More mileage down the road

The miles piled up this week!  Around 33 miles run on the trail or on paths or steets.  I ran in long sleeved cotton shirts every other day to get acclimated to the heat in July.

I can feel my legs getting stronger.  Since I’m not doing a speed component in this training, I’ll be running a 12-minute mile during the event, I think the conditioning and leg strength will be paramount.  I’ll try to design a program for the remainder of the training over the next couple of days.

The weather is beautiful this time of year in Mississippi.  I’m so happy to be outside, running.

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner.

Beyond the marathon, imitating July~

Anticipating running events is somewhat of an art form. First, comes the conditioning, of course.  Running all those long miles should count for something.  Then, there is the nutrition and hydration one must consider.  Taking on fluids during the long runs to replace electrolytes and keep the body hydrated are all issues one must contend with in training for a marathon length event.

However, beyond the marathon, there are other components one must consider.  If you’re running more than six hours, which I plan to do for this upcoming 50k, you have to consider something to eat. 

There is a reason why stage cycling races, those races that have a week’s worth of daily stages in them, one stage race per day, have feeding zones.  The feeding zone is a section of the race where the cycling team crews hand out the little canvas bags (called musette bags) with food in them.  These bags have energy bars, gels, fruit perhaps and maybe energy drinks.  The point is that on these long rides, the riders need to eat to keep up their strength.

So, I’m planning on a similar station on my six, 5-mile loops at the Big Butts 50k.  I’ve heard that many runners have little tents set up with all their gear in them.  Right now, I’m just thinking ice chest.  More on that later as planning continues.

But one of the most important aspects of running a 50k in Mississippi in July is the heat and humidity.  One MUST be acclimated to that kind of heat to run that long a distance and survive.  So, here it is March and I’m imitating July in my training.  I’m running in long sleeve cotton shirts with a short sleeve cotton shirt underneath it.

As you probably know, cotton absorbs water (perspiration) into its fiber and holds it there.  That’s why when you’re wearing a cotton sock on a hot day, your foot feels like it’s surrounded by a warm wet rag, your foot’s skin becomes very soft and wrinkly.  Kind of like when you’ve been in the bathtub or pool too long.

By running in cotton shirts, my body feels the heat and humidity of July.  At least that’s what it feels like.  Thus, I’m becoming a little better acclimated to a hotter weather condition early on.

You’re thinking I’m a fool for doing this, but my guess is you’re not running a 50k in Mississippi in July!  No disrespect to meant to you, of course, but I’m trying to prepare in every way I know how so that I can finish the 31 miles in good form.

Maybe that’s what I like about running long events, the preparation. 

Life is the journey (preparation) not the destination.

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

My first 50k ultra-marathon~

As I’ve written in this blog over the past few days, I’m preparing for a 50k ultra-marathon.  That’s right at 31 miles, the longest I’ve ever run at one time in my life.  What’s worse is that it’s on July 28^th, the dog days of summer here in Mississippi.

I’m not going for any speed in this event.  As any long distance runner will tell you, the goal of your first long distance event is simply to finish.  I’ve now run 5 marathons with a best personal finishing time of 4:01.  Fortunately, I’ve finished them all.  And, I’ve learned a little something with each marathon and tweaked my training accordingly.

The main thing I’ve heard about running an ultra is not only the conditioning , but the acclimation to the heat.  As we all know, heat can take your strength, but throw in the humidity here in Mississippi and you’ve got yourself a real pot-boiler.

Anyway, that is my goal, simply to finish.  I estimate that I’ll set a goal of 12:00/mile and a finishing time around 6:15.  I hope that I’ll be ready.

After 30 miles this week, today is a rest day.

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

The weekly mileage is piling up~

Today’s run on the dirt trail was much better.  I can feel that I’m getting a little stronger.  I didn’t have to walk any of the 9.5 mile course and that’s a good thing.

Whenever I felt a little out of breath or I was going up a hill, I closed my stride a little and “short stepped” through the difficulty.  This is something I’ve learned only through experience.  I don’t attack hills any more, I simply let them come to me as I jog in place, so to speak.  It’s a lot easier to manage a run that way!

I’ve done other runs this week, too.  All these runs are in the middle, the hottest, of the day to try to get acclimated to the heat as soon as possible.  The 50k I’m training for is July 28^th, probably the hottest time of the summer here in Mississippi.  I’ve run a 7 mile loop around the neighborhood and a 8.5 mile out-and-back to the reservoir along Ridgeland’s Recreation Trail.

The more I train and get acclimated, the better.  These runs aren’t about speed, I’ve kept a relative slow pace of around 9:45-10:00/mile just to get my legs back into some kind of condition.  They’re improving slowly.

The weekly miles will be increase over the next few weeks.  Right now, I’m at 30 miles for this week.

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

A tiresome run~

Today, I ran the dirt trail for the first time in a month or there abouts.  It was brutal.  I could tell I am not very fit at all.  I had to stop and walk several times pushing my time out to almost 2 hours for the 9.5 mile course.  It was hot, too.

I’ve got a long way to go in preparation for the Big Butts 50k coming up in July.  A looong way to go.  However, I know that bit by bit I’ll get there.  If today’s trail run is any indication, I’ll be another week or two before I can manage it with any strength.  But today’s run is over and it’s under my belt, so I’ll be getting stronger because of it.

The rest of this week will be recreational (paved) trail and neighborhood street running.  Somehow, that seems easier than what I went through today.

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

Recovery and moving forward~

This week, I’ve eased back into a running schedule.  A couple of runs in the neighborhood as well as the Ridgeland Multi-purpose Recreational Trail along the Natchez Trace is getting me back into form.

I can tell I’ve lost some fitness because of my heart rate.  My Garmin 410 has downloaded horribly high heart rates during these runs indicating that my heart has lost some of strength that I gained during the marathon training.

I guess my illness and business travel a couple of weeks ago took its toll and now I’m struggling to get back into form.  Still, it’s good to be back out on the road.

To me, that’s what happens sometimes in our daily struggles with family and jobs.  You have good days and you have not so good days.  You go to bed at night, hoping that tomorrow will be better.  You even try to plan on it as you leave the bad days behind and move forward.

One of my running buddies said about training for a long distance event, “You can’t cheat the marathon.”  You have to put in the time and effort just to try to do well.

With those thoughts, I’ll have to say that I’ve been challenged by another running buddy, John, who introduced me to the mountain bike dirt trail where I run.  He challenged me to enter his race called the Big Butts 50 & 100k… in July.

Butts Park is out near Clinton, MS and is a grassy cross-country trail often used by Miss. College and high school cross-country teams.  I have not run this trail yet, but John tells me it’s a lot easier than the 9.5 mile trail that I usually run. 

Anyway, I’ve accepted.  It means a slower pace for the 31 miles, somewhere around  12:00/mile pace.  Slow, but an intelligent way to run a small ultra-marathon. 

So, my training this spring and summer will not be a speed style training, only long runs to prepare will be in order.  The event will be in the dog days of late July.  This will take some getting used to. 

On the other side of the event is a little bit of pride that I’ve done something that not many people have done. 

Cool.

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

I'm sick of being sick...

This picture tells it all.  I’ve been either sick or out of town these past two weeks and haven’t been able to run at all.  That’s two weeks without a single step out on the road or trail.  I’ll pay for it later!