Huckleberry-Humble Pie

This post goes out to all those folks making great strides towards, what has become, perennial, expected success.

This week in running I was served a healthy portion of huckleberry-humble pie. For those of you expecting a recap of an epic 160+ mile week in the mountains, I apologize. As much as a dog is doggy, I am humany, replete with physical, psychological and sociological limitations. Inspiration and character are longitudinal virtues. A look at my life, from birth until now, will hopefully yield a strong sense of fortuitousness, strength of character and inspiration through focused and channeled passion.

Before I get to heady... I am tentatively injured; the pain in my right knee, a source of a lifetime of frustration, can no longer be ignored. I am easing off of my training regime sooner than usual; things are not out of hand, the situation is still tenable. Doubtless, a few more weeks at 130+ miles would render that joint ineffectual. Time to pull back the reins. Of course, this is never easy. I love running. I love training. I love running and training at high levels (lots of miles), but alas, often what we need is what we least want or would ever choose for ourselves. Changes are to be made and opportunities are to be seized with this change in regime. What I will have more of... time, energy for daily activities, external focus, love, compassion and passion. There will be less brooding over possible impending injuries from lingering pains. In short, freedom.

Intense, competitive and fast 50 mile training is probably out of the question for this fall. Any training that I do will be geared towards slow, long ultras (100k or 100 miler). Speed work, during this training cycle, has not only become painful and downright pathetic, it is of no real interest at this point and affords nothing close to enjoyment. Slow, trail-running is where I will be while nursing this knee. Too, woods running is infinitely more appealing to me right now. Enjoying running for what it is, in balance with the rest of the whole (life). Next spring, after a restful winter, I hope to return to competitive ultra-running. For now? I intend to turn all of my surplus energy saved from not training as hard towards friends, family, work and new pursuits.

Run for the love of that impetus that finds you out on your feet - health, weight loss, enjoyment, freedom, worship, suffering, competition, etc. Run for joy; because you are able, and that is a blessing. Never forget to give thanks to the Creator of the universe for your bipedal mobility. Live in that moment - running, living, socializing, whatever it may be. Be all there. The sky is the limit and everything in that space between heaven and earth is within the realm of possibility. Do it. Live for what is meaningful, no what is extreme. Often meaningful pursuits are extreme. Just as often extreme measures are patently absurd. If your pursuit finds you at an extreme, respect it, tarry not, and use it as a launch pad to new and wonderful things. Be unprecedented - for the sake of God, human achievement and not personal advancement (insofar as it truncates personal growth). The former brings glory to God and all, the latter... anger, frustration, and eventually devastation. Learn humility, have a bite, a nibble a taste of your huckleberry-humble pie before you are forced to devour the whole. Practice it. Wait not for the walls of your world to crumble. Rather, build paths, outward and yon, connecting to those people and places that bring life to living - and likewise in reverse. Live for empowerment.

All this to say, I was building a small temple; it has been obliterated. Hello world, hello life. Let anticipation of the unexpected be your modus operandi. Peace.

Missoula or Seattle?

Incredible running weekend. 17 miles on Saturday, 19 on Sunday. Today is the first day since I have been back that it hasn't rained. The woods are fresh, green, full of life and moisture. My somewhat wet 13 miler in the Rattlesnake yesterday was glorious. The woods felt tropical and refreshing. Saturday, I had a really clean quick ascent/descent of Mt. Sentinel w/some flat-running Missoula proper running sprinkled in there. Lately, I have been letting it all go on the trails, just running by spirit, not by force driven by unbridled emotions. This weekend was clean in that way. Just good, clean and pure running.

The sky is blue today. I may head up the Rattlesnake again today after work for a rain-free, worry-free jaunt of Stuart Peak. Who knows.

A major change happened in my life yesterday that has left me feeling joyful. More on that to come. Upward steps are being taken towards a more positive life and self-image. It is all very empowering, hopefully I can maintain my composure through it all and let those blessings that grace my life be buoys of joy.

Hmmm, I guess that is all. I wish I were a better writer and had the energy and passion to write interesting, inspiring pieces. For now, we will go with the numbers... 40 biped miles since Saturday. Peace.

Week Recap (8/8-8/14): Intentional Suffering

This week my training focus was on suffering. I had the unexpected pleasure of traveling to Atlanta, GA for the week (a work-related training). Of course, training in GA during a pretty workshop-intensive VISTA training (which was solid - incredible people and helpful information) afforded a wonderful opportunity to get up really early to slip in some miles, experience perspiration at new and unprecedented levels, feel tired - slog through that -, and eat prodigous amounts of hotel food. 

111 miles this week. 

SA: 24

SU: 16

M: 17

T: 14

W: 14

TH: 16

F: 10

Thursday I went out into wild Georgia during the heat of the day on a 12 mile road/trail run. It was sick. I threw down on the trails - was tired, sweated much and enjoyed myself. Admittedly, I don't really enjoy suffering, but it is a part of my training that I am working at being more intentional about including from time to time; to help me know better what it means to push my personal limits and then appreciate what it is to feel great, happy and comfortable. It is pushing our level of comfort in anything that creates space to grow.

Nothing too exciting about my runs this week. Easy week. No speed work. A lot of 7-10 milers on a treadmill in a sauna (the work out room was pretty hot and extremely humid). I was left with soaked shoes and shorts after every treadmill run. I mean soaked; as if I had jumped into a body of water and just stepped out. That sort of soaked. It was unreal. I loved it.

Nice to be back in Missoula though. Dry, cool, mountainous and quiet. It feels like home. I am looking very forward to getting out on a long, easy trail run this afternoon. Yeehaw. Home again. 

This week in running...

Firstly, I should note that my new running week is Saturday to Friday. This makes more sense to me - what, with a front-loaded long-running weekend, followed by a peak on Wednesday/Thursday, then a lower mileage (higher intensity) Friday. A great week this week. My fitness is getting there. My worry, something that occurred to me this week, is that my fitness might be too good at this early stage in training. So, next week, mostly by necessity, I will be cutting back a bit, keeping both the intensity and mileage low. Then, I will begin ramping it up at a tenable rate through September. 

This week in running:

Sat: 33 (31 race+2 easy)

Sun: 19 (15 steady+4 easy)

Mon: 13 (6 commute+7 easy)

Tues: 18 (6 commute+12 mountain push)

Wed: 15 (8 commute+7 steady, flat push)

Thurs: 22 (7 easy+15 speed ascent, flat running)

Fri: 15 (5 commute+10 flat, tempo*)

Week Mileage: 135 miles

Week Vert: about 14,000 feet

Everything - my legs and upper-body - is functioning well and firing properly. The variety of running that I am doing in Missoula doubtless plays a major role in that. Lots of varied-pace trail running, easy runs, etc.

Life is good. Social life is good. Work is pretty alright. Yeah. Peace.

Thursday Follies

Typically, I would save a "follies" blog for a Friday - a matter of semantics. But yesterday. Yesterday was a day of follies. And by follies I mean shenanigans. That helps little... shenanigans? read "epic running" and good times. So yesterday was an Epic Running and Good Times Thursday. Bullet points:

- Correction. Dashes.

- Morning run: out the door on a really slow and flat (and wet) 7-8 miler at 5:15AM. This run proved to be a great recovery run from the previous day's work out.

- Afternoon: went out for my big work out of the day. A steady lung-busting push up Sentinel's lesser travelled and longer north trail. My stomach was not in a good place going into the run, but after a couple of miles of running it out before hitting the ascent it had settled and was ready for the push I so needed. I put in the 3 miles and 2000 vertical in something less than 30 minutes (most likely, my internal clock has gotten pretty accurate with these predictions). I cruised up. There were portions where I was hitting 8:30-9:00 pace. I took a nice and easy descent to save my knees (as tempting as it was to make it a 45 minute round-trip). Ran back to school, then took the long way home on my feetsies.

- Great time at Downtown Tonight with Anna-Margaret, Jordan and Christine. We sat on the hill behind the food vendors and sipped and beers and chatted about this, that and the other.

Yesterday's Stats
- 22 miles
- 2600 vertical
- 2 great conversations
- 1 great beer
- 1 giant box of life cereal

Today will be a nice and easy 15-20 mile day (15 if the weather acts up, 20 if things clear up). Tomorrow will be a single run day - one big ol', mountainous long-run. Can't wait. Tonight? Free wine and hors d’oeurves, conversation and art viewing. Game on. Peace. Happy Friday to all. God bless.

Return to the Blogosphere

Hiatus? Yes. I have been busy. Negatory. I have not made adequate time for writing. It is my shame to bear. But I am back.

I returned to running on the second to last day of June, after a month completely off. I walked 7-10 miles a day and continued core, lower body and upper body strengthening circuits during the break. I put in 300 miles in July - a low and honest number, which I am proud of, considering the self-control it took to not run more. I paced the 3:40 women's Boston qualifier race at the Missoula Marathon after 10 days of training. I ended up taking them in at the 3:36 mark. Oops. I made the run into a 50k (31 miles) to make for a nice training day. Had a great time doing that. With that run, my Fall 2009 ultra training began in earnest.

I then put in several 80-90+ mile weeks leading up to the Elkhorn 50 miler on August 1st. Supposedly, one of the most difficult 50 mile courses in the west. Hard, but necessary lessons learned at that race. Long story short, I dropped out at mile 25 after admitting defeat to the leader who had 5 minutes on me. Probably a silly move (we had 5-6 miles on the pack). Made the run into a 50k at a blazing pace that would have been good for the course record.

Currently, I am coming to the end of my first 130+ mile week since May (a wet 7 miler this mornign). I am feeling great. I am braceless and happy. I have slowed down my training considerably. I would say that 75% of my running is at 8:30 pace or slower. It has made all the difference in the world. I put in 1-2 "speed" work outs a week. But, for the most part, it is all beautiful mountain running. I put in a few of those flat speed work outs a week, but beyond that it is all about the vertical running. I have been averaging about 2,000 vert feet a day. My climbing is getting gnarly-sick. Fast and smooth and my only limit has been the height of the peaks in the immediate area - this has meant several peaks a day on occasion. My downhill is getting better. I have been taking it easy on the gravity-assisted running to save my knees.

Next week, I am heading to Atlanta for job-related training and will take that opportunity to have a cut-back week - let the ol' body rest a bit. Then, next weekend, it is on... A couple of big long runs, followed by a some big and beautiful running weeks. My preparations are for the Le Grizz 50 miler, where I would like to go sub-6 hours this year. Lord-willing.

Alright, back to the blog, now back to work. Daily reporting on training begins! Yeehaw!

Back in the Game

Running is not a game, but I am back to the movement after a 6 week hiatus (2 hours of walking and .5-1 hour of core/aerobic circuit strength training exercises in its void).

Yeehaw. I am stoked to be running again. It is a different experience than when I last left it, and that is a good thing. I feel like I have gained respect and appreciation on an even more acute level since I have been away.

Slowly, but surely, I am getting back on the running wagon. I put in close to 75 miles last week. Admittedly, this was probably too much in mind, but in reality it proved just fine. My body feels pretty solid. Of course, 65-70 of those miles were pretty pokey, 8 minute pace or slower, but that point is, I loved every minute of it.

This is the battle I am forever engaged in, moderating the love for a passion. The runner's dilemma. Too much will render one hurt, injured and unable to run, thus eliminating the chances of running fluidly, safely and, of course, enjoyably at high mileage (or, I should say, enjoying running high mileage) and too little, well, that is nothing to speak to as it is impossible for me to fathom running too little on account of not wanting to (not injury).

So here is what has transpired since I began running last week.

Sunday: 7-10 miles walking/running
Monday: 8 miles (bank run)
Tuesday: 8-10 miles (library/grocery run)
Wednesday: 12-14 miles (w/a nice steady climb to the summit cone of Mt. Sentinel)
Thursday: 10-11 miles (neighborhood exploration and double traverse of Mt. Jumbo)
Friday: 6-7 miles of interval work, lunges, strides (followed by a great stretch sesh)
Saturday: 9-10 miles around Lake Como and campground (amazing, amazing, and amazing)

My legs feel 80% overall at this point of fitness. Not bad. This week, I am taking it easy - basically keeping it at 5-7 miles a day of running/walking commutes. Saving myself for this weekend. I will probably squeeze in a day of rest too, while I am at. C'est la vie.
Missoula is a great running town for many reasons (justification to be enumerated in posts forthcoming). Off to work. Peace.