The last couple days have been all about not recovering. After a long tough weekend at the Guads, I was supposed to take a few easy days to recover. But I've found that the only days I recover are the days where I'm injured... Maybe that's why I'm always injured. In fact, maybe that's why my entire athletic life has been filled with pain and injuries. But that's the way I like it, and I don't plan to change anytime soon. So I went out on Tuesday to St Ed's for some hilly, rocky terrain, but mostly just to beat myself up in the heat. It was only about an hour, but it was clear I hadn't yet recovered.
So out of respect for that, I decided to spend Wednesday evening running Hill of Life repeats at the greenbelt. That's always good for rubbery legs. Actually it went pretty well, I ran 5 of them focusing on the downhills (proprioception as Sisson and Joe call it, but I try to avoid the technical terms). The uphills were slow and mostly about recovery. I didn't crash head first so I'd consider it a success.
Before the run on Tuesday, and before I realized I hadn't recovered from the Guads, I also managed ot talk Joe P into coming out with me on Thursday to try out Ken's Loop at Bull Creek. It's right near my house, yet I'd never actually run it. So Joe and I met after work and ran it. It's a beautiful trail, I really enjoyed it. I can't wait until the whole Bull Creek trail opens back up in August so that I can run a 15 mile loop from my house to St Ed's, through Bull Creek, around Ken's loop, then back the way I came. It'll be about as tough of a 15 mile trail as I can get around here, and pretty much out my front door.
So all of this adds up to a pretty good week, but the real prize was Thursday night. After our run at Bull Creek, Joe showed me the hills he used to train on to build up speed and endurance for both uphills and downhills. Joe is a veteran of many mountainous 100 milers, and is about as good of a downhill runner as anyone I've seen or heard of, so I'm gonna take that little secret and start hitting those hills regularly. I've also decided that next month I'll be heading out to Bandera for an attempt at a 50 mile run. It'll tie my longest run ever, and will be a hell of a lot tougher than the previous 50 miler (Sunmart) considering the terrain and the fact that this is not a supported race, only a couple of morons dumb enough to go run 50 miles in the summer heat of central Texas.
I'll keep you updated on my plans for that trip. I might end up running less than 50, but thats my goal right now if the next month keeps me injury free. Gambatte.
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5 comments:
Man, I miss Bandera! If Joe adds a 100 miler in Jan are you gonna try it?
I've never run at Bandera, so maybe I should wait until next month to answer that. I think I'll be tempted to try the 100K, but you never know...
How about you? If there is a 100M in January, would you come back?
how do you handle the hydration issue on an unsupported 50 miler with summer heat? is there access to water anywhere? do you bring a filter? sounds like a great challenge...i should try this some day :)
I wish I knew the answer to your question... I have a camelback that I don't like to wear, but it works. I can carry 100oz, and another 32oz in two handhelds if I need them. It'll be 2x25M loops, so I can refill after 25 miles. That's probably what I'll do, but I haven't put much thought into it yet.
Thats the best part about races, they handle all of that stuff for you. (It's also why you should take time to volunteer at races, in my opinion. So you can better appreciate all of the things you tend to take for granted. OK, I'll get off the soapbox now).
TJ, you'll love the trails at Bandera! My favorite place to run in Tejas. Hope to return in Jan, running the longest distance Joe will let me.
I'm sure the Bandera Fat Ass will have unsupported aid stations out there. Damn, wish I could make that one!
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