Reality check!!
Now that school has started, it was tough to find the energy and time to get in my miles this week. I am up at 5:15 am making lunches for the kids and out the door by 6:00am to get to the trail or gym so I can be ready to roll at work by 8:00am...a tight schedule. Luckily, I am not coaching this season so when I get home at 4:00, I can take a 15-minute nap before getting back in the car to pick up the kids at their sports practices. The nap has been a constant throughout this training cycle, and I truly believe it helps my recovery and overall wellness. I feel sorry for my students who look like they could use a nap every afternoon with their really busy schedules!
Here's the week, the last of the sharpening phase. Next week I will taper the miles about 25% to 45 miles, but still include a hilly tempo run, a hill repeat day and a long-ish run.
Monday, September 8: 6 miles on dirt with 10x 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy.
Tuesday, September 9: Swim 500 and lift upper body and core.
Wednesday, September 10: 11 miles on rolling roads and technical trail with Bill. This was a hill fartlek workout. We warmed up for 15 minutes, then ran 45 minutes pushing every hill and recovering on the backsides. I finished with 3 powerlines repeats (1:07, 1:05, 1:04) and then another 45 minutes of easy running.
Thursday, September 11: Easy recovery run, 4+ miles. Lifted afterwards focusing on core strength.
Friday, September 12: Easy hilly run on Ohill, 6+ miles, HR below 130.
Saturday, September 13: 14 miles on roads with 10K race in the middle. I ran 2 miles from my house to the start of the Pepsi 10K, a race I had not run since 2000. The race director, Carol Finch, is a longtime Charlottesville Track Club volunteer and she is battling lung cancer. I came to support Carol, along with 400 other runners (the largest field ever) as well as the race beneficiary, the Special Olympics.
My plan for today was not to race all-out, but to use it as a hard tempo run and to maintain 7:00-7:10 pace (the last time I raced a road 10K was here in 2000, when I ran 43:10, a little under 7:00 pace). Since the weather was very humid, I knew I would have to start out slowly. Here are my mile splits:
Mile 1: 7:23 Feeling great, almost too easy (this mile is all downhill)
Mile 2: 6:55 Feeling happy here as I have passed a bunch on this all-hill mile back to the start!
Mile 3: 6:55 Picking off some folks and holding steady---this is a slight downhill.
Mile 4: 7:00 Holding steady but starting to feel the humidity. Moving into top-5 women.
Mile 5: 7:00 Running alongside some UVA women's lacrosse players (their entire team ran the race). This was cool. I played lax at UVA about 25 years ago. :-)
Mile 6.2: Not sure of the split, only that I worked hard to pass a woman about 5 yards before the finish, something I would only do at a road 10K!!!
Final time: 43:25, 15 seconds slower than 2000. This is 7:01 per mile pace...not too bad considering the humid weather! I ended up winning the 45-49 women's age group, too, which was fun because it is a new age group for me! Afterwards, I ran 6 miles easy back home and went to my son's XC meet. He did great considering by the time his race began at 1:30, temps were in the high 80s with loads of humidity. Not a good day to be out racing.
Sunday: OK, this was the REAL reality check. Kerry, Bill Gentry, Ed Duval, Marc Griffin, Vince Bowman, and I ran 20 miles on the Grindstone 100 course. We were also accompanied by Renee Dietrich, who is an NYU journalism grad student working on a movie-length documentary on ultrarunning, and specifically the Grindstone 100. Renee hung out at the top of Elliott's Knob (mile 9ish of the course) with David Snipes, filming the gorgeous view and surroundings, while the rest of us ran to the Chimney Hollow trailhead before turning around. It was extremely hot and humid (highs in the 90s) but we had a nice breeze on ridge.
The reality check came on the way back---roughly miles 85-95 of the Gstone course-- when we had to climb back towards Elliott's Knob after climbing the brutal ups on Crawford Mountain. Kerry and I discussed race pace strategy given all the climbing --the smart runner will run the first 50 at training run pace, nice and slow-- caught up on each other's lives, and had a great time enjoying the trail at an easy pace, since Kerry had run the Ring last weekend and was still recovering. But it was clear to us that this section will be extremely tough in the dark and after 80 miles of running. It is the most technical and rocky section section of the race, and ends with a quad busting descent down Elliott's. Very, very humbling.
Total miles for the week ended up being 60+ miles...I am really looking forward to the taper and to some rest! It has been a fun summer of training and I am excited to see how it will all come together during the race, and am glad to have been able to get out on the course. We agreed that this is going to be a very cool adventure...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Getting faster, getting psyched: Grindstone Training, Week #12, September 1-7
Four weeks and counting until race day!
I came away from last weekend's training run on the Gstone course feeling really good and absolutely LOVING the trail. I met a nice fellow named Keith Straw at that run...he finished WS100 in 2007 (a "cool" year, as he described it) in under 24 hours, and he told me he was concerned that Grindstone would be harder than WS. I told him that Gstone would most definitely be harder in terms of climb...and also because we might have hot and humid weather, as opposed to the typically hot and dry conditions of the Sierra Nevada. Keith, by the way, is featured in the October Runner's World as the guy who wears a pink tutu, pink Sauconys and carries a magic wand in all his races (he finished Boston this year in 3:12). Perhaps he will share some of his magic with me should I encounter him at Gstone...
Someone asked me what my time goals were for Gstone...and to be honest, all I want to do is finish (I know, that's what we all say). However, it would be *nice* to run faster at Gstone than in my previous two 100-milers: at MMT in 2005, I ran 31:45 and at WS in 2006 I ran 29:15. Both efforts came with significant issues...at MMT I did not fuel properly and bonked terribly; at WS, I fueled properly but ignored my feet until it was too late, and running was impossible after mile 62. My goal for Grindstone is to pace myself properly (slow), eat and drink at regular intervals, tend to foot issues promptly, deal with sleepiness promptly, and the rest, I feel, will take care of itself. My training has gone really well and all I can ask for is the strength and courage to deal with the low moments as they come (and, as we know, they will come).
I am putting together an awesome crew and I know my pacer is going to keep me in line...it's going to be a blast out there!! This next week will be the last of the sharpening phase, and then it's on to the TAPER...woooo-hooo!
This week:
Monday, September 1: Easy run on single track, 2.5 hours (about 12 miles, I think).
Tuesday, September 2: Swim 1,000 easy and lift
Wednesday, September 3: Track. 2 miles WU, then 800/hill, 1200/hill, 1200/hill, 1200/hill, 800/hill. This is the third time I've done the track/hill workout this summer, and this was my best yet: Splits were 3:15/6:30, 4:55/8:15, 4:49/8:12, 4:49/8:11, 3:10/6:25. I then ran 2 easy miles to the power lines and did 1:02, 1:03 and 1:02...fastest yet. Then 2 miles back to the car for 10 miles total. Schweeeet!!!
Thursday, September 4: Lift upper body, core
Friday, September 5: Carter's Mountain. I repeated the route I used a few weeks ago, climbing up to the top, down to Monticello, back up, then down to the trails around Secluded Farm. 10 miles total, HR staying in the 120-135 range, nice and easy.
Saturday, September 6: My son had his first cross-country meet...pouring rain from Hurricane Hanna, knee deep standing water on the course...he LOVED it. He clocked a 23-something for 5K, very solid for a kid who couldn't run more than a mile about a month ago. Rusty and I are very excited to be XC parents!
Later in the day, I took Jack (my Aussie)on an easy trail run near our house and for a swim in the river, 5 miles total.
Sunday, September 7: 16 miles on rolling dirt and pavement with 6 miles at 7:20 pace (tempo pace). This was a toughie---I got a late start and it was humid. Yechh. But I was pleased with the tempo and looking forward to running a road 10K next weekend as part of a 14 miler. Total miles for the week, about 53.
Ring update: Keith Knipling (above, between RingLeaders Mike Bur and Quatro Hubbard) cruised to a course record 14:45 for 71 miles, two weeks after finishing third at Cascade Crest 100. I predict Keith will win Grindstone if he can hold off Krissy M.!
Ring 2008 results are here. Congratulations to the new members of the Fellowship!
I came away from last weekend's training run on the Gstone course feeling really good and absolutely LOVING the trail. I met a nice fellow named Keith Straw at that run...he finished WS100 in 2007 (a "cool" year, as he described it) in under 24 hours, and he told me he was concerned that Grindstone would be harder than WS. I told him that Gstone would most definitely be harder in terms of climb...and also because we might have hot and humid weather, as opposed to the typically hot and dry conditions of the Sierra Nevada. Keith, by the way, is featured in the October Runner's World as the guy who wears a pink tutu, pink Sauconys and carries a magic wand in all his races (he finished Boston this year in 3:12). Perhaps he will share some of his magic with me should I encounter him at Gstone...
Someone asked me what my time goals were for Gstone...and to be honest, all I want to do is finish (I know, that's what we all say). However, it would be *nice* to run faster at Gstone than in my previous two 100-milers: at MMT in 2005, I ran 31:45 and at WS in 2006 I ran 29:15. Both efforts came with significant issues...at MMT I did not fuel properly and bonked terribly; at WS, I fueled properly but ignored my feet until it was too late, and running was impossible after mile 62. My goal for Grindstone is to pace myself properly (slow), eat and drink at regular intervals, tend to foot issues promptly, deal with sleepiness promptly, and the rest, I feel, will take care of itself. My training has gone really well and all I can ask for is the strength and courage to deal with the low moments as they come (and, as we know, they will come).
I am putting together an awesome crew and I know my pacer is going to keep me in line...it's going to be a blast out there!! This next week will be the last of the sharpening phase, and then it's on to the TAPER...woooo-hooo!
This week:
Monday, September 1: Easy run on single track, 2.5 hours (about 12 miles, I think).
Tuesday, September 2: Swim 1,000 easy and lift
Wednesday, September 3: Track. 2 miles WU, then 800/hill, 1200/hill, 1200/hill, 1200/hill, 800/hill. This is the third time I've done the track/hill workout this summer, and this was my best yet: Splits were 3:15/6:30, 4:55/8:15, 4:49/8:12, 4:49/8:11, 3:10/6:25. I then ran 2 easy miles to the power lines and did 1:02, 1:03 and 1:02...fastest yet. Then 2 miles back to the car for 10 miles total. Schweeeet!!!
Thursday, September 4: Lift upper body, core
Friday, September 5: Carter's Mountain. I repeated the route I used a few weeks ago, climbing up to the top, down to Monticello, back up, then down to the trails around Secluded Farm. 10 miles total, HR staying in the 120-135 range, nice and easy.
Saturday, September 6: My son had his first cross-country meet...pouring rain from Hurricane Hanna, knee deep standing water on the course...he LOVED it. He clocked a 23-something for 5K, very solid for a kid who couldn't run more than a mile about a month ago. Rusty and I are very excited to be XC parents!
Later in the day, I took Jack (my Aussie)on an easy trail run near our house and for a swim in the river, 5 miles total.
Sunday, September 7: 16 miles on rolling dirt and pavement with 6 miles at 7:20 pace (tempo pace). This was a toughie---I got a late start and it was humid. Yechh. But I was pleased with the tempo and looking forward to running a road 10K next weekend as part of a 14 miler. Total miles for the week, about 53.
Ring update: Keith Knipling (above, between RingLeaders Mike Bur and Quatro Hubbard) cruised to a course record 14:45 for 71 miles, two weeks after finishing third at Cascade Crest 100. I predict Keith will win Grindstone if he can hold off Krissy M.!
Ring 2008 results are here. Congratulations to the new members of the Fellowship!
Friday, September 5, 2008
The Ring is running this weekend, hurricane rain or shine
(photo collage of the 2004 Ring by Anstr Davidson)Group photo L-R kneeling: Carolyn Gernand, Sue Johnston, Scott Brockmeier: L-R standing: Quatro Hubbard, Bill Wandel, Mike Bur,James Moore, Barb Isom, Bob Phillips, Vicki Kendall, Anita Finkle, Sophie Speidel,Graham Zollman, Dru Sexton,Margie Hughes, Scott Crabb and Sue Thompson.
In 2004 I ran The Ring, a 71-mile circuit of the Massanutten Trail. It was my first ultra longer than 50 miles, and my first night run of any great length. 2004 was the third year of the organized run ("organized" is a loose term---the Ring is a classic Fat Ass with no entry fee, no T-shirts, no wimps and no whining...well, actually there's LOTS of whining). The Ring exemplifies all that I love about the VHTRC ultras--it's a community of friends coming together to create a challenging trail experience with no other motive except to support the runners to the finish, and party like heck in the process.
Some fine folks in the VHTRC conceived the Ring, and Mike Bur and Quatro Hubbard are now responsible for keeping it healthy and prosperous. This year, the Ring closed out entry at 25, and the list of The Fellowship of the Ring is a Who's Who of the ultra world and of the VHTRC ultra community in particular.
My son has a cross-country meet this weekend, so I cannot go up to the Massanuttens to cheer on the runners, but I certainly will be thinking of them, and of the intense experience they will have. The Ring is an ultra that helped define me as an ultrarunner. My first lessons on nutrition, sleep deprivation, proper pacing, and rock running were gleaned at the Ring. I also learned a lot about friendship and commitment, and what it took to overcome my demons. A mantra I like to repeat while racing comes from my 2004 Ring experience: "It's always darkest before the dawn." Yes, indeed.
Happy trails to the members of the Fellowship and to those attempting the Ring this weekend!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Grindstone Training, week #11, August 25-31
"Hmmmm....I don't think people have a clue what they have signed up for."
That was the general theme of our conversation after running miles 50-80 of the Grindstone course yesterday (Saturday). Race Director Clark Zealand and his helper David Horton, along with a few other helpful volunteers, ferried a group of about 11 of us up to Reddish Knob, which is very close to the mile 50 mark of Gstone and the turnaround at Briery Branch Rd. After climbing to the summit (which we will do once on race day)and admiring the spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, it was time to "Go!" as Horton would say, as he waits for no one on his training runs. Yes, this is true, as I found myself left behind a few times after stopping to eat or adjust my pack.
Miles 50-65 are mostly all downhill on old fire road and the sweet single track of the Wild Oak Trail(click on the link and be sure to read the reviews!). It took us 3 hours to get down to the Wild Oak Trail parking area, which is where the aid station will be for miles 35 and 65 of the race. We were able to fill up our bottles and packs with water and Clif (thanks, Clark!!) and were on our way across the North River to pick up the Wild Oak Trail (TWOT) again. This time we were climbing up to Lookout Mountain and Hankey Mountain, and I was able to hook up with Jenny Anderson and a few other folks for the climbs. I went totally dry (full 60 oz hydration pack and one 20 oz hand held) after 2 hours of climbing...what the ...? Luckily, Jenny had plenty of Clif in her pack and was generous enough to share with me. We had a great time chatting and talking about our strategies for running Gstone, our lives as working moms (she's a teacher and coach like me, and it was great to once again share the trail with another tough woman from Lynchburg)!
The highlight of the day, in addition to making some new friends, was discovering the wonderful, wonderful Dowell's Draft trail: for many years, while running on the TWOT course, I had seen the DD trailhead at the intersection of the TWOT loop atop Hankey Mountain, but knew it lead in the opposite direction I needed to go. On race day, we will climb this trail at mile 20-ish and descend it at mile 77...it is a lovely, gradual descent on smooth single track, the kind Scotty Mills dreams about (he once told me running his ideal trail is like being a "marble in a slot"...they have lots of those trails in CA, but few in VA, I think).
It took us 6 hours to run 30 miles, the fastest day I've ever spent on TWOT (a 26 mile loop of TWOT takes me about 6:30 on a GREAT day). Clearly, the downhills worked in our favor as did running on fresh legs---on race day, I hope to run that same section in 7-8 hours! It was an awesome training run and it gave me a ton of confidence as I head towards the taper in a few weeks!
As for the post-run chatter...it was clear by day's end that Grindstone will be a HUGE challenge to finish, because of the amount of climbing and the first 12 hours in the dark. The trail is fantastic and very runnable (when not hiking), and that will present another challenge, as folks will think they "should" run when really, they shouldn't. Hmmm.....
OK, Here's the week in full:
Monday, August 25: OFF. Nada. Nothing. Recover from Cheat.
Tuesday, August 26: Run 5 easy, lift upper and lower body.
Wednesday, August 27: First day of school! Day off to deal with all that.
Thursday, August 28: Run easy 6 miles on OHill.
Friday, August 29: Lift upper body and core.
Saturday, August 30: 30 hilly miles on Gstone course. Felt great!
Sunday, August 31: 5 miles walking in the woods near our house, discovering some cool new trails, with my hubby and dog. Great way to recover.
Next week: shorter, faster runs ahead as I taper down the weekly miles.
That was the general theme of our conversation after running miles 50-80 of the Grindstone course yesterday (Saturday). Race Director Clark Zealand and his helper David Horton, along with a few other helpful volunteers, ferried a group of about 11 of us up to Reddish Knob, which is very close to the mile 50 mark of Gstone and the turnaround at Briery Branch Rd. After climbing to the summit (which we will do once on race day)and admiring the spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, it was time to "Go!" as Horton would say, as he waits for no one on his training runs. Yes, this is true, as I found myself left behind a few times after stopping to eat or adjust my pack.
Miles 50-65 are mostly all downhill on old fire road and the sweet single track of the Wild Oak Trail(click on the link and be sure to read the reviews!). It took us 3 hours to get down to the Wild Oak Trail parking area, which is where the aid station will be for miles 35 and 65 of the race. We were able to fill up our bottles and packs with water and Clif (thanks, Clark!!) and were on our way across the North River to pick up the Wild Oak Trail (TWOT) again. This time we were climbing up to Lookout Mountain and Hankey Mountain, and I was able to hook up with Jenny Anderson and a few other folks for the climbs. I went totally dry (full 60 oz hydration pack and one 20 oz hand held) after 2 hours of climbing...what the ...? Luckily, Jenny had plenty of Clif in her pack and was generous enough to share with me. We had a great time chatting and talking about our strategies for running Gstone, our lives as working moms (she's a teacher and coach like me, and it was great to once again share the trail with another tough woman from Lynchburg)!
The highlight of the day, in addition to making some new friends, was discovering the wonderful, wonderful Dowell's Draft trail: for many years, while running on the TWOT course, I had seen the DD trailhead at the intersection of the TWOT loop atop Hankey Mountain, but knew it lead in the opposite direction I needed to go. On race day, we will climb this trail at mile 20-ish and descend it at mile 77...it is a lovely, gradual descent on smooth single track, the kind Scotty Mills dreams about (he once told me running his ideal trail is like being a "marble in a slot"...they have lots of those trails in CA, but few in VA, I think).
It took us 6 hours to run 30 miles, the fastest day I've ever spent on TWOT (a 26 mile loop of TWOT takes me about 6:30 on a GREAT day). Clearly, the downhills worked in our favor as did running on fresh legs---on race day, I hope to run that same section in 7-8 hours! It was an awesome training run and it gave me a ton of confidence as I head towards the taper in a few weeks!
As for the post-run chatter...it was clear by day's end that Grindstone will be a HUGE challenge to finish, because of the amount of climbing and the first 12 hours in the dark. The trail is fantastic and very runnable (when not hiking), and that will present another challenge, as folks will think they "should" run when really, they shouldn't. Hmmm.....
OK, Here's the week in full:
Monday, August 25: OFF. Nada. Nothing. Recover from Cheat.
Tuesday, August 26: Run 5 easy, lift upper and lower body.
Wednesday, August 27: First day of school! Day off to deal with all that.
Thursday, August 28: Run easy 6 miles on OHill.
Friday, August 29: Lift upper body and core.
Saturday, August 30: 30 hilly miles on Gstone course. Felt great!
Sunday, August 31: 5 miles walking in the woods near our house, discovering some cool new trails, with my hubby and dog. Great way to recover.
Next week: shorter, faster runs ahead as I taper down the weekly miles.
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