Lazy or smart?

I guess I am not a true Ultra runner yet as I am going to whine (would you like some cheese to go with that?) about how sore I was after the Mac 50K last Saturday. I think nearly every major muscle in my legs hurt this week after that race. I can not remember the last time my legs were so wiped out! Usually it's only the quads and a little soreness everywhere else but this time my legs were toast. Maybe it was the major up hills? Maybe it was I blasted down that last mile or so at a speed that was crazy for my fatigue level? Could have been my lack of mid week training the last 3 weeks or so? This is by far the most long races I have done in a period of 3 or 4 months. I know! It's that I'm getting old! Yeah that's it!!

So I also didn't run once this week. I thought I might do the Forest Park 50K so I didn't want to hurt those legs anymore than they already were. Well, its official. Unless something world stopping happens at home during the next 24 hours I will be running the 50K tomorrow. I signed up yesterday worrying that it might sell out. I figured it's so nice to race in your own town that I went ahead and paid the entry fee. I love being able to drive an hour or so before the race to the start line, then drive home after. As you all know these out of town races take 2 days or sometimes more. That puts a bit of a strain on the family and other duties that we do on our days off. So off I go tomorrow.

My goal this year is to run 12 marathons or ultra's. So far I have done 6 since January 1st and am on track. I actually like 1/2 marathons the best as I like the speed part of the distance. 10k's hurt too much as I always feel out of breath on those. Marathons are OK too but I think I like Ultras second best over them. I usually run 5 or 6 1/2 marathons a year but with my longer distance goal this year they are being put on hold. Next year I want to PR in my marathon times so I will do more 1/2's to build my speed. This year its all about quantity, next year it will be about quality.

So with absolutely no running this week I am off to do another Ultra. I hope my legs don't die early in the race or this could be a very long day. Forest Park is a great place to run and this race goes some places I have yet to see. The bad part of no weekly runs is I really miss just getting outside and cruising around. I live in such a great place to run with so many different choices, trails, roads, hills, bike paths etc. I really respect those that live somewhere like Florida where the freeway overpass is your only variety. I am not sure I would train much in a location like that. Also being a pilot really helps in the variety. Running in Southern California in January is very refreshing from our constant winter rains.

Well I guess I will see all you fellow Maniac's and Ultra folks tomorrow. Good luck and say Hi as you pass me on the trails. Yes, I will be very slow.

"I Hate You!"

Well Rick and I ran the Mac Forest 50K yesterday. The title of this post comes from seeing Rick behind me at mile 22 or so. I turned around and that is what he said. Was pretty funny as we were both hurtin pretty good.

Rick and I drove to Corvallis to the race, getting there around 7am. All was well organized and we picked up our packets and got ready to run. I love the low key starts of Ultras, its like someone yells go and off we run. They had probably 150 runners at the start. As usual by the 1/2 mile mark I was in last place. Takes a while for this big train to get moving and it sure doesn't do much for your self confidence to be way behind everyone. But I know how I run and slowly I would move up. The course runs through the hills of the east side of the Oregon Coast Range. We started off on gravel road but soon hit trails. The entire run was on double, single track and gravel roads. By mile 1.5 we hit the first hill. Oh yeah did I mention this course has hills? I wrote some notes on how high the climbs were, how many and the mile location. I kept this in my pocket for reference. I think there were 7 climbs or so. The highest being 850 feet and the smallest about 400 feet. Some were extremely steep and some just gradual that seem like mountains towards the end. I walked nearly every climb. In fact I bet I walked close to half the course.

The trails were in great shape, only a few spots of minor mud. We had some creeks to jump and just a few logs to jump over. The course was well marked and I never felt like I had made a wrong turn. We had great views of downtown Corvallis, Philomath and the Coast mountains. You ran through a great diversity of old growth timber, new, clear cuts, meadows and others. You could really see the vegetation change depending on elevation and location. But as I have found on most these trail runs you gotta watch your feet all the time or thy tree root shall reach up and smack thee down! Which neither Rick or I did the entire day. Ultra running really teaches you to pick up your feet. No more marathon shuffling for me!

By mile 18 I was pretty much done for the day. The early hills put me away early. Also the fact that I had only ran twice in the last two weeks due to my mysterious foot pain, I was not at my best fitness level for sure. Around mile 20 my stomach started doing the "I am going to return to you what you gave me" routine. One of the few times I actually thought I might toss my cookies on a run. I had been drinking poweraid then water. Taking Gels every hour and grabbing handfuls of snacks at every aid station. Everything from taters to M&M's.

Rick caught just after mile 22 or so. We walked and ran for 10 minutes or so then he wanted to run some more so off he went. We went up hill for another mile or so then had a great downhill run on some gravel road to the last aid station. I was running 8:30 pace or faster and still never saw Rick till I got to the aid station and he was just heading out. I refueled, filled my bottle and off I went. We then had the last major climb of the course, probably 2 miles up hill. I walked it all and never saw Rick again till the finish. I figured we were about 2.6 miles from the finish and we had a great downhill. I felt real good now and gave it all I had, running 8:20's or less passing a couple of runners along the way. Then we turned off the road back onto trails, and it was uphill as I thought we may have been done with the hills by now, but nooooooo! It only went up for a 1/2 mile or so then big downhills. I really poured it on thinking the finish was only 1.5 miles or so. This was the best part of the race for me. I was feeling good now, nice single track trail (some double) and I was flying! I didn't care if I fell or not I was going to press this part with all I had. I was running sub 7:00 in most parts and somewhat out of control but boy was it fun! Then I saw the finish area from the woods. I crossed a small bridge and ran across the line. They handed me a nice Montrail water bottle with water in it! Rick said he had just finished about two minutes earlier.

The post race was nice with plenty to eat and drink and a Bluegrass band playing some music. Plus they gave us a big bottle of custom made beer just for this race. I didn't feel too bad so we hung around for 45 minutes or so. The drive home was great and Rick and I stopped in Monmouth for our favorite recovery food-COFFEE!! It sure works.

I ended up finishing in 7:00:50, Rick was a minute or two ahead of me. That was about a 13:30 pace for me. Seems slow but with all the walking and messing around at the aid stations I am very happy with this time. Again to me, Ultras seem more like a war. I just have to survive them. I will never be competitive with others only myself. Half way through this race I again said I was never going to do another Ultra again, it just is not fun to do. One minute after I crossed the finish I was thinking, "yeah I might do the Forest Park 50K next weekend?" Would someone please have me committed!
(Stay tuned, pictures posted later this week.)

OK, OK! I will go ....but next week.

Foot is still hurting as I limp around most the day. I ran the Des Moines Creek Park trails again yesterday and did 7.5 miles or so and the foot felt fine running I really enjoy running in there and feel like I just want to keep going. It was the first warm day of the year here in Seattle so I ran when it was over 80 degrees. I don't do well in the heat and with these summer ultra's coming up I figure I better start training in warm weather. I am beginning to think this is some strange form of Nazi Peanut Foot. (Plantar fasciitis). Nazi=pain, plantar= planters peanuts, foot=where it hurts, thats where NPF comes from. It hurts when I don't move much but seems to get somewhat better as it warms up. Who knows??? I just hope I get through 50K this weekend.

The title of this entry means I will go to the doctor next week, after the Mac 50K this Saturday. My orthopedic doc is a great guy. If anyone in the Portland are wants his name just drop me an email and I will pass it on.

Took my required six month FAA flight physical on Monday. Nurse took my BP and said "120 over 72, perfect". That is such a relief. I have been a runner for 15 years now but have always had borderline high BP (125/88 or so) until a few years ago when it final dropped to under 80 most of the time. I don't live the healthiest of lives so I have always been concerned about it. Running is about the only good thing I do for my body. With my job requiring good health I always get worried every six months. But for now it looks like I will live for another six!

OK, just a tad nervous

I am getting just a bit worried about the foot and my lack of training. It has been another 3 days or so since I have ran. My foot still hurts, so I am not sure what is up with it. I am still going to do Mac 50K this weekend. Then I have no major runs scheduled till July 4th so maybe...yes maybe..might...well see...if the stars are aligned...just might go see a da...da....doc....doctor to see if he / she can determine if this is something minor or major. Now when it comes to fitness that's what worries me most. I know in my head it really doesn't matter for a Slug like me to miss quite a few days or even a week or running. Rest is amazing, I often run much faster after a week off or so. But being the runner with an addiction I know I don't have the confidence that I would have if I had been doing a good training program. (Boy there is allot of eyes in that last sentence! Bad...bad Bret.) So I guess we shall see about 3 hours into Saturdays big hills.

Off to Seattle again this week so those great Des Moines trails may call me for a few miles.

Am I blind or what?

So I had posted a question on the Maniac's bulletin board about trails to run near SeaTac where I say at least 7 nights a month. My job has taken me to that area for the last 15 years or so. I have ran numerous areas including the Green River Path and the Des Moines Creek paved path. So the great folks on the Maniac BB post about the paths in the Des Moines Creek area. I think its just a few dirt paths all torn up by mountain bikers. Well yesterday I went out to explore. What a shock! It was a great place to run. Tons of trails all over the place. Well marked in places due to the mountain bike races. I ended up running 7 miles and had a smile the whole time. Never saw one other person. I am such a dork for never exploring this area just a 1/2 mile from my hotel.

Well onto the other news. My foot which I seem to have injured in Forest Park last Sunday was still hurting but had improved. I had taken 3 days off and was going crazy. So I thought I would try it out, if it hurt I would just quit. Well running actually felt better than walking. I found the trails in the park and really enjoyed myself. My foot started hurting about mile 4 but I pressed on. It got a bit worse but was never to the point that I was in big time pain. Afterwards it started hurting pretty good. As I went to work I had a bit of a limp again, but not as bad as Sunday and Monday. Today it feels a bit swollen and hurts almost like Plantar Fasciitis but on the outside of the foot. Hurts worse when I first start walking on it. Pain never goes away but gets better after walking a bit.

I am off to St. Paul, MN to watch my step daughter graduate from college tomorrow, then back home Sunday. I was hoping to run long this weekend in the midwest but with the foot I better rest up for next weekends Mac 50K in Corn-Valley.

Sunday in the Trees

Rick and I ran the Wildwood Trail in Forrest Park on Sunday. Was a great day with temps in the mid 60's. The trail was in good shape with only occasional mud here and there. We did 11 miles at a nice slow pace. Also got some hills in as we went further than we usually do. Saw very few runners but more hikers. We did run into fellow Maniac Steve Walters and had a nice chat on the trail with him. (Steve is too fast for us Slug's though but a great guy) Took me about 4 miles to get into the run. I sure am getting better at trail running as I didn't trip even once! It is teaching me to pick up my feet for sure.

On the way back my the outside of my right foot started to hurt just a bit. Sort of like a bruise. Well when we got done I sat on the back of Rick's truck and I could hardly walk. The rest of the day was ugly and I am still limping around 2 days later. Don't know what I did to it but it is sure not good. I need to run long again this week but I know rest is better.

Eugene Marathon

Three of the Slugs went south for the inaugural Eugene Marathon on Sunday. I had previously ran probably 75% of this course during my overnights in Eugene in the last 15 years. They had about 1800 marathoners and 2200 half-marathon runners signed up for the race, so I would call this one a medium size.

Gail and I saved some money and spent the night at Chez Motel Zeechs in Springfield. That is a whole other story! Saturday we went to the expo to get our bibs. Gail wanted to do the race so bad she signed up twice! So she wore a chip on each shoelace so she could log this as running two marathons! The expo was pretty bland, the usual stuff. We bailed and met Rick for dinner at.....I know you are waiting......IHOP! We carbo loaded with pancakes. Most the other places were pretty crowded so we just had breakfast for dinner.

Sunday morning we awoke at 5am. Rick was picking us up at 5:45 for the trip to the parking lot and then shuttle to the start. We got to the start about 45 minutes before the race and had no problems using the PAJ's. We lined up for the start along side Hayward Field. Many runners were saying they were feeling the presence of Pre. All I could feel was I probably should head back to the PAJ's one more time!

So off we go! The first part of the race was crowded but not real bad, you could run your pace by the 1/2 mile point as we ran around the area south of the U of O campus. The 3 of us ran together for the first mile or so then I got a downhill and kind of coasted ahead. We never saw each other during the race as there was really no out and back. The course continued in some rolling hills and city streets till mile 6 where we crossed the Willamette river and headed over to the North side trails and headed east to Springfield. I started running with a 62 year old guy named Richard from Florida (formally Boston) that is running all 50 states. He like to chat and was doing Galloway (walk every mile) so he would catch up to me and we chatted for about 5 miles this way. Nice guy who has some amazing stories. Was a great way to pass the time plus he ran a nice pace. We averaged right at 9:05 pace. He faded at some point and I was on my own again. As we headed back westbound towards the trails I chatted with a couple of runners, one from Kelowna and another woman who wanted to break 4 hours someday. Had some nice talks and it kind of broke up the race.

As we passed about mile 17 it was in the area of the Valley River Inn. I have ran these bike trails so many times I felt like I knew every turn so well. It was a good feeling because you knew how far you had to go in your mind. My pace stayed very constant through mile 20 as we crossed Oswesso bridge to head back to the barn on the south side of the river. (Map of my run on Google) I was blessed today with a nice pace and good legs. My breathing was as relaxed as it had ever been. Between mile 2 and mile 21 my pace was never slower than 9:26 or faster than 8:58 (which I ran at mile 20!) Plus I only had to hit the bushes once at mile 7.

My hips were getting tight around mile 18 or so(IT band), my legs ached but nothing unusual so I tried to keep the pace going. My breathing always becomes more labored towards the high teens low 2o mile area. Thats when I know the wall is near. I thought I might get to break 4 hours as I was running so easy but around mile 18 I figured I was probably just going to get a sub 4:10 which was great. As my last marathon was 4:22.

I was passing many runners between mile 21 and 24 but I pretty much started to bonk at mile 24. It wasn't a bad one but my energy level just dried up, maybe I didn't take enough calories? I ate 4 chocolate Gu's and half my bottle of power aid, but I drank tons of water at each aid station. I also took 12 endurolytes, so I think I did ok.

At mile 24 I ran 9:52 pace so the battle started here. It was a 23 mile beautiful race with blue skies and 55 degrees or so. Now it was a war. The last 3 miles today is where I start to wonder why I do this. It hurts but never really bad today. This is when you just get it done.

Mile 25 was at 10:24 pace, the slowest of the race. I come upon a crowd of people leaning over a girl with the name Brittany on her bib. She is probably 20 to 23 years old, passed out cold on the trail. People are try to help her so I run on by. We start to run around the outside of Autzen Stadium and a few minutes later I hear the sirens of the ambulance for Brittany.

The battle continues as are back on the roads with traffic all around. I love running the last few miles sniffin' car exhaust! I know the end is near but have no real push left. Quite a few fans are cheering you on and very few say "Its just around the corner!" Speaking of fans, these were great in Eugene. Lots of smiles, lots of "Go Bret" and "Go Marathon Maniac", so it made the race fun in that respect.

Mile 26 I finish in 10:17 pace and I feel I could do more but am happy the end is close. Lots of fans now on the side of the road. I hear a gal yell "Go Maniac!" then a guy follows up with the same. He and I make eye contact and its Sean Messiner who was the Race Director of my 60K two weeks before. He goes "Hey Bret!" and comes charging out to the course with a big smile. I reply with the "Hey Sean! I will see you in 3 weeks at the Mac!" (Macdonald 50K trail run in Corvallis) That was a great energy boost to me, even though I was only a quarter mile from the finish or so. Sean is a fast runner who is great guy. He is way out of my league but always takes the time to chat with you at a race. Plus I forgot my drop bags at his race and he emailed me to say he would bring to me at the next race.

As we turn the corner to a downhill few hundred yards to the finish I pick up the pace as the crowds are pretty loud here. It was a good feeling to look up and see 4:06 on the time. I cross the line and get my space blanket, make the cheerleader put the medal over my head, grab a water and head to the food area. I finish in 4:06:15 my third best marathon time after Minneapolis and Portland. I ended up averaging a 9:20 pace and burn about 6400 calories.

I feel pretty good after the race, just a tad nauseous. I eat some great chips and a cookie and wait for Detour and Pole. I talk to other Maniacs and cheer other racers in. Rick comes in about 15 minutes later. Then Gail about 20 minutes after that. We all liked the course and thought the fan support was great. They did a great job for a first time marathon, I was very surprised. For those of you wanting to run this one I highly recommend it. Its mostly flat with some hills for spice, but is very scenic. This was my 18th marathon/ultra and I would probably run this one again. Its nice to do them close to home! I will post pictures later this week.