While I still can't post much in the way of a "training" week, at least I've worked myself back to the point where I'm keeping track of mileage again. 36 for me this week.
Let's hear from the rest of you!
While I still can't post much in the way of a "training" week, at least I've worked myself back to the point where I'm keeping track of mileage again. 36 for me this week.
Let's hear from the rest of you!
80 and feeling it too. 4 wks to go.
was recovering from stuff a couple of years ago like you and am continually humbled by your true grit. way to go!
Hello dear Humbled and ladies...Blessed to share my 4th consecutive week of running all year and 44 miles approx. Nothing I can ever take for granted after more than 3 decades of running and never thinking anything would interrupt that. Still have "stuff" to work through (don't we all?).. but love my surroundings, from the towpath of the Erie canal to rolling hills.... deeeeelightful! Have a great week one and all!
Humbled wrote:
While I still can't post much in the way of a "training" week, at least I've worked myself back to the point where I'm keeping track of mileage again. 36 for me this week.
Let's hear from the rest of you!
It sounds like everyone is enjoying this great fall running weather and getting in some decent mileage! That is great.
After 10 long, miserable miles at Crim, I cut back a little - 22.5 miles this week and last and have decided to only run 5k's this fall while looking for some antiaging cream for my legs.
Is anyone running at Boyne this weekend?
Michigan Granny
i had quite an interesting weekend helping a good friend put on his inaugural ultra race (100-mile and 50-mile options) on continually hilly and frequently rooty rough hiking trails in the finger lakes region of new york state. being the race's first year, it was a relatively small affair, but this didn't diminish the preparation and logistics involved to pull off a good event. my roles were relatively small: earlier in the week i marked a few stretches of trail with ribbons and glow sticks, and then i paced a 100-mile participant for his final 26+ miles (an out-and-back on reasonably technical trails, but ones i've covered in the past in shorter races and training runs).
i've raced three 50 milers and experienced "death march syndrome" toward the end of a 70-miler (my longest race), but had never been part of a 100 miler before and had little nighttime-running experience. all turned out well, though. my runner, gary, had 19 hours on the clock and over 73 miles in his legs as we headed out at 1 am (i had slept from 9:30 to 12:30). i had a headlamp shining from my forehead, another further flattening my measley breasts (this was a particularly comfortable and effective placement, by the way), a hand lamp in one hand, and a small water bottle in the other. it took us five and a half hours with me in the lead (this was within the rules of this race, although some ultras forbid teh pacer to go first) to reach the turnaround point -- right at dawn. he was in forward motion the whole time, but his energy was very low, although he reassured me that he wakes up with the light. boy, he wasn't kidding! as soon as we left the far-end aid station with our lamps turned off, he was ready to boogie! we jogged all the flats and downs (even the gnarly sections), vigorously hiked all the ups, and he even opened up his stride for the final dirt road mile to the finish line! in the end, it took 5:30 for the "out" portion and 3:30 for the "back," with no elevation benefit in either direction to speak of. in fact, gary was only eight minutes slower for his final 13-ish miles than was the winner of the race, who was 6.5 hours faster overall.
i learned that i can chatter for 9 hours straight, and also that i can gauge the effort available from another athlete and help him rise to his potential. i also lost my fear of being on the trails at night (fear based on issues of vision, not worries about boogymen or animals ;-) and can now see myself attempting a 100 miler myself next year, assuming i can get my body past still-lingering musculotendon issues and keep other injuries from creeping in.
That's quite a race recap! Thanks for letting us experience it vicariously. (In my case, I can't imagine experiencing a nighttime trail run any way *other* than vicariously. I'm WAAAAY too much of a wimp. And also WAAAAY too clumsy, even in the best conditions.)
So Crim was an especially long 10 miles this year, MG? I vaguely recall going outside that morning, thinking that it was awfully warm, and feeling a guilty kind of relief that I wasn't running.
I forgot to mention at the top of the thread, but I watched a local 10K race this past weekend (it overlapped with my regular running route), and a woman was the overall winner. Granted, it was a small race, but it was still cool to see her coming back on the second loop (it was one of those confusing, mixed 5K and 10K deals) way out in front.
score one for the women :-)
and trails at night were much easier to manage than i had imagined. if all goes well, i'll have a 100 to report on within a year, maybe rocky raccoon in february. it all depends on how my body functions between now and then, though.
Humbled wrote:
I watched a local 10K race this past weekend and a woman was the overall winner.
Ah, surely a sign of a world gone loopy. Darkness & chaos on the horizon!
Good for her.