Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Ever Graceful Gazelle

"Gazelles are widely known for their speed, and being able to maintain it over long periods of time. They tend to live in herds and sup on soft foliage that is easily digestible."

Svoosh, svoosh, svoosh, svoosh.

Can you hear it? That's the sound of a gazelle either coming up on you from behind or coming just around the bend. Now let's multiply that by four or five and you have what I heard all morning long. As they run by, with feet that NEVER seem to touch the ground, they talk to each other about their speed, pace, and what their secret workouts are for keeping max VO2, they scare neither a woodland creature as they seem to run in harmony with all around them. All while keeping that insane pace.

TWHOP! svoosh TWHOP! svoosh TWHOP! svoosh TWHOP! svoosh TWHOP!


How about that? Tell me you can hear that, right, everything else sure as heck does as I can hear them running in fear through the trees? Now that's what I sound like. I'm what you call a Clydesdale. I gave up on
the speed game years ago, trading it in for ever building endurance. When it comes to my speed, it doesn't matter so long as I stay vertical. Pace? Uh, this side of an hour. Secret workout for max VO2? LOOK A SQUIRREL!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Caution: Cuddling Can Prove Catastrophic

Got home and started the usual routine of sneaking into our bedroom to dig out my duds in the dark without rousing the lil lady. Now, I know I could just leave my gear in the guest bathroom the day before and bypass all the tiptoeing, but she'd rather know I made it home and that I'm headed to the trail, no loss of sleep on my part. That is, except when cuddling is required before I go.

Fast forward 35 minutes. I'm under the blankets in a frigid dark room, snuggled between her and our two dogs, that generate body heat equivalent to two small ovens, and quickly drifting off to sleep. Dragging myself out of bed was just a bit difficult. It was made easier as she began to kick me out since I missed my long run Sunday, and she wanted the bed to herself a bit longer. She can be so suportive when I need it most.

Warming up the the dirt took a bit, a little longer than the usual mile. Once things got under way I drifted along just fine.

Gear wise, today was the inaugural use of my new Quickdraw water bottle. It was nice having some water on the trail and not worrying about actually cumbersomely carring a bottle with me as this system straps to the hand. There's even a little zipper-pouch so I could stow away some extra gum (it gets overly hot and soft in my shorts' pockets) and a Crystal Lite or two. Next on the list is to replace my old Camelbak with somthing that doesn't jostle around as much.

530am

(From Saturday, 25 July 2009)

Another morning of mileage behind me. For a full hour I had the trail to myself. Well, mostly besides the deer that scared the living scat out of me. Just coming over a hill to watch the sun rise over the horizon continues to remind me why I enjoy being on the trial. The solitude can be scary at times, but the sound of my foot falls has mind numbing qualities that nothing else can compare to. Tomorrow I have my mind set for a three hour run. Here's to getting up early, packing the ol' Camel with water and some trail mix, and hitting the dirt.

"Great Pace!"

(From Thursday, 23 July 2009)

Thank you unknown biker on the trail today, you made my morning. As she zipped by in a flash of green bike jersey and red hair, she called over her shoulder, "Lookin' good! Great pace!". I hadn't noticed passing her earlier but I must have.

Remember, even if they don't wave back, even if they look at you funny, there's always that one person who's having a bad run/bike/swim, who's wondering why their putting themselves through hell in the first place. A little word of encouragement goes that extra mile in helping that person realize they are not alone on the trails.

Rock on mystery biker!

Why haven't I thought of this before?!?!

(From Tuesday, 14 July 2009 )

Running = r = Good.
iPod = i = Good.
Comedic podcast = c = Good

(r + i) * c = WTFOMGTHISROCKS!!

Now I know the bonuses of some good adrenaline churning tunes, and their counterparts, the thought-numbing soothing sounds of the seventies when added with running, but who knew that laughing, (YES, laughing) would be a step in a differant, and maybe better (?), direction?

Will definately have to experiment with this more often on my longer runs as maybe the thought used to follow the rantings and stories that my favorite podcasters spew are actually taking my mind away from the pitfalls of my harder runs.

On the negative side, I think I may have been a bit TOO oblivious as I'm worried about misstepping and potentially spraining (if not, God forbid, breaking) an ankle.

Here we go again...

(From Tuesday, 07 July 2009)

50 here I come!!Researching training programs and future races during offtime at work is always exciting.

Tomorrow I start again, with that golden carrot of a 50 miler not far in the distance. This will be my second attempt at the distance as the last time I trained for something this big it ended in a severely swollen knee and the advice to stay off running long distances (longer than 50 miles a week) for a few months. If my math is correct, I should be expected to start sweating the big day sometime in September, with a marathon or two thrown in between now and then for good measure.

This time I plan to go at a slower pace, listen to the creeks of my body a little closer, eat more pb&h ban-agels, drink a LOT more water, and enjoy the trails a little deeper. I CANNOT wait to lace up my runners in the morning.

-Mannie