I can't really explain how this came about, other than my own stupidity. I know I've blogged about our business and slow times and my hiding the finance info from my husband/boss. He found out everything about a month ago, and though he was upset, he took it better than I thought.... at the time.
But the training and morning runs have gotten to him, and this morning my son woke up while I was out running, he woke up early and was bouncing off the walls and then peed and pooped a lot, DH had to clean him up and this man is one of those people who hate cleaning a poopy diaper first thing in the morning when he should still be asleep. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, my obsession with this has caused me to neglect him (husband), to neglect the house and neglect my obligations at work and in his opinion I've been neglecting my son.
This morning was rough, that is all I will say but it was decided I am not doing the 50 mile race, we are not going on vacation and I had to cancel the cabin/house reservation. I'm broken, I'm upset, mostly because I know I've been neglecting him and I am really hurt that he thinks I am neglecting my son. I've talked to others, I've discussed Dorian's delays and he is going to a school that specializes in kids with developmental delays, disorders and autism and down syndrome. They are the best in the area, and spoken very highly of, and he is coming along great and fantastically. So I am really hurt, but he has been saying that since Dorian's speech progress had suddenly just stopped when he was a year old.
And I think I am really hurt that my husband no longer supports my running, in fact he hates it. His patience and understanding had hit the limit last year, which is why I got into such a hurry to sign up for, train and participate in this 50 miler. I was scared I'd never get the chance ever again, and it looks like I will never get the chance.... unless there is one in our area and my husband never knows about it, but the only way I could train is when Dorian is old enough to sleep in, entertain himself and not wake Daddy up... and I have no idea when that day will come.
I just wanted to achieve something amazing, something nearly impossible before it became impossible to even train for it and do it. But it looks like it won't be happening, at least not any races.
As far as long runs go, with this heat wave I just won't be able to do anything really. I can barely push Dorian for 8 miles, the thought of trying to push him for 10-12 miles is just crazy.... especially in this heat.
Let's face it, I was lucky to have experienced 3 marathons, 2 of them being trail races. I was lucky to experience 12 half marathons and many other little races, those days just might be completely over............
Friday, June 24, 2016
Monday, June 20, 2016
MTE 50 Training Week Two
So I might have slacked this week as far as blogging goes, I will just have to put it all into one bloop. So this will be long.
This week started out tough, and I expected it to get tougher but thankfully it didn't. Tuesday morning, I wasn't able to get up and run because Dorian was in and out of sleep. But I was able to get in a 6 mile run that afternoon/evening, I went ahead and took Jetta with us. It was 82 degrees, 70% humidity but cloudy for the most part with 12 mph E winds so it wasn't awful. But I decided that if the temperature is above 85 degrees, Jetta won't be running with us unless it is cloudy, barely any humidity and some wind.
We ran the 6 miles in 58:42 with an average pace of 9:47 min/mile.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 9:53
Mile 2 - 10:08
Mile 3 - 9:17
Mile 4 - 9:33
Mile 5 - 9:51
Mile 6 - 9:36
Wednesday morning I was able to get up in the morning, it was 73 degrees, barely a breeze and 94% humidity. Jetta only ran a loop of 5 miles with me, it was just too humid for her to run another 5.1 miles.
I ran a total of 10.1 miles in 1:40:26 with an average pace of 9:57 min/mile, elevation gain of 240 feet.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:40
Mile 2 - 10:25
Mile 3 - 10:12
Mile 4 - 10:04
Mile 5 - 9:47
Mile 6 - 9:51
Mile 7 - 9:51
Mile 8 - 932
Mile 9 - 9:21
Mile 10 - 9:02
Thursday morning was 68 degrees, 94% humidity and 6 mph SW winds. Even though it was really humid, the dew point was around 62 or something and it wasn't too awful so Jetta went with me.
We ran 6.5 miles in 1:06:39 with an average pace of 10:15 min/mile and an elevation gain of 133 feet, I was feeling tired and my legs were already heavy.... how was I going to manage a 15 miler on Saturday??? And this hot and humid weather, it was just brutal!
Laps/splits
Mile 1- 10:44
Mile 2 - 10:27
Mile 3 - 10:02
Mile 4 - 10:16
Mile 5 - 9:54
Mile 6 - 9:36
Mile 6.5 - 10:12
A pic from Thursday's run.
Friday morning was almost tough, I wasn't able to get up until 5 AM and was out the door by 5:19 AM. It was 68 degrees and 83% humidity with 7 mph NNE winds so that wasn't too bad. Jetta and I ran 6.1 miles in 1:01:21 with average pace of 10:03 min/mile and an elevation gain of 113 feet. My legs weren't nearly as dead as Thursday but they were still tired.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 9:47
Mile 2 - 10:19
Mile 3 - 10:08
Mile 4 - 10:12
Mile 5 - 9:53
Mile 6 - 9:31
Mile 6.1 - 8:19
Saturday...... yep it was Saturday morning, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep and was tired but I got up at 3:50 AM. It was 68 degrees and 83% humidity with a dew point of 62 and winds around 3 mph NNE. It wasn't awful, but I wasn't sure if Jetta would be up to it. I figured we'd do a loop or something and see how she was feeling at mile 7 or so.
She did really well, we stopped a lot so she could have a break and from mile 8 on there were water sources like lakes and swamps or whatever. We'd stop so she could get a drink, and had to deal with lots horseflies which were really annoying.
Jetta at the "swamp" lake type thing.
She and I were doing really well, it was getting tougher though once we got off this beautifully shaded gravel road (which just so happened to have the horseflies too). The sun was up and you could feel the heat, we stopped at a few other lakes and I gave her as many breaks in shady spots as I could find them. I was constantly checking her breathing and watching her with each stop and even during the run. She didn't lag behind or put tension on the leash, but was going at an easy trot.
At mile 12.7 we stopped at the last lake, the first 5 feet had some marshy plants and stuff, but Jetta started walking out and after a few steps her whole front half suddenly went under. She righted herself quickly but was so disoriented she started swimming further out, I was worried she'd get out there and suddenly become too exhausted to swim back and I'd have to jump in to save her. Luckily she quickly realized where she was and turned around and headed back to my voice. On the positive side.... she was cooled off.
We headed home, and finished 15 miles in 2:25:33 with an average pace of 9:42 min/mile and an elevation gain of 328 feet.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:48
Mile 2 - 10:08
Mile 3 - 10:01
Mile 4 - 10:10
Mile 5 - 10:06
Mile 6 - 9:28
Mile 7 - 9:32
Mile 8 - 9:44
Mile 9 - 9:33
Mile 10 - 9:19
Mile 11 - 9:18
Mile 12 - 9:04
Mile 13 - 9:09
Mile 14 - 9:12
Mile 15 - 8:53
Sunday morning was a busy/crazy day, it was Father's Day and Dorian was up since 4 AM. I took him and Jetta for a quick run on the river front before my family's get-together. We ran 3.3 miles in 32:27 with an average pace of 9:50 min/mile.
Later that evening, since my niece was staying the night she came with me and the dogs to the trails. She rode her bike and I ran, we did 5.4 mile in 1:01:08 with an average pace of 11:19 min/mile. It was quite a bit slower because my 10 year old niece isn't very active.
I managed to get in 52.4 miles for week 2 of MTE 50 training. Hopefully I can get that or a little more this week. I'd like to reach an average of 60 for the final 2-3 weeks before my 2-3 week taper. Including this week that is about 9 more weeks I believe.
This week started out tough, and I expected it to get tougher but thankfully it didn't. Tuesday morning, I wasn't able to get up and run because Dorian was in and out of sleep. But I was able to get in a 6 mile run that afternoon/evening, I went ahead and took Jetta with us. It was 82 degrees, 70% humidity but cloudy for the most part with 12 mph E winds so it wasn't awful. But I decided that if the temperature is above 85 degrees, Jetta won't be running with us unless it is cloudy, barely any humidity and some wind.
We ran the 6 miles in 58:42 with an average pace of 9:47 min/mile.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 9:53
Mile 2 - 10:08
Mile 3 - 9:17
Mile 4 - 9:33
Mile 5 - 9:51
Mile 6 - 9:36
Wednesday morning I was able to get up in the morning, it was 73 degrees, barely a breeze and 94% humidity. Jetta only ran a loop of 5 miles with me, it was just too humid for her to run another 5.1 miles.
I ran a total of 10.1 miles in 1:40:26 with an average pace of 9:57 min/mile, elevation gain of 240 feet.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:40
Mile 2 - 10:25
Mile 3 - 10:12
Mile 4 - 10:04
Mile 5 - 9:47
Mile 6 - 9:51
Mile 7 - 9:51
Mile 8 - 932
Mile 9 - 9:21
Mile 10 - 9:02
Thursday morning was 68 degrees, 94% humidity and 6 mph SW winds. Even though it was really humid, the dew point was around 62 or something and it wasn't too awful so Jetta went with me.
We ran 6.5 miles in 1:06:39 with an average pace of 10:15 min/mile and an elevation gain of 133 feet, I was feeling tired and my legs were already heavy.... how was I going to manage a 15 miler on Saturday??? And this hot and humid weather, it was just brutal!
Laps/splits
Mile 1- 10:44
Mile 2 - 10:27
Mile 3 - 10:02
Mile 4 - 10:16
Mile 5 - 9:54
Mile 6 - 9:36
Mile 6.5 - 10:12
A pic from Thursday's run.
Friday morning was almost tough, I wasn't able to get up until 5 AM and was out the door by 5:19 AM. It was 68 degrees and 83% humidity with 7 mph NNE winds so that wasn't too bad. Jetta and I ran 6.1 miles in 1:01:21 with average pace of 10:03 min/mile and an elevation gain of 113 feet. My legs weren't nearly as dead as Thursday but they were still tired.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 9:47
Mile 2 - 10:19
Mile 3 - 10:08
Mile 4 - 10:12
Mile 5 - 9:53
Mile 6 - 9:31
Mile 6.1 - 8:19
Saturday...... yep it was Saturday morning, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep and was tired but I got up at 3:50 AM. It was 68 degrees and 83% humidity with a dew point of 62 and winds around 3 mph NNE. It wasn't awful, but I wasn't sure if Jetta would be up to it. I figured we'd do a loop or something and see how she was feeling at mile 7 or so.
She did really well, we stopped a lot so she could have a break and from mile 8 on there were water sources like lakes and swamps or whatever. We'd stop so she could get a drink, and had to deal with lots horseflies which were really annoying.
Jetta at the "swamp" lake type thing.
She and I were doing really well, it was getting tougher though once we got off this beautifully shaded gravel road (which just so happened to have the horseflies too). The sun was up and you could feel the heat, we stopped at a few other lakes and I gave her as many breaks in shady spots as I could find them. I was constantly checking her breathing and watching her with each stop and even during the run. She didn't lag behind or put tension on the leash, but was going at an easy trot.
At mile 12.7 we stopped at the last lake, the first 5 feet had some marshy plants and stuff, but Jetta started walking out and after a few steps her whole front half suddenly went under. She righted herself quickly but was so disoriented she started swimming further out, I was worried she'd get out there and suddenly become too exhausted to swim back and I'd have to jump in to save her. Luckily she quickly realized where she was and turned around and headed back to my voice. On the positive side.... she was cooled off.
We headed home, and finished 15 miles in 2:25:33 with an average pace of 9:42 min/mile and an elevation gain of 328 feet.
Laps/splits
Mile 1 - 10:48
Mile 2 - 10:08
Mile 3 - 10:01
Mile 4 - 10:10
Mile 5 - 10:06
Mile 6 - 9:28
Mile 7 - 9:32
Mile 8 - 9:44
Mile 9 - 9:33
Mile 10 - 9:19
Mile 11 - 9:18
Mile 12 - 9:04
Mile 13 - 9:09
Mile 14 - 9:12
Mile 15 - 8:53
Sunday morning was a busy/crazy day, it was Father's Day and Dorian was up since 4 AM. I took him and Jetta for a quick run on the river front before my family's get-together. We ran 3.3 miles in 32:27 with an average pace of 9:50 min/mile.
Later that evening, since my niece was staying the night she came with me and the dogs to the trails. She rode her bike and I ran, we did 5.4 mile in 1:01:08 with an average pace of 11:19 min/mile. It was quite a bit slower because my 10 year old niece isn't very active.
I managed to get in 52.4 miles for week 2 of MTE 50 training. Hopefully I can get that or a little more this week. I'd like to reach an average of 60 for the final 2-3 weeks before my 2-3 week taper. Including this week that is about 9 more weeks I believe.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
MTE50 Training Week One - Part 2
So it seems that the first week of MTE50 has gone very well, even though I've one more day to the week.
Thursday I decided to cut one of the runs instead of doing a double, I ran 5 miles in the afternoon with Jetta and Dorian in the stroller. It was hot at 82 degrees and sunny, but I made sure that Jetta had plenty of water.
I finally managed to wear Dorian out Friday night so he fell asleep just fine and did make a peep all night. I barely woke up at 3:50 AM to my "The Rock" alarm, and believe me when I say that I didn't want to get out of bed.... but I did.
It was 68 degrees and 88% humidity, and within the first mile Jetta was letting me know that she wasn't going to be able to do the whole run as she was lagging behind already. So we ran a loop and finished at the house at 5 miles, I took her inside and put her in her crate with water and headed back out. It was very tempting to stay inside, but I had to get this done.
The rest of the run was humid, and hot and the sun was rising quickly. But I did run it considerably faster without Jetta, so that was good.
I ended up running 13.2 miles in 2:12:46 with an average pace of 10:03 min/mile, with an elevation gain of 282 feet.
Laps/splits:
Mile 1 - 11:10
Mile 2 - 10:44
Mile 3 - 10:31
Mile 4 - 10:24
Mile 5 - 10:14
Mile 6 - 10:16
Mile 7 - 10:03
Mile 8 - 9:32
Mile 9 - 9:44
Mile 10 - 9:35
Mile 11 - 9:45
Mile 12 - 9:26
Mile 13 - 9:27
13.2 - 9:18
So far that gives me 38.6 miles for the week and hopefully tomorrow's 7 miles will give me 45.6 miles for the first week of MTE50 training.
Thursday I decided to cut one of the runs instead of doing a double, I ran 5 miles in the afternoon with Jetta and Dorian in the stroller. It was hot at 82 degrees and sunny, but I made sure that Jetta had plenty of water.
I finally managed to wear Dorian out Friday night so he fell asleep just fine and did make a peep all night. I barely woke up at 3:50 AM to my "The Rock" alarm, and believe me when I say that I didn't want to get out of bed.... but I did.
It was 68 degrees and 88% humidity, and within the first mile Jetta was letting me know that she wasn't going to be able to do the whole run as she was lagging behind already. So we ran a loop and finished at the house at 5 miles, I took her inside and put her in her crate with water and headed back out. It was very tempting to stay inside, but I had to get this done.
The rest of the run was humid, and hot and the sun was rising quickly. But I did run it considerably faster without Jetta, so that was good.
I ended up running 13.2 miles in 2:12:46 with an average pace of 10:03 min/mile, with an elevation gain of 282 feet.
Laps/splits:
Mile 1 - 11:10
Mile 2 - 10:44
Mile 3 - 10:31
Mile 4 - 10:24
Mile 5 - 10:14
Mile 6 - 10:16
Mile 7 - 10:03
Mile 8 - 9:32
Mile 9 - 9:44
Mile 10 - 9:35
Mile 11 - 9:45
Mile 12 - 9:26
Mile 13 - 9:27
13.2 - 9:18
So far that gives me 38.6 miles for the week and hopefully tomorrow's 7 miles will give me 45.6 miles for the first week of MTE50 training.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
MTE50 Training Week One - Part 1
Alright, alright, alright.... So far things have started off real well.
First off, Monday was my rest day from running but I focused on some upper body strengthening and core/abdominal strengthening. And I also did some stair bounds - with the help of my little workout buddy
https://www.facebook.com/andrea.n.hadley/videos/vb.1631280978/10208368179715365/?type=3&theater
Hopefully you are able to view it, we've actually got 2 flights of stairs but couldn't record the 2nd flight so I didn't do that the second time around. Normally I do both flights of stairs, and he was doing them with me so I wanted to record it, so we only did the first flight.
Tuesday morning, I woke to my "The Rock" alarm clock, the Silverback sound at 3:45 AM. And I was ready to roll, Jetta and I were out the door by 4:10 AM. Temperature was 70 degrees and only 60% humidity, winds were around 6 mph WNW. We ended up running 6.3 miles out of a planned 5..... yep... But it was slow and easy, so I get points for sticking partially to the plan.
We ran it in 1:04:06 with an average pace of 10:11 min/mile, elevation gain was 105 feet.
Splits
Mile 1 - 10:32
Mile 2 - 10:18
Mile 3 - 10:12
Mile 4 - 10:07
Mile 5 - 10:07
Mile 6 - 9:55
.3 - 9:44
Then later that evening ( 5:30 PM ) I took Dorian and Jetta down to the Evansville river front to run and meet up with Jumpstart which is the group I'll be getting in my double runs with on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We parked at the river and ran to meet them, I got in a mile and then ran 2.25 with the group and then got in another .9 miles to get back to the Tahoe. It gave us a total of 4.15 miles, finishing in 40:41 with an average pace of 9:48 min/mile. It was 77 degrees, sunny and windy at 9 mph NNW (that is windy when you consider pushing a stroller dang it).
I don't mess with my watch really during these runs unless we hit a corner where we're going to be waiting for longer than 30 seconds.
Splits
Mile 1 - 10:03
Mile 2 - 9:16
Mile 3 - 9:34
Mile 4 - 9:55
.15 - 9:11
I got in a total of 10.45 miles for Tuesday... that's a lot.
Wednesday morning I woke up to my Silverback alarm at 3:45 AM, a teeny bit sore but not bad. Jetta and I were out the door about the same time as Tuesday, it was 61 degrees, clear skies and not really humid (68%).
The not so humid and my already being tired was definitely noticeable as I stopped quite a bit. I think I was also feeling those stair bounds from Monday, in my glutes. It was a bit tiring and I am sure my body is trying to get used to this early, early morning up and at 'em routine again.
We ran 10 miles in 1:42:40 with an average pace of 10:16 min/mile, with elevation gain of 196 feet.
Split
Mile 1 - 11:02
Mile 2 - 10:19
Mile 3 - 9:56
Mile 4 - 10:03
Mile 5 - 10:10
Mile 6 - 10:04
Mile 7 - 10:35
Mile 8 - 10:06
Mile 9 - 9:53
Mile 10 - 9:41
Definitely some easy paces so far this week, but I am good with that as right now I am just focusing on slowly increasing my mileage.
First off, Monday was my rest day from running but I focused on some upper body strengthening and core/abdominal strengthening. And I also did some stair bounds - with the help of my little workout buddy
https://www.facebook.com/andrea.n.hadley/videos/vb.1631280978/10208368179715365/?type=3&theater
Hopefully you are able to view it, we've actually got 2 flights of stairs but couldn't record the 2nd flight so I didn't do that the second time around. Normally I do both flights of stairs, and he was doing them with me so I wanted to record it, so we only did the first flight.
Tuesday morning, I woke to my "The Rock" alarm clock, the Silverback sound at 3:45 AM. And I was ready to roll, Jetta and I were out the door by 4:10 AM. Temperature was 70 degrees and only 60% humidity, winds were around 6 mph WNW. We ended up running 6.3 miles out of a planned 5..... yep... But it was slow and easy, so I get points for sticking partially to the plan.
We ran it in 1:04:06 with an average pace of 10:11 min/mile, elevation gain was 105 feet.
Splits
Mile 1 - 10:32
Mile 2 - 10:18
Mile 3 - 10:12
Mile 4 - 10:07
Mile 5 - 10:07
Mile 6 - 9:55
.3 - 9:44
Then later that evening ( 5:30 PM ) I took Dorian and Jetta down to the Evansville river front to run and meet up with Jumpstart which is the group I'll be getting in my double runs with on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We parked at the river and ran to meet them, I got in a mile and then ran 2.25 with the group and then got in another .9 miles to get back to the Tahoe. It gave us a total of 4.15 miles, finishing in 40:41 with an average pace of 9:48 min/mile. It was 77 degrees, sunny and windy at 9 mph NNW (that is windy when you consider pushing a stroller dang it).
I don't mess with my watch really during these runs unless we hit a corner where we're going to be waiting for longer than 30 seconds.
Splits
Mile 1 - 10:03
Mile 2 - 9:16
Mile 3 - 9:34
Mile 4 - 9:55
.15 - 9:11
I got in a total of 10.45 miles for Tuesday... that's a lot.
Wednesday morning I woke up to my Silverback alarm at 3:45 AM, a teeny bit sore but not bad. Jetta and I were out the door about the same time as Tuesday, it was 61 degrees, clear skies and not really humid (68%).
The not so humid and my already being tired was definitely noticeable as I stopped quite a bit. I think I was also feeling those stair bounds from Monday, in my glutes. It was a bit tiring and I am sure my body is trying to get used to this early, early morning up and at 'em routine again.
We ran 10 miles in 1:42:40 with an average pace of 10:16 min/mile, with elevation gain of 196 feet.
Split
Mile 1 - 11:02
Mile 2 - 10:19
Mile 3 - 9:56
Mile 4 - 10:03
Mile 5 - 10:10
Mile 6 - 10:04
Mile 7 - 10:35
Mile 8 - 10:06
Mile 9 - 9:53
Mile 10 - 9:41
Definitely some easy paces so far this week, but I am good with that as right now I am just focusing on slowly increasing my mileage.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
And So it Begins..... Training for the MTE50
This bloop will be titled "2016 Mark Twain Endurance 50 Training" with Week and what ever number it is. As of this weekend, the MTE50 is 15 weeks away.
It's crazy and mind-boggling to think that it was only 6 months ago that I was signing up for this adventure and thinking "it's so far away, I'm going to go crazy!"....... and now.... only 15 weeks.
The training will begin Tuesday, and hopefully one hell of an adventure. I got my a$$ kicked at the Harmonie Trail Marathon, but apparently it wasn't brutal enough because I was still able to get back to running by Tuesday.... I had 2 days of rest. So I told the race director that he needed to add a 3rd loop to next year, yeah.... I am sane in the head lol. I plan and hope to hit that loop at least 3-5 times during this training. I will try to hit that loop for a 15 miler, or a 3 hour run which will involve some extra trails towards the end. I will also hopefully run my 25 and 30 miler on there, which won't be exactly 25 or 30, the 25 miler will be 2 loops with a little extra trails towards the end and the 30 miler will be 3 loops which will end up being around 34 miles.
The big focus for this training will be "time on feet", I'll run as much as I can, when I can and walk or hike as much as I can.
I will try to keep my blog going, at least weekly until things get interesting, the LRs will probably have a blog all their own.
On another note, Dorian ran his first race Friday night - the Howl at the Moon Trail 5k and he finished just 7 seconds under an hour which was his fastest 5k so far. We came in last, but I'll let go of my pride and competitive side when it comes to making sure my little boy enjoys himself. We're registered for the Friday Night Fever Trail series, four races starting in July, then August, then September and ending in October. They start at 6 PM though, so at least 3 of those races will be in daylight. We'll see how he does as he gets more comfortable with the scene.
I am nervous and excited about this new adventure, and I really hope training goes well and I don't have too many hiccups or missed workouts.
It's crazy and mind-boggling to think that it was only 6 months ago that I was signing up for this adventure and thinking "it's so far away, I'm going to go crazy!"....... and now.... only 15 weeks.
The training will begin Tuesday, and hopefully one hell of an adventure. I got my a$$ kicked at the Harmonie Trail Marathon, but apparently it wasn't brutal enough because I was still able to get back to running by Tuesday.... I had 2 days of rest. So I told the race director that he needed to add a 3rd loop to next year, yeah.... I am sane in the head lol. I plan and hope to hit that loop at least 3-5 times during this training. I will try to hit that loop for a 15 miler, or a 3 hour run which will involve some extra trails towards the end. I will also hopefully run my 25 and 30 miler on there, which won't be exactly 25 or 30, the 25 miler will be 2 loops with a little extra trails towards the end and the 30 miler will be 3 loops which will end up being around 34 miles.
The big focus for this training will be "time on feet", I'll run as much as I can, when I can and walk or hike as much as I can.
I will try to keep my blog going, at least weekly until things get interesting, the LRs will probably have a blog all their own.
On another note, Dorian ran his first race Friday night - the Howl at the Moon Trail 5k and he finished just 7 seconds under an hour which was his fastest 5k so far. We came in last, but I'll let go of my pride and competitive side when it comes to making sure my little boy enjoys himself. We're registered for the Friday Night Fever Trail series, four races starting in July, then August, then September and ending in October. They start at 6 PM though, so at least 3 of those races will be in daylight. We'll see how he does as he gets more comfortable with the scene.
I am nervous and excited about this new adventure, and I really hope training goes well and I don't have too many hiccups or missed workouts.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
2016 Harmonie Trail Marathon
Pre-Race: The last 11 weeks have been tough, from plantar fasciitis to knee trouble and just normal things one will have when you've got a family.
My longest run was 14 miles other than the 15 miler I cut in half last Sunday, and even though I was doing a lot of doubles, I was lucky if I got in a 45 mile week. I was beginning to accept the very likely chance that I would end up doing the half marathon instead.
Towards the final week I made up my mind that I was going to do the full marathon, whether that meant a horrible second loop or barely making it out at all. The last couple of weeks have been getting better and better for me, I was finally starting to feel like I was getting back to my pre-LBLM self again. So knowing that this race would kick my a$$ was a little frustrating, but since nothing is certain, especially races and vacations, I knew I needed to get this marathon in because at this time I am not sure if I'll have another chance at a long distance race this year.
I picked up my packet Friday evening and went home. I got my race clothes ready, and my change of clothes in my gym bag, then I made sure that my hydration pack had everything I would/might need (good thing I put extra GU's in there, after fearing getting more lost yesterday, I think I might be buying one of those fancy little water purifier thingies too.. what good is "food" if you can't drink when you're lost). I was... ready?
I was up at 3:15 AM Saturday morning, I think I started my coffee and then got ready. I ate a Cinnamon Raisin English muffin with peanut butter and cherry jam, had some coffee and quite a bit of water. I let the house at 4:40 AM, I wanted to make sure I got there in time to use the facilities and make sure I had what I needed. Just 10 minutes from the park, I had to stop and pee in some really tall grass, thankfully nobody drove by at that moment.
Got there, park and hit the facilities, put some vasoline on my thighs and under arm areas. At 5 til 6 we lined up, and then by 6:02 AM we were off.... the half marathoners wouldn't start until 6:30 AM.
The first 3-5 miles seemed to tick off pretty quickly, it seemed pretty uneventful. Can't remember but I think the first aid station was around mile 5..... and things were going great or well enough, I was taking my Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes Extreme tablet every 45 minutes. I had Perpetuem in my 18 oz water bottle, and I had a Cherry Lime Gu somewhere along the course but I can't remember when.
I had one guy in front of me, and could see the two ladies up ahead of us and things were going good. It was between mile 7 and 8 (according to my garmin) when all four of us stopped at a fork going left or right, confused. They had been doing really good with taping and marking until right here, and I decided to follow the ladies while the guy went right..... (should've followed the more attractive of the 3 damn it!).
After about 10 minutes I knew we were on the wrong course but didn't want to turn around alone, as far as we had gone, there had been another off trail or two and I was sure I would have picked another wrong path. We came out on a service trail after about 15-20 minutes, and came upon a volunteer who let us know that were weren't the only ones. I can tell you right now, I knew instinctively that it had cut 20-25 minutes off of what we should've ran and I will tell you why shortly.
Last year, during the half I finished the race with my garmin around 10-11 miles so when my garmin said around 9 miles I knew it was off quite a bit. My heart, my mojo was kicked right in the stomach after that, plus I was worried I'd be disqualified... but Chris (the RD) looked a little upset as he knew quite a few had already made this mistake, and wasn't going to disqualify anybody, but they did make sure to send somebody out to fix that mistake immediately.
I went off ahead of the two ladies, knowing they'd catch me eventually. The first 3 miles of the loop is on mainly service trails... large enough for service vehicles to get on if they need to, then right before we come up on the mountain bike trails there are port-a-potties which I had to stop at... and that is where the ladies passed me.
At this point heading back onto the trails I was pretty much alone and just trekking along, pissed off at getting lost and that my garmin was only honest as far as time. But I was pushing on, I didn't care if I finished after 6 hours, I was going to finish the damn thing.
The next hour or so was uneventful, as I came upon the fork I saw that they had quickly taped off the wrong turn. That was nice, I was also hearing people.... voices... but I couldn't see anyone ahead of me... at this point the trail really began it's twists and turns and switchbacks and I also realized the difference between this part and the wrong turn we made..... this was hell and going to be an uphill battle.
Up and up and around and back and around and up and sometimes down.... and then up again... it was a freaking roller coaster for mountain bikers! Bloody hell, and the voices I kept hearing were driving me crazy... I wanted to hope some people were just ahead of me, I didn't want to be alone but I could never see them. There were a few rare points where I saw the same guy who made the correct turn but that was only when the trail was making such a tight (left) turn that the trail ahead was parallel but about 25-30 feet apart.
Around 3.5 hours my brain decided to really torture me, and started thinking about ice cold root beer, ice cold root beer floats and fruit and ice cold water.... yeah I was mentally distraught and breaking at this point, and an ice cold coke would have helped so much right then (I am suggesting they have those options next year damn it). Maybe LBLM spoiled me, because they did have cokes and fruit after the 2nd loop for marathons and ultra runners.
I found the unmanned aid station and a couple were still there, the man was pouring water on himself while the woman headed on, he told me they had also accidentally taken the wrong turn during their 1st loop and his watch was at mile 21 (he said it is normally pretty close to correct). My garmin was saying 18.3 at that very moment. Last year this aid station did have volunteers and ice cold water which was a nice treat just before what lay ahead of us.... I was about to realize it too.
At this point I reached hell, if I thought the trails behind me had been tough and insane.. my eyes were wide open here. It is hard to describe just how badly twisted these trails were, but I will say that if this same course was turned into a roller coaster and kept exactly as it was... it would be the most insane beast I've yet to encounter, and a lot of it was uphill.
I was barely hanging on mentally, but I kept going, running when I could and hiking the uphill parts. The sun started peaking out and I was cursing it, hating it with a passion. With it came glaring heat, not just muggy heat but glaring.. in your face... mocking you heat.
A runner came out of nowhere from ahead, but running the other way... probably trying to make up for the lost mileage. I thought for sure I was getting close to getting out, I could hear cars on a road but could see nothing but trees. Shortly after seeing him, I came upon an unmarked fork... F*%^!!!!! I looked left and right, and I was about to hit my knees in despair... I was never getting out of this , at least not near my Tahoe or the finish. After a few seconds, I chose left and started up that way as I could hear the couple coming behind me... Not 100 feet on this trail came another off trail from this one... no mark or tape!!!! I chose to stay on this trail, and take my chances.... shortly after, I could see the couple was coming my way so at least I wasn't possibly lost alone. I wanted ice cold water, I wanted to talk to someone, to laugh at this mess but to not be alone.. it would've been slightly different had I not gotten lost the first loop and felt like I didn't earn the finisher's medal.
We kept pushing ahead, I began running more just to keep them behind me so that they wouldn't leave me alone out here. The trail was still twisting and turning and going up and down, and it didn't look like I was going to get out.
Finally.. finally I saw the opening to the way out, and volunteers and then the road which is like a 3/4 mile from the finish. My feet ached but I didn't slow to walk on that road, I kept running, just wanted to finish and sit down.
I finished 4:58:08 with who knows how many miles, I know it wasn't 26.2 but it sure felt so much harder than the Land Between the Lakes Marathon, I would have to say this course is pure hell and it is a brutal beast and doesn't forgive or show mercy. The last 3-4 miles are the hardest part of the course, and the heat sure don't help.
Yeah, it was tough... it wasn't easy by any means but I am very happy I pushed to the end and didn't stop after the first loop. I've come to realize that I've got to add this loop to my training, or at least half of it, the drive to it sucks but some sacrifices have to be made. I even made a suggestion to the RD to maybe see about adding a 3rd loop option to next year, this course would indeed make for a brutal (but great) ultra-marathon race. But I also suggested that they add some soft drinks to their aid stations, and coolers full of icy cold water so that we can dunk our heads into, maybe some sponges to use as well.
Well, another trail marathon over and done, it was brutal and hard but it hasn't slowed me down at all on the direction I want to go. It has just opened my eyes even more about what I've got to do to train and prepare for such tough events like trail marathons and possibly ultra-marathons.
My longest run was 14 miles other than the 15 miler I cut in half last Sunday, and even though I was doing a lot of doubles, I was lucky if I got in a 45 mile week. I was beginning to accept the very likely chance that I would end up doing the half marathon instead.
Towards the final week I made up my mind that I was going to do the full marathon, whether that meant a horrible second loop or barely making it out at all. The last couple of weeks have been getting better and better for me, I was finally starting to feel like I was getting back to my pre-LBLM self again. So knowing that this race would kick my a$$ was a little frustrating, but since nothing is certain, especially races and vacations, I knew I needed to get this marathon in because at this time I am not sure if I'll have another chance at a long distance race this year.
I picked up my packet Friday evening and went home. I got my race clothes ready, and my change of clothes in my gym bag, then I made sure that my hydration pack had everything I would/might need (good thing I put extra GU's in there, after fearing getting more lost yesterday, I think I might be buying one of those fancy little water purifier thingies too.. what good is "food" if you can't drink when you're lost). I was... ready?
I was up at 3:15 AM Saturday morning, I think I started my coffee and then got ready. I ate a Cinnamon Raisin English muffin with peanut butter and cherry jam, had some coffee and quite a bit of water. I let the house at 4:40 AM, I wanted to make sure I got there in time to use the facilities and make sure I had what I needed. Just 10 minutes from the park, I had to stop and pee in some really tall grass, thankfully nobody drove by at that moment.
Got there, park and hit the facilities, put some vasoline on my thighs and under arm areas. At 5 til 6 we lined up, and then by 6:02 AM we were off.... the half marathoners wouldn't start until 6:30 AM.
The first 3-5 miles seemed to tick off pretty quickly, it seemed pretty uneventful. Can't remember but I think the first aid station was around mile 5..... and things were going great or well enough, I was taking my Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes Extreme tablet every 45 minutes. I had Perpetuem in my 18 oz water bottle, and I had a Cherry Lime Gu somewhere along the course but I can't remember when.
I had one guy in front of me, and could see the two ladies up ahead of us and things were going good. It was between mile 7 and 8 (according to my garmin) when all four of us stopped at a fork going left or right, confused. They had been doing really good with taping and marking until right here, and I decided to follow the ladies while the guy went right..... (should've followed the more attractive of the 3 damn it!).
After about 10 minutes I knew we were on the wrong course but didn't want to turn around alone, as far as we had gone, there had been another off trail or two and I was sure I would have picked another wrong path. We came out on a service trail after about 15-20 minutes, and came upon a volunteer who let us know that were weren't the only ones. I can tell you right now, I knew instinctively that it had cut 20-25 minutes off of what we should've ran and I will tell you why shortly.
Last year, during the half I finished the race with my garmin around 10-11 miles so when my garmin said around 9 miles I knew it was off quite a bit. My heart, my mojo was kicked right in the stomach after that, plus I was worried I'd be disqualified... but Chris (the RD) looked a little upset as he knew quite a few had already made this mistake, and wasn't going to disqualify anybody, but they did make sure to send somebody out to fix that mistake immediately.
I went off ahead of the two ladies, knowing they'd catch me eventually. The first 3 miles of the loop is on mainly service trails... large enough for service vehicles to get on if they need to, then right before we come up on the mountain bike trails there are port-a-potties which I had to stop at... and that is where the ladies passed me.
At this point heading back onto the trails I was pretty much alone and just trekking along, pissed off at getting lost and that my garmin was only honest as far as time. But I was pushing on, I didn't care if I finished after 6 hours, I was going to finish the damn thing.
The next hour or so was uneventful, as I came upon the fork I saw that they had quickly taped off the wrong turn. That was nice, I was also hearing people.... voices... but I couldn't see anyone ahead of me... at this point the trail really began it's twists and turns and switchbacks and I also realized the difference between this part and the wrong turn we made..... this was hell and going to be an uphill battle.
Up and up and around and back and around and up and sometimes down.... and then up again... it was a freaking roller coaster for mountain bikers! Bloody hell, and the voices I kept hearing were driving me crazy... I wanted to hope some people were just ahead of me, I didn't want to be alone but I could never see them. There were a few rare points where I saw the same guy who made the correct turn but that was only when the trail was making such a tight (left) turn that the trail ahead was parallel but about 25-30 feet apart.
Around 3.5 hours my brain decided to really torture me, and started thinking about ice cold root beer, ice cold root beer floats and fruit and ice cold water.... yeah I was mentally distraught and breaking at this point, and an ice cold coke would have helped so much right then (I am suggesting they have those options next year damn it). Maybe LBLM spoiled me, because they did have cokes and fruit after the 2nd loop for marathons and ultra runners.
I found the unmanned aid station and a couple were still there, the man was pouring water on himself while the woman headed on, he told me they had also accidentally taken the wrong turn during their 1st loop and his watch was at mile 21 (he said it is normally pretty close to correct). My garmin was saying 18.3 at that very moment. Last year this aid station did have volunteers and ice cold water which was a nice treat just before what lay ahead of us.... I was about to realize it too.
At this point I reached hell, if I thought the trails behind me had been tough and insane.. my eyes were wide open here. It is hard to describe just how badly twisted these trails were, but I will say that if this same course was turned into a roller coaster and kept exactly as it was... it would be the most insane beast I've yet to encounter, and a lot of it was uphill.
I was barely hanging on mentally, but I kept going, running when I could and hiking the uphill parts. The sun started peaking out and I was cursing it, hating it with a passion. With it came glaring heat, not just muggy heat but glaring.. in your face... mocking you heat.
A runner came out of nowhere from ahead, but running the other way... probably trying to make up for the lost mileage. I thought for sure I was getting close to getting out, I could hear cars on a road but could see nothing but trees. Shortly after seeing him, I came upon an unmarked fork... F*%^!!!!! I looked left and right, and I was about to hit my knees in despair... I was never getting out of this , at least not near my Tahoe or the finish. After a few seconds, I chose left and started up that way as I could hear the couple coming behind me... Not 100 feet on this trail came another off trail from this one... no mark or tape!!!! I chose to stay on this trail, and take my chances.... shortly after, I could see the couple was coming my way so at least I wasn't possibly lost alone. I wanted ice cold water, I wanted to talk to someone, to laugh at this mess but to not be alone.. it would've been slightly different had I not gotten lost the first loop and felt like I didn't earn the finisher's medal.
We kept pushing ahead, I began running more just to keep them behind me so that they wouldn't leave me alone out here. The trail was still twisting and turning and going up and down, and it didn't look like I was going to get out.
Finally.. finally I saw the opening to the way out, and volunteers and then the road which is like a 3/4 mile from the finish. My feet ached but I didn't slow to walk on that road, I kept running, just wanted to finish and sit down.
I finished 4:58:08 with who knows how many miles, I know it wasn't 26.2 but it sure felt so much harder than the Land Between the Lakes Marathon, I would have to say this course is pure hell and it is a brutal beast and doesn't forgive or show mercy. The last 3-4 miles are the hardest part of the course, and the heat sure don't help.
Yeah, it was tough... it wasn't easy by any means but I am very happy I pushed to the end and didn't stop after the first loop. I've come to realize that I've got to add this loop to my training, or at least half of it, the drive to it sucks but some sacrifices have to be made. I even made a suggestion to the RD to maybe see about adding a 3rd loop option to next year, this course would indeed make for a brutal (but great) ultra-marathon race. But I also suggested that they add some soft drinks to their aid stations, and coolers full of icy cold water so that we can dunk our heads into, maybe some sponges to use as well.
Well, another trail marathon over and done, it was brutal and hard but it hasn't slowed me down at all on the direction I want to go. It has just opened my eyes even more about what I've got to do to train and prepare for such tough events like trail marathons and possibly ultra-marathons.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
2016 Harmonie Trail Marathon Training Week 3
So I've been slacking on my blog and other things, I believe this was week 3 of training. Last week I ended up with 33.8 miles, my son and I both had an awful cold or allergies or sinus congestion starting from Sunday and lasting until this past Thursday for me, while Dorian is still dealing with a runny nose.
This week has gone pretty well for the most part, I still haven't gotten my long run in, hoping I can get it in this evening. Summer has suddenly hit and skipped Spring, and my body isn't enjoying it yet. I've got 14-16 miles to run tonight, and hope it gets easier to get up and run in the mornings again - Dorian has been restless most this week which has made it tough.
So far I've got 32.1 miles in and just want to get to 40 for this week, but I'll be excited if I can get to 43-44 miles.
Tuesday I ran 7 miles, Wednesday I ran 4.4 miles and Thursday I ran 5 miles in the morning and 3.3 miles in the afternoon. Friday I didn't run until the evening and Jetta and I ran 7 miles - it was tough for Jetta while the sun was up and it felt like 80 degrees but once the sun went down it got easier. Saturday she and I ran 5.4 miles around 11 AM, it was 66 degrees but blue skies and sunshine, Jetta didn't enjoy it too much.
On another note, I finally admitted to my husband our financial situation over the year and it's been tough but not as awful and terrible as I had feared. It was a great burden off my shoulders but now it is uncertain that I'll be participating in the Mark Twain Endurance 50 this September.... ... mainly due to the cabin stay and our trying to budget finances now. The only positive thing I can think about is that we've got a trail race here in the area on the same day - held by
or directed by the 40LB Sledgehamme Productions, it is called Spirit Crusher Survival - https://runsignup.com/Race/IN/Evansville/SpiritCrusher
The race starts at 7 AM, each runner has exactly one hour to finish the 4.25 mile trail loop. Then at 8 AM, they will do it again, then at 9 AM they will do it again and so on. The catch is, you must complete each lap in one hour or less to be eligible to start the next round. The race will last until there is on runner left, there is more to it but you can go to the link and check it out.
Sounds great, you know.... a timed ultra that is actually in my area and on relatively flat ground.. .... but now medal, no buckle, nothing but a tee shirt..... for my first ultra.... I'd really like a buckle or something to remember it.
This week has gone pretty well for the most part, I still haven't gotten my long run in, hoping I can get it in this evening. Summer has suddenly hit and skipped Spring, and my body isn't enjoying it yet. I've got 14-16 miles to run tonight, and hope it gets easier to get up and run in the mornings again - Dorian has been restless most this week which has made it tough.
So far I've got 32.1 miles in and just want to get to 40 for this week, but I'll be excited if I can get to 43-44 miles.
Tuesday I ran 7 miles, Wednesday I ran 4.4 miles and Thursday I ran 5 miles in the morning and 3.3 miles in the afternoon. Friday I didn't run until the evening and Jetta and I ran 7 miles - it was tough for Jetta while the sun was up and it felt like 80 degrees but once the sun went down it got easier. Saturday she and I ran 5.4 miles around 11 AM, it was 66 degrees but blue skies and sunshine, Jetta didn't enjoy it too much.
On another note, I finally admitted to my husband our financial situation over the year and it's been tough but not as awful and terrible as I had feared. It was a great burden off my shoulders but now it is uncertain that I'll be participating in the Mark Twain Endurance 50 this September.... ... mainly due to the cabin stay and our trying to budget finances now. The only positive thing I can think about is that we've got a trail race here in the area on the same day - held by
or directed by the 40LB Sledgehamme Productions, it is called Spirit Crusher Survival - https://runsignup.com/Race/IN/Evansville/SpiritCrusher
The race starts at 7 AM, each runner has exactly one hour to finish the 4.25 mile trail loop. Then at 8 AM, they will do it again, then at 9 AM they will do it again and so on. The catch is, you must complete each lap in one hour or less to be eligible to start the next round. The race will last until there is on runner left, there is more to it but you can go to the link and check it out.
Sounds great, you know.... a timed ultra that is actually in my area and on relatively flat ground.. .... but now medal, no buckle, nothing but a tee shirt..... for my first ultra.... I'd really like a buckle or something to remember it.
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