Good Long Run

Nice long run today.  I got my butt up nice and early and got started about 5:15 am.  It wasn't too warm and the humidity was decent. (70 to 79 by the finish).  My daughter and her husband were gone for the weekend on a camping/camping trip, so we were scheduled to let the dogs out this morning for them.  So instead of driving over to their place, my wife asked if I could run in that direction and let them out.  I thought it was a good idea and so that's where I headed.  It turned out to be a touch under nine miles one way.  But I wanted to do more than eighteen miles, so I took a round about way back home and ended up with a bit over 25 miles.  I then added another three miles with our dog, Pepper, for a total of 28+ mikes for the day and almost 5 hours on my feet.  Went with a run 10 minutes, walk 2 minutes strategy and it worked well.  Depending on how the walking breaks fell I stayed between about 9:30 and 10:40 miles.  Felt pretty good the whole run.  I will be going with this strategy again in a couple more long runs to be sure, but I'm pretty sure this is what I am going go with for the Hennepin Hundred.  It gives me a real nice pace, but still have rest periods.  I will try to keep it up for as long as possible and adjust when I need to.  This will probably be my last real long run until Howl in less than two weeks.  Oh, and I had no digestive problems. Yeah!!

Sundowner 5K

Good race tonight!  Sundowner 5K was tonight at 7:15.  About 80 degrees, partly cloudy.  After 28.5 miles at Christmas in July on Saturday and 24 miles on Tuesday wasn't sure what tonight would bring.  But things went very well.  Felt good and ran 21:33.  About as good a time as I have run the last couple of years for a 5K.  73rd overall and 1st in my age group.  Very happy with the results.  I guess I still have a little speed left.  And the Mafetone method definitely seems to be working for me.

A tough Christmas in July

It was a long night/morning at Christmas in July.  It started out pretty good, but by lap 3 my digestive system started to act up.  I had to take (putting this a bit crudely) a crap on lap 4.  Didn't really help with the issues.  They continued and progressed as the race went on.  Also, it rained for a most of the second and third hours.  By the third hour, I had to take a crap three more times.  For the last three hours, I was reduced to power walking.  Every time I tried to run, I ended up almost doubled over with pain.  And, of course, I had to take a crap three more times.  Unfortunately, I really don't know what caused this.  Maybe it was just the midnight starting time and having to eat during the day.  Or it just might have been one of those fluky things.  We'll see what happens at Howl in three weeks.

I have managed to pull some positives out of the experience.  First, I didn't quit.  I pushed through to the end of the six hours, even if it was only power walking.  Second, I did manage an ultra distance, which was a good workout being on my feet for 6 hours.  Third, it was night run, which I did need to fit in.  Fourth, I got in a lot of power walking practice.  And, finally, I think it strengthened me mentally working through everything.  All in all, I did get in 28.217 miles and finished 12th out of 50.  And I was the oldest runner in the race.

Good Training and the Upcoming Christmas In July 6 Hour

Haven't entered anything for awhile, but I have been having some very good training.  Two big weeks in a row including a 24/28 mile back-to-back weekend.  Had my 4th ever 100 mile week and a follow up 90 mile week.  I also started some hill training once a week.  I'm doing this with my weight vest of 10 pounds.  First week was a 40 minute hill session and a 50 minute session in week 2.  Both times I have felt pretty good the next day.  I want to continue these hill sessions up until the Hennepin Hundred.  

This coming weekend is my first big test to see just where I am at.  It is the Christmas In July 6 Hour.  It is also a night run starting at midnight.  Registration is closed until race day and they published the entrants list.  The weird thing is that it turns out I am the oldest runner in the race.  I am really surprised about that.  The 12 Hour has one person my age and the 24 Hour has two people my age plus a 74 year old and an 80 year old.  I really feel that if I run like I think I can, I could actually contend for the podium if the race goes anything like last year.  Third place ran 35 miles.  My top goal is 36 miles (6 miles per hour), so that put me right in the mix.  My middle goal would be 33 miles and my satisfaction goal would be to just get on 50K (31 miles).  So we will see.