So Far, So Good

Monday was the start of the official training for Miwok. Sure enough, it happened to coincide with a new change in the weather once again - cold. Didn't stop me from what I had planned - 1 hour run in the morning and 1.5 hours in the evening. Total distance was approx 16 miles (7 in the morning and 9 in the evening). At this point, I'm worrying more about time on my feet than distance covered. Yesterday was an off-day for running so I hit the pool for a little workout. Today, I'll be going out for little LT (lactate threshold) run. These always make me nervous because my injuries tend to pop up when I'm pushing the pace. I'll be spending some extra time stretching following these workouts from now on. By the way, I'm basically following the training program that was in the Trail Runner race issue this past month. It's similar to what I wanted to do but it's based on time rather than distance.

I officially signed up for the PCTR Woodside 35k on Feb 7th. My first race of the year! I'm not sure if race is the right word here, but I'm really excited to be hitting the trails and Woodside has been on my list of places to run. I was looking over the entries for the races and noticed that Beverly Anderson-Abbs was running the 50k. She is a stud and I can't wait to see her run. Joining me on the 35k is Miss Flirty 'n Dirty herself. I'm looking forward to running with her since the last time we were in the same race at Skyline to the Sea, she ended up breaking a couple bones in her foot (Knock on wood).

Goals for the race? Stay injury free. That's the big one. Finish of course. Also, I'm looking to stay ahead of the 50k runners for as long as possible. They will be heading out 45 minutes ahead of the 35k runners and we'll all be coming back on the same route after they tack on an extra 15k. I'd like to see if I can make it to the turnaround point before they start coming back. Should be interesting.

Enjoy the day and week everyone. Good health to all...

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What is this Stuff?

Something weird is happening around here in California - it's raining! We've had some really strange weather over the past few weeks - really cold (again, using the California factor) and then really warm - 70 degrees this past weekend! The one thing that has been missing, and needed the most, is rain. Well yesterday and today it finally showed up. Thank God. Without a bunch of rain in the winter and a nice snow-pack in the Sierra Mountains, we end up having a serious shortage of water during the dry summer months. In case you didn't know, most of California is really a desert without the water. Getting dumped on by the rain is nice to see - let's try and avoid a drought this year - we have enough issues as it is.

Begin the random thoughts...

• Last Saturday (1/17), I was out in Pacifica to volunteer at the PCTR Pacifica Trail Run (9k, 21k, 30k, & 50k distances). Unbelievable weather out in Pacifica (right next to the ocean). It was my first time that I've actually see the trails that are run on and they are amazing. Had a really good time volunteering and cheering on some friends - Christy, Victoria and JoLynn. They all did the 21k and seemed to be having a great time - well, maybe not Christy. Turns out she caught a branch or something and ended up taking a nasty spill. As of today, her arm is in a sling, she has a slightly blackened eye and some other various soreness. MRI is scheduled for today or tomorrow I believe.
  

Christy, JoLynn and Victoria after the 21k on Saturday - Christy looks better than she feels here.

• Trying to figure out my next (or first) race is for the year. GB sent me a message saying she was doing the 35k at Woodside (Feb 7) and asked if I was going to run it. My plan was to either do Woodside or Sequoia (Feb 28). By the 7th, I'll be ready for the 35k but probably not the full 50k. I would love to do both dates but a certain thing called reality prevents me from doing that. I'm working on getting the boss to try out the 10k on the 7th at Woodside so I can go and run the longer distance with no questions asked (and no guilt) "Love you honey!"

• Heading out in a few minutes to have a fun little 8-10 mile run in the rain. Should be fun unless I'm freezing at the end - next post will be describing the pneumonia process.
  

• On a Mr. Mom note, child #2 has almost mastered going #2. The wife and I are almost ready to declare that our second boy is officially potty-trained. Yes, it's sad that he's growing fast, but wow, have you seen the price of diapers? I still have to wipe his butt so it's not like he's leaving the house or anything like that.

• Ending with a clip my friend sent me. Ladies have their walk-in closets, but what about the guys?
  

Have a great rest of the week everyone. Keep the faith and get those runs in...

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Rolling Along

Almost weekend time and for most people this means a 3 or 4 day weekend. For my company? Negative. Haven't really figured out why MLK day isn't a mandatory holiday. Seems to me that it sends out a rather interesting (in a bad way) message.

As for running, good week so far as I've been adding on to where I started last week:

- Monday: 7 miles @ 52 min
- Tuesday: 6 hilly miles on the treadmill at the gym (yes, this year a lot more emphasis is being placed on hills)
- Wednesday: 30 minutes on the stair climber (the rotating version). Wanted to swim but the aqua-ladies were in the pool at the gym (not a big pool) doing their water aerobics stuff.
- Thursday (today): Heading out for a 10-12 miler shortly.

The weather is freakin' amazing right now. Cold (by California standards) in the morning and warm during the day (65 degrees yesterday!).

Other goodies:

• Scott Dunlap (A Trail Runner's Blog) has a nice interview with with John Trent from the Western States Board of Trustees. Scott and John discuss the purpose and duties of the Board of Trustees.
• I'll be heading out to Pacifica on Saturday morning to volunteer at the PCTR Pacifica 9k/21k/30k/50k. I've been wanting to volunteer for awhile but haven't had a chance due to holidays, kids, wife, etc. I love the people at the PCT events - and I could use some discounted entries for future races as well.
• I have started training for the 100k already, but my official crazy training will start on the 25th of this month. I'm breaking up the training into 3 4-week cycles - each time, cutting back on the 4th week (plus a 2-week taper before the race). Unlike last year, I feel that I have a good base to work with now so I just need to be careful to avoid any nagging injuries (e.g. IT-band & calf). So far so good...knock on wood.
• Oh yeah...saw Rick Gaston in the latest Trail Runner magazine (Race Issue 2009, Issue 56, pg 49). They had a nice article on the Firetrails 50 race and showed him and a couple other runners charging up the MacDonald Grade.
  

Good luck running this weekend. Stay healthy everyone and keep the faith.

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Baby Come Back

The hibernation is over and it's time to get the juices rolling again in the new year. First off, Happy New Year to everyone. As is the norm for me, once the vacation starts, I have a hard time getting near my computer for any sort of regular updating and reviewing of blogs. Oh well. That time is over and it's time to move forward in a brand new year - 2009.

I'll hold off on the extended recap of the break. Basically, it was a lot of time with my family and friends and limited time in the gym and on the road/trail. Let's call it extremely limited maintenance mode. In the end, that equalled 7 pounds on the scale.

So what's up for this year? Yes, it's going to be challenging again in all aspects of life - family, financial, athletic, spiritiual, etc. However, each success brings greater pleasure when overcoming such hardships. Last week, I got the lead out and started up the training again ("YES!"). Nothing huge, but accomplished what I wanted to:

Mon: 4 hilly miles on the treadmill + 5 minutes of Double Unders (~200)
Tue: 6 miles out on the levee @ 50 minutes
Wed: Into the pool - Swam 1 mile
Thurs: Deadlifts + 7.3 hilly miles on the treadmill @ 60 minutes
Fri: Off
Sat: 8 miles @ 1:10

So I got the cobwebs out last week and now will start increasing the miles and time on my feet. Body feels good (heavy, but good) and my motivation is flying off the charts. Go away holiday fat!

Got my first bit of good news on Saturday - I made it into the lottery for the Miwok 100k (May 2). That's right folks - moving up to the 62 mile mark. I'm so excited for this race due to many factors - amazing talent, historic race/course, incredible challenge, my first 100k distance. All things that are easy to utilize for motivation and inspiration. I'm looking forward to a great challenge.

My only other big running goal for the year (other than staying healthy) is to complete a 100-miler. Which one and when will be decided later in the year. I'll have to see what kind of shape I'm in after Miwok. For filler races, I'd like to do a 50k in later Feb or early March and maybe even one in April to get race-ready for the 100k in May. Enough for now. Good to be back!

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Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Treadmills

Too cold out there to run the normal 6 or 8 mile loop around the delta levees. Actually it was more of the fact that it was going to be dark that I decided to head to the gym and jump on the treadmill for a little workout. Came up with a fun plan for a hilly 5k. Started off at 3% incline and did 1-minute intervals followed by 1-minute 1% run (basically equivalent to flat outside) - did this up to 15%. After returning to flat ground, I decided to speed up the last part of the run gradually getting down to 6-minute miles on the last 1:00. Followed that up with 200 double-unders (jumping rope with two turns for every jump) as fast as I could go. Yowzers.

On Tuesday, the family headed out to get our Christmas Tree. We go to one of those lots in the parking lot - sorry not a go to the forest and cut our own tree down story - we go to the same place every year. The boys love going. However, it's also got 'lost child' written all over it. As soon as we walk into the rows of trees, the boys just take off. So now we have to spend half of our time trying to find a tree, the other half constantly in Stormtrooper/Power Ranger mode trying to find the boys (or play with them as they see it). Once we pick out a tree, they always give the boys an apple and they love it. Got all the lights on that night but we haven't had time to put ornaments on yet. I think that's scheduled for Saturday.

That's it for now. Time to go sit on the floor and stretch. Talk later...

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Foggy Monday

My brain doesn't seem to want to support paragraphs, complete sentences and/or other grammatically-correct blogging today so I'm gonna throw out random items in no particular order or fashion. Begin.

• Congrats to my friends Lee and Glorybelle (GB) for tackling CIM this weekend. Lee was shooting for a Boston Qualifier (BQ) time but ended up hitting the wall and "settling" for 3:37:59. And of course, GB (Silly Lillie), had her own injury issues going into the race but still managed to finish up in just under 4 hours. They are both faster than this but circumstances were unfavorable for them this year. Great work anyways.

• Nice work Rick Gaston on your 35th place finish at the North Face Endurance 50-miler. This just after finishing Quad Dipsea the previous weekend in 27th. You are one fast dude. Feel privileged to be able to call you a friend. Don't think I won't try and borrow your skills in the near future.

• Jo Lynn and Victoria - I'm really getting jealous of all the places you guys are running. And now you go and run together. Come on, where's the love? Don't you dare run Diablo without me - I'll be free after 12/19. Looking for a good 25k fat-buster run with or without animals.

• Nice to see the 49ers win a game yesterday at home. It was cold as hell at the game (oops, that's California cold - 49 degrees). I was a bit tired after a messy holiday cocktail party (think Jameson and Coke Zero) on Friday night and a birthday party on Saturday night. After the birthday party, we ended up watching Oscar De La Hoya get beat up and probably end his boxing career. I'm more of a UFC/MMA fan, but it was interesting to see how slow De La Hoya has become. He still made $50 million so screw him.

• Had a blast in the gym last Friday - ran a very hilly 10k on the treadmill in about 53 minutes. No wraps, no slings, no pain - nothing. Legs are feeling great. Reading other people's race reports and adventures has kept the fire burning. I'll be more than ready to start charging towards 100 miles next year.

• Softball tonight (old Detroit Tiger Stadium replica field). Always fun to get out and play - especially after having last week's game cancelled due to fog. Very strange.

• Not sure if I'll be able to run today (softball, for one). My better half has also scheduled me for a lunchtime Costco run (replace aid stations for free sample stations). Then, our oldest boy (4), has decided that today, and no other day, should be the day to pick up the Xmas tree. (Cue Homer Simpson..."WHY YOU LITTLE S..."). Never a good idea to let the kids set any part of a schedule. These become funny memories right?

That's it for today. Don't forget to enjoy what you're doing.

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Golly Bob Howdy

Holy Thanksgiving breaks!

I got an email yesterday from my friend Jo Lynn (Single Track Junkie) wanting to know if I was still among the living since I hadn't posted anything or left my comments on any of the blogs that we follow. To summarize...still living. Diagnois...computer-lazy over the past week.

I had last week off of work and since I spend most of my day in front of a computer, I tend to shy away from the machine when I'm off. Howev

er, I was still checking in and reading all of my favorite blogs (see the blog list on the right). I didn't actually leave any comments for anyone, but I was interested to see what people were up to.

Ok, now how about this running thing? First of all, I didn't end up doing the Thanksgiving 10k like I had planned. Apparently, nobody else was motivated enough to get out there. Ok fine. I headed out at 7:00 in the morning and did my own Delta levee 10-miler. What a great frickin' day it was. Clear skies and a little cool but perfect weather for running. Felt grea

t and got me ready for a fantastic day of food, family and fun (fun = drinking a sh!tload of beer). Since I do

n't have any actual races to detail, here's my Thanksgiving "race" report...

As previously mentioned, I headed out of the house at 7:00 AM and had a great 10-mile run along the Delta levees here in the Central Valley (about 1.5 hours). After getting home, it was time to prepare for the day. My wife and I host the family every Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday). This year that meant 38 people (31 adults and 7 

children). My job for the day was to cook the turkeys (2 of them) and make the stuffing (cooked separately). My method of choice for the birds is on the barbecue.  This year, since someone else was bringing ham, we

 went with a 20-pounder and a 14-pounder. (Last year it was (2) 22.5-lb birds) I put the 20-lb bird on the charcoal 

grill and smoked the hell out of it with hickory chips and put the smaller bird on the gas grill with very little smoking. While those were cooking, we watched really bad football and continously drank several varieties of beer. As more family showed up (and more people started drinking), we were approaching full volume. Good Times.

Now time for the stuffing. (This is usually the highlight of Thanksgiving). I stole the recipe from an old Williams Sonoma Thanksgiving book and I usually triple the recipe so I can feed everyone. I'll take a big turkey roasting pa

n (since it's not being used for the bird) and fill up the entire thing with bread crumbs/crouton/thingies and then pour all of the rest of the recipe (onions, celery, seasonings, etc.) on top and mix it all up - a giant portion of stuffing that gets thrown into the oven for about an hour and a half. Yum! (Btw, when did this turn into Food Network?)

Before sitting down for dinner, the youngest of the family usually do a reading of a prayer or something that inspires everyone else and reminds us of why we're doing what we're doing. Very cool stuff. (I just wish I could remember what it was this year - Warning: bad parent alert.)

The rest is all food comas and more beer. Older adults take off and the younger ones stay behind to be jackasses. Oh yeah, the kids did get put to bed at some point by a random grandma or aunt or nina. Like I said, I'm responsible for cooking and that's it. (Goodbye 'Father of the Year' award). I'm kidding, Child Services.

So that's done and I've put on the standard 4 - 5 lbs. I've been running and hitting the gym about once every 3 days. Not much else is going on as far as events. Sign-ups for some 2009 races that I want to do are approaching (Miwok 100k, Way To Cool 50k) so I'm in the process of registering for those.

I'll be throwing around my comments to my fellow bloggers and trying to update this blog more often. (Bad grammar and sarcasm are back!)

Thanks for stopping by. More to come...

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