Barely. My time was atrocious. I didn’t have my GPS watch, or even ANY watch, but based on the time my play list on my IPod should have taken, and when I finished… I think it must have been around 10 minute miles. That doesn’t make a lot of sense, because I think I was running at 9 minute mile pace… so I think I missed counting some laps. I know I covered at LEAST 16 miles though.
That is a LOT of laps around a track. The surface is sure nice on the feet and legs, but it is a bit repetitive. The weather was absolutely perfect. Cold… but perfectly sunny. Wonderful wonderful weather for this time of year. Next week I have an 18 miler. Hopefully somehow to pain of today’s run will be gone by then. =) I am almost done with the 10,12,14,16,18 long run sequence. The long runs are insanely long. Maybe I will download an audio book for next weeks run. That might keep my mind occupied.
I am exhausted right now. Hobbling around the house. I feel like I am 80. I am too tired to feel that good about my run… my longest ever!!! Maybe tomorrow or the next day I will get the wind in my sails to enjoy it.
"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard
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