Weekly Recap Jan. 23-29

Sunday 1-23
12 - 1:22:12  My stomach felt uneasy all day after the food poisoning the day before.  I drank water all day, but did not eat until 3 pm.  I finally went out to run at 6 pm. Unfortunately, the snow melt had frozen and I was limited to running on the salted USI road loop.  I decided to run it until I got tired or felt sick.  Well, I grew tired from running and tired of running the loop after 8 circuits and a little more than 12 miles.  Good run after an illness.  Having pushed this run to Sunday will make this week big.

Tuesday 1-25
6 - :39:11  This would normally be a day of hard running, but I did not want to push it too hard since my body had not fully recovered from the illness.  I ran a loop around USI that I like.  I picked up the pace for two miles during the last half of this loop on the asphalt Greenway path that runs through the woods and fields.

Thursday 1-27
6 - :39:09  Very similar to Tuesday's run, just a few seconds faster.  Body slowly recovering from last weekend.  I long for the trails, but I am not willing to run in sloppy mud when I really want to have good leg turnover.

Saturday 1-29
24 - 3:04:48  I am in pain.  This day did not go as planned.  I wanted to go to LBL, but the heavy snow that fell there earlier in the week is melting into a quagmire that has forced officials to close some areas and the trails that pass through them.  USI has a quagmire with considerably less snow, so I stayed home for a redundantly boring mud run.  I had hoped to run the two-loop marathon course at LBL, so my goal was to muster enough resilience to accomplish that in our little woods.
No way.  Not even close.  The temperature did not drop below freezing on Friday night, so the remaining snow and ice was working all three shifts to saturate the clay.  The result was that super slippery layer of top mud that reeks havoc on a winding trail.  Though I ran my first 1.4-mile loop at 7:20 pace, my heart rate was near T zone.  Don't get me wrong.  I loved it, but with each lap the trail became more slimy and dangerous.  On the eighth lap I felt a burning pain on one of my mud covered ankles.  I also slid off of the trail twice and started feeling strain in my groin.  So I left the mud after 11.2 miles.
While changing into new socks and road shoes I realized that the mud in my right shoe had actually rubbed a dime-sized hole in my sock . . . and my ankle.  I washed it with what was left of my Cytomax and rubbed on some Glide.
I then set out to finish the run on the roads and asphalt trails.  That first mile on the USI campus was a strain.  I usually leave a trail run feeling better than I would have if I'd completed the same run on the roads.  Not this time.  My knees and groin were screaming from many slips on the trail. I settled into a rough feeling 7-minute pace for several miles of what has become my standard, hilly half marathon course over the last couple of years.
As often happens on these long runs, I had a bad patch with six miles to go when every body part below the neck was giving me hell.  That mile, of course, had one of the big climbs of the day.  It was at the top of that climb that the Garmin bleeped out my split in it's high-pitched laughter - 7:31.  I responded by running a series of short strides in an attempt to loosen the legs and get my pace back.  It worked well enough to allow me to run 4 more 7's.
I folded and nearly collapsed while climbing the last mile of the run.  Honestly, my lower body may have felt better at the end of the Silver Rush 50 last July.  With my sweetest voice, I promised my dead legs and aching glutes a thorough massage.  They ignored me and I, well, I laughed.  What could I do?
In summary, my first attempt at an ultra training day in 2011 turned into a survival test .  I came up short on miles and long on time.  The trails were not kind to me.  My legs were hurting and my ego was checked. So, it was a good day.

Weekly totals: 48 miles  (5:45)

I can get there from here.

Weekly Recap Jan. 16-22

I've decided to start giving updates of my training.  Why?  Probably because a lot of people ask me what I am up to.  Also because the disclosure will help keep me focused on the preparation for the two 50-mile mountain runs planned for the summer.

Despite the trouble that imathlete had this past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be online (with this super fast Air!!) and was able to get into the San Juan Solstice 50 M run on June 18.  I am waiting for the Leadville crew to fix my problem on that site so that I can enter the Silver Rush 50 M again.  I have not made a decision about any other race this year.  There are many possibilities being thrown my way, including the a half in Marion IL in a few weeks, the Tom King Half in Nashville or the LBL 60 K on March 12, and the Leadville Marathon in July. Decisions, decisions . . .

Sunday 1-16
6 - 42 min. Easy stroll over relatively flat terrain in the snow around USI after the hilly threshold miles of the Snowflake race the day before.   Still feeling a lot of pain in the right leg and arm due to the fall on the ice last week.

Tuesday 1-18
6 - 40 min. Ran three miles of this at 6:10 pace in the snow to get the HR up near T zone.  Great run.  I love running in the snow.  Right knee still not 100%, but has normal range of motion.

Thursday 1-20
4 - 28 min. Another easy run in the snow and in the dark.  This running on trails in the snow after dark is  fun, but I know I am slowing down to minimize the risk after falling last week.

Saturday 1-22
Planned 18 miles, but I came down with some serious stomach problems at midnight.  Bug?  Food poisoning?  I'm not sure, but it kept me in front of a toilet for over 20 hours.  No fun and no run!

Week Total:  16 miles (1:50)

Simply not enough for 50 mile race preparation, even by my standards.  I've got to stay healthy so I can really push the envelope on the long run.

Indiana Dunes State Park - ZOY Remembered

This is a photo essay resulting from a recent trip to Indiana Dunes State Park near Chesterton, IN on the shore of Lake Michigan.  I lived in Hobart, IN during the Summer and Fall of 1987.  During that time I often rode my bike from Hobart to either the Dunes or farther east to South Bend in order to wave at Touchdown Jesus. Because I fell in love with the Dunes during my short stay I have returned to them many times.  Seven of those visits were to race in the 6.5 mile ZOY RUN.  The run followed a circuitous rout that followed first behind, then on top of, then up and down, in front of, and once again behind the dune ridge.  Indiana Dunes SP is a spectacular and unique collection of forested freshwater sand dunes that should be high on any person's "must visit" list.

Soon after returning from the Winter Solace in the Smoky Mountains  I drove my son, Brandon, back to Columbia College in Chicago. From there I drove east to the Dunes with the intention of running the course of the defunct (banned!) ZOY RUN and otherwise hiking and exploring the park.  It proved to be a grand run filled with reminiscing that was clarified by the fact that the temperature was hovering around 20 F while the wind gusted wildly.  Check out the data and mapping of the run as recorded with a Garmin 410 HRM.

The following pictures are in order as I ran casually around the ZOY RUN course on frozen sand.  Can you spot the devious monster?

As usual, click twice to greatly enlarge these pictures.

The "up ramp" at the Furnessville Blowout after 1.8 miles behind the ridge. (Ouch, tilted horizon!)

Looking back in a section of grass-lined trench trail.  Sections like this made it extremely difficult to pass in the ZOY.

Once again behind the ridge after the Beach House Blowout.

The first major climb is up Mt. Jackson.  Due to a change in slope, this shot only shows a little more than half of the climb.

Summit fever?

The second climb is Mt. Holden.

The third summit, Mt. Tom, is reached by a long series of wooden stairs.  Zoom in to see where they end in this picture and begin in the next picture.

Second section of stairs leading to the summit of Mt. Tom.

Tah dah!

Heading to the beach after a crazy descent of Mt. Tom.

Who let that guy out?!

The Dunes Creek crosses the beach to empty into Lake Michigan.  I once misjudged the drop distance, which changes, and ended up going down in the creek when the temperature was in the teens.  Most of the water on my clothes quickly froze to give me an awesome ice creature look for the last mile of the race.

This boardwalk is actually near the Wilson Shelter where the ZOY RUN started.   Goodbye for now old friend . . .