Hill Repeats

After work, I went over to Firestone Metropark across the street and did hill repeats on the hill that runs parallel to South Main St.  I brought a gallon of water with me.  The temperature was cool with a nice steady breeze especially at the top.  I ended up doing 15 repeats.  Each one was .2 miles so I got 3 miles of uphills and 3 miles of cool down in between each repeat.

Pine Lane to Boston Store

Here's a video from last year of the hill going down to Boston Store from the Pine Lane side.  Definitely a lot drier this year than last!

 

Building Back Up

The last two weeks have been a great start to training for my Fall races.  I got 30 miles in two weeks ago and 39 this week.  I ran a long run with Taylor Sowers on Saturday morning, starting from Pine Lane and going to Snowville Rd and back for 18.  I felt really good going up the big climbs.  The mixing in of swimming and lifting throughout the week also seems to be helping a lot to keep my legs strong and fresh.  My goal for Pikes Peak is to just enjoy it and for Oil Creek to finish it.  That doesn't mean I won't be shooting for a good time, but it isn't the top priority.  The key to continuing to train hard, for me, is to keep lifting.  I can definitely notice my quads and calves getting stronger by sight and feel during runs.  There's nothing better than going on a run and it feeling effortless.  Combine that with the cool weather we had this weekend and it made for some of the best runs I've had in awhile!

Limitless

I went to Happy Days after work today and ran 6 miles going around the Ledges Trail, a Pine Grove loop and a No Frills loop on Kendall Hills.  The temperature was perfect and my legs felt great.  Going up hills, the only thing that stopped me from increasing the speed more and more was my breathing.  It wasn't that my breathing was bad at all.  My legs, however, felt like they could go all day and all night.  I can't say once during the run that they felt tired.  The only times I slowed to walk was going up some of the hills when my breathing got heavier.

During these kinds of runs, your mind wonders.  These runs have a great way of allowing you to think clearly and forget any problems or stress that happened during the day.  Same effect as a drug, but legal and good for your health.

During the run today, I was thinking about human limits and the Bill Bowerman quote from the movie "Without Limits" when he's talking to Prefontaine at the end:

Your belief that you have no talent is the ultimate vanity. If you have no talent then you have no limits, it's all an act of will. Your heart can probably pump more blood than anyone else's on earth, and that takes talent. The bones in your feet are so strong, it'd take a sledgehammer to break 'em. Be thankful for your limits, Pre, they're about as limitless as they get in this life.

Human limit questions come up many times in all areas, but especially sports - Do humans have a limit?  How low can the marathon time go?  How about the 100 meter dash?

There's no definite answer except that there is a limit, but those limits are farther than we think.  History has shown that people get proven wrong again and again.  It's the difference between those that dream and those that doubt that determines how far humans push the limits.

Are the limits just waiting there for us to reach someday or are they just a moving target.  Once one limit gets reached, the new standard is set and new ideas, goals and dreams are created for the next generation.

I think Bill Bowerman's thinking that people are born with a special talent is, to some extent, correct.  However, I don't think that Pre's physical God-given attributes were his best talent.  A hundred people could be born with that talent and only one do something with it.  What set Pre, and others with his thinking, apart was his belief that he had no limit.

Burger and Ledges

I wanted to go for a run tonight after work.  When I got home, though, I fell asleep for a couple of hours.  I woke up around 7 and still wanted to get some mileage in.  I was pretty hungry so I decided to get a Five Guys burger first then run at the ledges for a night run.  The burger tasted delicious and the run felt great.   Not too sure what the temperature was outside, but it felt nice and cool.  I had shorts and a long sleeve shirt on, no hat or gloves, and my handheld flashlight with me.  Coming back to the ledges at night brought back memories of the LT Challenge - something I don't think I want to ever attempt again haha.  I parked at Happy Days, did a couple loops around the ledges and back to my car.  Didn't see anyone, but heard an owl somewhere hooting and some other weird noises that sounded like it was catching its prey.

Forget the PR 50K

On Saturday, Brian and I drove down to Mohican State Park for the Forget the PR 50k on Sunday.  Rob Powell, the race director, got one of the big cabins and graciously let us stay the night there for free.  We were amazed at how nice the cabin was - 4 bathrooms, about 6 or 7 bedrooms and a big living room/kitchen area.  When we got there, the long kitchen table was already filled with food along with lasagna and other good stuff over by the stove and fridge.  People arrived throughout the evening and we had a nice dinner and good conversation.

The race started at 7:30 on Sunday, so we woke up around 6 to get our bib numbers and shirts.  The registration building next to the start/finish line was buzzing when we got there.  I have to say, I had a blast walking in.  Every few seconds someone I knew called my name or said hello.  A big chunk of good running friends were all gathered here today for this race.  Nothing gets better than that!

After a speech by Rob Powell and Kimba about the course, we were off with a quick "3, 2, 1....go." by Kim.  My plan before the race was to get a PR despite the name of the race.  As we started out, I noticed the pace was pretty slow and we started walking some.  At that point, I decided I was just going to enjoy myself and not care about time.  I had also stayed up late the night before, so the first 3 or 4 miles were rough including stomach cramps and feeling sluggish.

After "Big Ass Hill" and a few other steep climbs, arriving at the aid station at the Fire Tower was a welcome sight.  I immediately saw Paul "The King" Lefelhocz standing there, so I paid my respects and bowed before him :P  I then saw Kim and a few other people.

For the first half of the race, I took it pretty easy and just enjoyed talking to new people along the way.  I met this guy named Samir who was really nice.  I ran with him for about half an hour and we talked about a little bit of everything.  He knew Brian and told me to tell him hi.  Samir was taking it easy today since he was in training for another race (an Ironman I think?).  I think it was around mile 12 when I left him and went ahead (he actually passed me later on and had a good race)

The rest of the miles were a mix of mud, hills, hills, more hills, rising temperatures, sun beating down overhead and cramping calves.  I had left my salt pills at the cabin, so when I got to each aid station, I ate as much salty foods as I could.  When I got to the Fire Tower for the second time, Kim gave me the salt shaker to take in pure salt.  I also had a couple cups of her soup, which tasted delicious!  After I left that aid station, I could noticeably tell I had an instant increase in energy and my calves felt better.

On the loop after the Covered Bridge aid station on the long road hill past the dam, I started running with this one guy.  When we got back to where the loop connects with the main trail back to the Covered Bridge, we almost took a left which would have been repeating the same loop again!  I stopped in my tracks and told him I think we have to go the other way.  We asked some runners starting the loop and indeed turning right was the right way.  Phew!

After the Covered Bridge stream crossing, my calves were twitching again ready to pull.  I let the guy go ahead, especially since he was on pace for a PR.  Not too much longer down the trail, this girl probably in her 20s came behind me.  She was in good spirits and lifted my spirits too.  She also helped me keep a solid pace.  I learned she was one of the "Grunt Girls".  I kept with her close to the finish.  We also caught back up with the guy I was running with earlier.

Rob didn't give us any slack on the last couple miles of the course.  We had one final climb over a few big hills before we headed down towards the finish line at Mohican Adventures.  I could finally see an end in sight for the race!

As I was nearing the finish about 300 meters away, my right calf strained pretty badly.  All I could do was stand there and massage it.  It finally let up and I was able to hobble to the finish, get my finisher's buckle and give Rob a handshake and hug.  I finished in 6:23:38 and was more than pleased with that time.  For complete results, click here.

I had a great time this weekend!  I finally know firsthand why everyone always has good things to say about this race.  Rob does a great job paying attention to every detail and all of the volunteers were very helpful.  I will definitely mark this on my calendar for next year!

Micah True

 '"When I get too old to work, I'll do what Geronimo would've if they'd left him alone,' Caballo said.  'I'll walk off into the deep canyons and find a quiet place to lie down.'  There was no melodrama or self-pity in the way Caballo said this, just the understanding that someday, the life he'd chosen would require one last disappearing act."

-Born To Run (pg 281)