Got out for a few miles today at lunchtime and ran in the rain. I really don't remember the last time that I ran in honest to goodness rain but I think it had to be in July up in Leadville. It wasn't that bad running in the rain today as it wasn't that cold. The creek in MVP is way up and the water is almost black from ash I presume.
Tinkering with the idea of Bandera in January. Another Texas race. We'll see. 100K sounds like a decent distance to shoot for that early in the year. I won't even consider going back to do Rocky Raccoon in February, forget that.
Doing some preliminary shopping and fact finding for a mountain bike for next year maybe. So far I think that I am looking for a hard tail, 29" wheels, and under 23lbs in weight. Of course it would have to have front suspension. Like I said, right now just investigating my options. If I need a bike or not won' t be decided until December.
I've been looking at possible contenders in my age group for the Fall Series. Pretty much it's going to be a tough go at it. I finished 6th in my AG last year and this year I will be lucky to be that far up again. I hope to drop five minutes from my overall time in the series from last year. If I just do better in the last race, that will take care of that but there is just a lot of talent in the 40-44 AG.
Anyway, starting to feel like things are coming back around. I am pretty determined now to just get the momentum going again and keeping with it. It could be a 50 mile week when all is said and done.
Who remembers the Chicken Lady?
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Tuesday Track.... Better.
Originally planned a workout of 4x1 mile repeats again tonight but JT intervened and suggested that 800's would be more appropriate given my current "condition." Not 100% sure of which "condition" or issue he was reffering to so I will just assume that me was meaning my current burnout/lack of motivation-condition. At least I hope that is what he meant as there are plenty of other options to choose from.
So tonight ended up being one mile warm up, 6 x 800m with 400m RBI and a one mile cool down. Times were okay... 3:11, 3:23,322,3:21,3:25,3:18.
That 3:25 was DEFINITELY due to the wind.
Overall it felt good. (as good as repeats can feel at least.) Better than any workout since Leadville so progress in the right direction. One thing that I was thinking on my fourth or fifth repeat was that with as crappy as things have felt the past three weeks at least I have hit the track every week and I have had those more quality workouts... so my overall volume has sucked, my consistency has sucked but at least once a week I've had honest track workouts of decent quality so that is something to be happy about.
Sirius XM strikes again... heard this on the way home. Talk about an ear worm!
So tonight ended up being one mile warm up, 6 x 800m with 400m RBI and a one mile cool down. Times were okay... 3:11, 3:23,322,3:21,3:25,3:18.
That 3:25 was DEFINITELY due to the wind.
Overall it felt good. (as good as repeats can feel at least.) Better than any workout since Leadville so progress in the right direction. One thing that I was thinking on my fourth or fifth repeat was that with as crappy as things have felt the past three weeks at least I have hit the track every week and I have had those more quality workouts... so my overall volume has sucked, my consistency has sucked but at least once a week I've had honest track workouts of decent quality so that is something to be happy about.
Sirius XM strikes again... heard this on the way home. Talk about an ear worm!
Monday, September 10, 2012
This Is A Tough One
Just over three weeks into the recovery phase after Leadville and I can tell that I am going to take a long time to fully bounce back. In the past it seems to take me right at seven weeks to bounce back from a 100 miler and all I can say is that after three weeks I am completely fricking miserable.
Physically I feel fine. Still a touch of the goofy numbness in my right foot but overall physically, everything is intact, no injuries etc. It is just that I am so damned tired right now. All the time. Worse than being tired is being unmotivated which is a sensation that I am not used to feeling.
Just tired.... tired, tired, tired. Lost... again it is that post 100 mile untethered feeling that I usually get.. nothing to hold onto and nothing on the horizon. Last September I manged to sqeeze in 300 miles somehow... this September I will be lucky if it is half that amount. This only brings up the question... do I take considerable more time off or do I try to work my way through this now and hope to ultimately build up my momentum again? If it is truly a choice between two evils, I think that I would rather just start moving again and feel like shit as opposed to doing nothing and feeling like shit anyway. At least if I am running I will have some satisfaction that I am doing something.
My plans for next year are sort of morphing and to be honest, they are going in directions that I would have never guessed and I really can't explain. Of course nothing is decided one way or the other until the Hardrock 100 lottery in December which is three months away.
So... I'll do a short run today, track workout tomorrow... then short runs through the rest of the week. Pacing at Run Rabbit Run this weekend for 28 miles and that will be fun. I am leaving COS at 16:00 on Friday afternoon if anyone would like to ride up to Steamboat with me.
JT sent me this pic last week that we took of Annie and I at the LT100 finish as I was waiting to get into the car. I'm sure that her being gone and adjusting to all of that is weighing on me as well. I still can't believe I have a kid in College...
Physically I feel fine. Still a touch of the goofy numbness in my right foot but overall physically, everything is intact, no injuries etc. It is just that I am so damned tired right now. All the time. Worse than being tired is being unmotivated which is a sensation that I am not used to feeling.
Just tired.... tired, tired, tired. Lost... again it is that post 100 mile untethered feeling that I usually get.. nothing to hold onto and nothing on the horizon. Last September I manged to sqeeze in 300 miles somehow... this September I will be lucky if it is half that amount. This only brings up the question... do I take considerable more time off or do I try to work my way through this now and hope to ultimately build up my momentum again? If it is truly a choice between two evils, I think that I would rather just start moving again and feel like shit as opposed to doing nothing and feeling like shit anyway. At least if I am running I will have some satisfaction that I am doing something.
My plans for next year are sort of morphing and to be honest, they are going in directions that I would have never guessed and I really can't explain. Of course nothing is decided one way or the other until the Hardrock 100 lottery in December which is three months away.
So... I'll do a short run today, track workout tomorrow... then short runs through the rest of the week. Pacing at Run Rabbit Run this weekend for 28 miles and that will be fun. I am leaving COS at 16:00 on Friday afternoon if anyone would like to ride up to Steamboat with me.
JT sent me this pic last week that we took of Annie and I at the LT100 finish as I was waiting to get into the car. I'm sure that her being gone and adjusting to all of that is weighing on me as well. I still can't believe I have a kid in College...
 |
| Annie and I in Leadville.. I have no clue where the blanket came from but it sure is special. |
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Phase II
Got the new tires today. Phase II is complete. I ended up going with the 33" tires even though 35" would have fit just fine. I'd rather go with the smaller tire and not have any issues with the tire making contact or rubbing the frame in anyway. I used to think that 33" tires were pretty big but it is funny though because I did look at 35" and even a 37" tire which definitely changed that notion.
Phase III is set for Sept 19. New front and rear bumpers and winch. After that at some time will be phase four... engine mods. But first to get rid of the nasty stock bumpers.
I took a picture of the Jeep today to compare it to my old Wrangler in 2007. Kinda neat.
I sure am having fun!
Phase III is set for Sept 19. New front and rear bumpers and winch. After that at some time will be phase four... engine mods. But first to get rid of the nasty stock bumpers.
I took a picture of the Jeep today to compare it to my old Wrangler in 2007. Kinda neat.
 |
| My '04 TJ in '07. I was running 31" tires on this one. |
 |
| My '09 JK in '12 with the 33" tires. Same model as before. |
I sure am having fun!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Phase I Complete!
Just got the Jeep back this afternoon. Already the transformation is evident.
Next... Tires. I am moving away from the Goodrich MS tires and going for the Goodrich AT's which I used to have on my old truck and Jeeps.
 | ||||
| Between the lift kit and new fenders there is much more space to upgrade to 33" tires now. |
 |
| A different angled view of the AEV Heat Reduction Hood. |
The Tarnished Tin Lady
This is a work of fiction... Or the names of people and places have been changed to protect the writer... Whatever. Maybe.
Recently I ran ran in a very big race. Big. And during that event I may have seen some things (as well as others) which has left me very upset the past three weeks and this is that story.
About 22 miles into this race and after running down a very steep and long hill, let's call it the high voltage lines, I caught up with a very skinny, blonde, female ultrarunner once I hit the pavement.
We were sort of running in the same space and I noticed a guy riding a bike with a green jacket on, a thin shell if you will and I could clearly make out the word "medical" through the material and on his riding jersey underneath.
Personally at the time I didn't think much of it except that it was different to see medical people along the course on bikes. I just thought that it was something new that the race organizers were doing. All in all a pretty good idea.
Of course race staff or not, I can't be running next or even around someone on a bike, and especially if they are so blatantly"buzzing" around a female runner. Kind of annoying. But I did think it strange when he stopped by a big turn in the road to give some things to the runner... "Well, maybe she had a headache?" Or so I thought... At any rate, I cranked it up a bit, ran through the fish farm and was on my way.
So interesting enough, I am running a long stretch of flat ass boring road heading east and lo and behold, guess what? I pass the same woman runner again and guess what? The same guy is riding next to her on the bike! Now my cynical side starts to think... geez... couldn't this loser have gotten her phone number already? Anyway, I write it off to his lost cause and I push ahead and pass them again.
Now I take a right hand turn, still on boring ass pavement and there is a red car with Utah license plates pulled off to the right hand side of the road. Bicycle boy passes me and rides ahead up to the car and opens both back doors wide open. I run past and I see all kinds of racing "stuff" inside. Also on the seat I see at least several medical type pill bottles just sitting there.
Now my radar goes UP!
I slow down a little bit... I look back and sure enough the woman runner has stopped and is circling the car and getting things out of it. I am in shock. Fortunately my vision is still better than 20/20 and looking back I can clearly see her bib number... It started with a letter and had three numbers after it... At first I thought the letter signified that she was an "employee" of the company the puts on the race and that might explain the reason why there was "special" treatment for her, especially after how the CEO finished his race last year but then it struck me... no... she was a competitor in the big series of races...
Now I am pissed...
Now things get even more weird. The red car with the Utah plates passes me and goes up the road a bit further. The bike is now on the back of the car on the bike rack, and it parks on the left hand side of the road by the turn off to to he road leading to Mt. Edgar, and the same guy is standing by the car and waiting again. Okay now I know what is going on. She is being crewed and paced by this guy with the bike and from the car! Blatantly and in broad daylight! Holy Shit!
I get to the tree stump crew access point and I find my crew and tell them what I saw. They say they saw the same thing and wondered what was going on too. Now I am really super pissed as I know that I am not seeing things!
So at the next official aid station in the woods I stop and I inform the race official/time keeper of her number and what I saw and I take off. Funny enough, about 20 miles later running down faith pass, I am talking to a dude and he even mentioned it to me! I told him that I reported it and he was very happy to hear that. But still, it pisses me off and rubs me the wrong way.
MANY hours later... in the dark... running around mile 74 or so I think on the same boring assed road as before but this time headed west my pacer and I come up behind a super skinny female runner and guess what? There is a guy riding his bike next to her! AGAIN! She is being paced in the dark where we can have pacers but by bike, which is not permitted! We pass them but when we get close to fish nest he obviously pulls off, away, and ahead of her as to not be noticed by the people around the aid station. Now my pacer and I are both fuming! If I had the presence of mind at the moment I should have had him take a photo with his cell phone. This I regret!
I tried at fish nest to find a race official to report it too but all I got were some kids who didn't really know what they were doing there it seemed. I had to take off and I had to finish the race.
Anyway this has really haunted me the past three weeks and well it just sickens me. I saw said person receive her "award" and her gushing and grandstanding in front of the crowd and I just wanted to stand up and yell something. I didn't. I kept my thoughts to myself until I could pull aside a race director that I knew and I could relate the entire story to them. They knew immediately after I described a few details, like the medical jersey, the bike, the red car, etc, that I was not bullshitting either and they knew exactly who the bike rider was.
As far as I can tell, nothing was done and it makes me sad. This person was rewarded for grossly disrespecting the race... the sport, and all of the other runners out there who honestly busted their asses to get it done. That is the part that kills me.
All that I can say is that if I see anything like this again, I will take a much stronger approach to report it, make sure it is reported, noted and dealt with.
Recently I ran ran in a very big race. Big. And during that event I may have seen some things (as well as others) which has left me very upset the past three weeks and this is that story.
About 22 miles into this race and after running down a very steep and long hill, let's call it the high voltage lines, I caught up with a very skinny, blonde, female ultrarunner once I hit the pavement.
We were sort of running in the same space and I noticed a guy riding a bike with a green jacket on, a thin shell if you will and I could clearly make out the word "medical" through the material and on his riding jersey underneath.
Personally at the time I didn't think much of it except that it was different to see medical people along the course on bikes. I just thought that it was something new that the race organizers were doing. All in all a pretty good idea.
Of course race staff or not, I can't be running next or even around someone on a bike, and especially if they are so blatantly"buzzing" around a female runner. Kind of annoying. But I did think it strange when he stopped by a big turn in the road to give some things to the runner... "Well, maybe she had a headache?" Or so I thought... At any rate, I cranked it up a bit, ran through the fish farm and was on my way.
So interesting enough, I am running a long stretch of flat ass boring road heading east and lo and behold, guess what? I pass the same woman runner again and guess what? The same guy is riding next to her on the bike! Now my cynical side starts to think... geez... couldn't this loser have gotten her phone number already? Anyway, I write it off to his lost cause and I push ahead and pass them again.
Now I take a right hand turn, still on boring ass pavement and there is a red car with Utah license plates pulled off to the right hand side of the road. Bicycle boy passes me and rides ahead up to the car and opens both back doors wide open. I run past and I see all kinds of racing "stuff" inside. Also on the seat I see at least several medical type pill bottles just sitting there.
Now my radar goes UP!
I slow down a little bit... I look back and sure enough the woman runner has stopped and is circling the car and getting things out of it. I am in shock. Fortunately my vision is still better than 20/20 and looking back I can clearly see her bib number... It started with a letter and had three numbers after it... At first I thought the letter signified that she was an "employee" of the company the puts on the race and that might explain the reason why there was "special" treatment for her, especially after how the CEO finished his race last year but then it struck me... no... she was a competitor in the big series of races...
Now I am pissed...
Now things get even more weird. The red car with the Utah plates passes me and goes up the road a bit further. The bike is now on the back of the car on the bike rack, and it parks on the left hand side of the road by the turn off to to he road leading to Mt. Edgar, and the same guy is standing by the car and waiting again. Okay now I know what is going on. She is being crewed and paced by this guy with the bike and from the car! Blatantly and in broad daylight! Holy Shit!
I get to the tree stump crew access point and I find my crew and tell them what I saw. They say they saw the same thing and wondered what was going on too. Now I am really super pissed as I know that I am not seeing things!
So at the next official aid station in the woods I stop and I inform the race official/time keeper of her number and what I saw and I take off. Funny enough, about 20 miles later running down faith pass, I am talking to a dude and he even mentioned it to me! I told him that I reported it and he was very happy to hear that. But still, it pisses me off and rubs me the wrong way.
MANY hours later... in the dark... running around mile 74 or so I think on the same boring assed road as before but this time headed west my pacer and I come up behind a super skinny female runner and guess what? There is a guy riding his bike next to her! AGAIN! She is being paced in the dark where we can have pacers but by bike, which is not permitted! We pass them but when we get close to fish nest he obviously pulls off, away, and ahead of her as to not be noticed by the people around the aid station. Now my pacer and I are both fuming! If I had the presence of mind at the moment I should have had him take a photo with his cell phone. This I regret!
I tried at fish nest to find a race official to report it too but all I got were some kids who didn't really know what they were doing there it seemed. I had to take off and I had to finish the race.
Anyway this has really haunted me the past three weeks and well it just sickens me. I saw said person receive her "award" and her gushing and grandstanding in front of the crowd and I just wanted to stand up and yell something. I didn't. I kept my thoughts to myself until I could pull aside a race director that I knew and I could relate the entire story to them. They knew immediately after I described a few details, like the medical jersey, the bike, the red car, etc, that I was not bullshitting either and they knew exactly who the bike rider was.
As far as I can tell, nothing was done and it makes me sad. This person was rewarded for grossly disrespecting the race... the sport, and all of the other runners out there who honestly busted their asses to get it done. That is the part that kills me.
All that I can say is that if I see anything like this again, I will take a much stronger approach to report it, make sure it is reported, noted and dealt with.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Tuesday Track
Escaped with Roxy to the Manitou Track while Melissa was having a dinner party for some of the CC student workers from the Admissions Office. It was my first run in a week after my little hiatus. Time to start working on some training volume and consistency. I am pacing Ben in the RRR100 in two weeks and the Fall Series starts in just over three weeks.
I love the Manitou track. Not only is it the best track in the area but from every angle there is a great view for the most part. Regardless of how aesthetically pleasing the track is tonight's workout was brutal and I am trashed.
1 mile warmup, 4x1 mile with 400 rbi and 800m cool down. Sh:it, Sh:it:y, Sh:tt:ie.r, Sh:it:ie.st for my times. In truth the first mile was okay... but after that the other three fell off by about 30 seconds but stayed within 10 seconds of each other... I did better last week... well with the first two repeats at least.
Dropped the Jeep of at Predator 4x4 this morning. I should get it back by Thursday afternoon. 2012 Fall Travel for Melissa begins tomorrow as she leaves tomorrow to head to Denver for the rest of the week.
"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
I love the Manitou track. Not only is it the best track in the area but from every angle there is a great view for the most part. Regardless of how aesthetically pleasing the track is tonight's workout was brutal and I am trashed.
1 mile warmup, 4x1 mile with 400 rbi and 800m cool down. Sh:it, Sh:it:y, Sh:tt:ie.r, Sh:it:ie.st for my times. In truth the first mile was okay... but after that the other three fell off by about 30 seconds but stayed within 10 seconds of each other... I did better last week... well with the first two repeats at least.
Dropped the Jeep of at Predator 4x4 this morning. I should get it back by Thursday afternoon. 2012 Fall Travel for Melissa begins tomorrow as she leaves tomorrow to head to Denver for the rest of the week.
"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
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