Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Big news·
Well, I've decided to make a change. I don't know if it will be a permanent one, and I don't know if I'll be successful, but I feel the need for a new challenge. I've created a new blog to chronicle my new endeavor; you can read about it here. I'll be making all new posts to that blog, so if you are interested please subscribe to the feed there. Thanks to everyone who's read my posts and offered support and encouragement.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Brief Race Report: FANS 17 Hour·
Wait, 17 hour? Wasn't this a 24 hour race? Umm, yeah, it was supposed to be.
FANS was a Centurion race and has a walking division, so I was excited about this race. I was on track for first place and 105 miles (and a course record) when the wheels came off on lap 30 (about 12:30 am). I just lost all energy (and will) and slept in my car for a while, then decided I couldn't go on (I was chilled and had no energy at all). So I went to get some food and went to the hotel to sleep.
I was disappointed, but at the same time this is the second longest I've ever gone in my ultra career, and up to the point where I crashed I held a good pace (13:40 average). I was leading the entire race and was two laps ahead of the second place walker.
I reached 50 miles in 10:52:22, and I reached 100k in 13:50:38. If I had been registered in the 12 hour I would have won and I would have set a course record. If I had been racing in a 50 miler or 100k I would have been very happy. Unfortunately it was a 24 hour race, so I'm a little bummed. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now but figure out what to do next. Not sure what that will be, but once I recover physically and mentally I put together a plan for something.
This is a great race if you are looking for a fixed time event. Here are a bunch of pictures of the race from Julie Berg's blog:
http://julieberg.blogspot.com/
My only suggestion to improve the race would be to have a greater variety of food, and to have more hot food available at night. Other than that, a very well run and well supported race with a lot of great "crowd support" from the crews and families of other racers, plus the timers and event volunteers.
I'll post more later, and I'd like to mention the great performances by other walkers. But I've got to get to work and then fly out later today for a business trip, so my lengthier report will have to wait.
FANS was a Centurion race and has a walking division, so I was excited about this race. I was on track for first place and 105 miles (and a course record) when the wheels came off on lap 30 (about 12:30 am). I just lost all energy (and will) and slept in my car for a while, then decided I couldn't go on (I was chilled and had no energy at all). So I went to get some food and went to the hotel to sleep.
I was disappointed, but at the same time this is the second longest I've ever gone in my ultra career, and up to the point where I crashed I held a good pace (13:40 average). I was leading the entire race and was two laps ahead of the second place walker.
I reached 50 miles in 10:52:22, and I reached 100k in 13:50:38. If I had been registered in the 12 hour I would have won and I would have set a course record. If I had been racing in a 50 miler or 100k I would have been very happy. Unfortunately it was a 24 hour race, so I'm a little bummed. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now but figure out what to do next. Not sure what that will be, but once I recover physically and mentally I put together a plan for something.
This is a great race if you are looking for a fixed time event. Here are a bunch of pictures of the race from Julie Berg's blog:
http://julieberg.blogspot.com/
My only suggestion to improve the race would be to have a greater variety of food, and to have more hot food available at night. Other than that, a very well run and well supported race with a lot of great "crowd support" from the crews and families of other racers, plus the timers and event volunteers.
I'll post more later, and I'd like to mention the great performances by other walkers. But I've got to get to work and then fly out later today for a business trip, so my lengthier report will have to wait.
Friday, June 01, 2007
It's time to do it·
Well, I leave for FANS in four hours. Up to Minneapolis and the pre-race pasta dinner, then hopefully a good night's sleep before the race starts at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning. My hotel is less than 15 minutes from the race, and I've found a Starbucks within a two minute drive of the hotel, so all the key logistics have been worked out.
It took me a while to pack all my gear. I have a full suitcase and a half full backpack. The scary thing is that the only "street" clothes in there are a T-shirt, socks and underwear; everything else is race gear. Here is what I remember packing:
I'll post results as soon as I can. I'm out of here!
It took me a while to pack all my gear. I have a full suitcase and a half full backpack. The scary thing is that the only "street" clothes in there are a T-shirt, socks and underwear; everything else is race gear. Here is what I remember packing:
- 2 short sleeve shirts
- 1 long sleeve shirt
- 1 sleeveless shirt
- 2 pairs of shorts
- 2 hats
- 2 bandanas
- 3 sweat bands
- 4 pairs of socks
- 3 water bottles
- 2 bottle packs (one single bottle pack, one double bottle pack)
- my usual medical kit (band aids, foot repair, sunscreen, bodyglide, extra shoe laces and zip ties and safety pins)
- sunglasses
- flashlight and headlamp (part of the course is not well lit at night)
- lightweight shell in case I get chilled at night
- 2 pairs of shoes
I'll post results as soon as I can. I'm out of here!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Growing the Online Racewalking Community·
I really enjoy reading blogs, especially racewalking blogs. I've found a small number but I'm sure there are others out there. I'm going to post all of the blogs I know of; check them out, there are some great reads out there.
If you know of other blogs on racewalking, please post in the comments and I'll add them to the list. I used to have a list on my sidebar but I screwed up the HTML. As soon as I've fixed it I'll post all the links on the left.
Thanks!
Ollie (fellow ultrawalker and all around great person)
Journeyman Phil (racewalking and ultrawalking in Australia)
Sarah (fast racewalking up in Canada)
Daniel (another fast racewalker)
Ray (elite US racewalker)
Rachel (elite Canadian racewalker)
Steve (asthma-challenged racewalker making incredible strides in his marathon performances)
Racewalker55 (couch potato to marathon racewalker)
Karen (training for a marathon in California)
Tammy (another inspiring couch potato to racewalker story)
Phat Girl Walking (racewalking in the bay area)
Added 5/25/07:
Race Walking Record has a news feed dedicated to race walking
Added 5/26/07:
Chris (another ultrawalker!)
Who else is out there? Make yourself known!
If you know of other blogs on racewalking, please post in the comments and I'll add them to the list. I used to have a list on my sidebar but I screwed up the HTML. As soon as I've fixed it I'll post all the links on the left.
Thanks!
Ollie (fellow ultrawalker and all around great person)
Journeyman Phil (racewalking and ultrawalking in Australia)
Sarah (fast racewalking up in Canada)
Daniel (another fast racewalker)
Ray (elite US racewalker)
Rachel (elite Canadian racewalker)
Steve (asthma-challenged racewalker making incredible strides in his marathon performances)
Racewalker55 (couch potato to marathon racewalker)
Karen (training for a marathon in California)
Tammy (another inspiring couch potato to racewalker story)
Phat Girl Walking (racewalking in the bay area)
Added 5/25/07:
Race Walking Record has a news feed dedicated to race walking
Added 5/26/07:
Chris (another ultrawalker!)
Who else is out there? Make yourself known!
Monday, May 21, 2007
The Bad, The Ugly and the Good·
This post will be about my workout two weekends ago and my workout yesterday, thus the change in the traditional order of the title:
The Bad and The Ugly
Last weekend I did some long training at White Rock Lake. I normally start my long walks around 4:00-5:00 am, so I get many of my miles out of the way before the sun comes up and it starts to heat up (I would say most weekends I'm finished by 10:30 or 11:00).
This weekend I had to start later, around 9:15 (we had our first Team in Training training session that morning). I did three loops of the lake (including an out-and-back on the spillway) so about 10.25 per loop. First loop 1:59, second loop 2:09, third loop 2:36 (last few miles were a death march, 16:00 - 18:00 minutes per mile, and that time does not include pauses to rest or vomit/dry heave).
I thought I was drinking a lot (I carried two bottles and I drank at the water fountains from time to time). I stopped at my car every loop to refill my bottles, drink a bottle of Yoohoo (a member of the North Texas Trail Runners introduced me to that and it is so good!) and eat some potato chips. I also used three packages of Clif Shot Blocks (I don't think I'll do that again, they made me queasy and I felt like I needed to belch or vomit but couldn't) and two Succeed caplets every hour. I don't think I ate enough because of mild nausea and lack of desire, a result I think of the Clif Shot Blocks and HEED, which I can tolerate in cooler weather but which makes me sick to even think about in warm weather.
After I finally stopped I couldn't keep any water down for a few hours (anything I drank would come back up a little while later). After I finally had some food I started to feel better and could eat and drink without problems. But I was sooooo tired, more tired than I ever remember being after any races I've done. That afternoon and evening I had the worst leg cramps of my life (and I don't usually cramp). I had them in both calves, causing me to scream out in pain. It was not very fun.
I posted this information to the e-mail group for the North Texas Trail Runners and got lots of advice, most of it conflicting. The two things that stuck out were that I probably had too many electrolytes, not too little, and I probably shouldn't push so hard this early in the hot season. My body still needs to adjust to the heat.
The Good
This weekend my wife and daughter went out of town so I took advantage of their absence to do my last long training walk before FANS. On Saturday while I was shopping at Central Market I went to their prepared foods area and bought some macaroni and cheese and a twice baked potato. I also bought Gatorade and more Yoohoo. Finally, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I got up early Sunday and started walking by 5:00 AM. I walked a 3.2 mile loop at Breckenridge Park. Every two loops (or 6.4 miles) I stopped at my car to eat and drink. My goal was to maintain a 12:30 pace for as long as possible since this is the pace I plan to maintain for the first 30 or so miles at FANS.
Surprisingly, I was able to maintain a 12:02 average pace for almost 42 miles. I was slowing in the final miles, but I was slowing to 12:30 - 13:00, so I didn't slow that much. I ate and drank successfully without any sickness, and I felt good most of the time, even when the temperatures crept into the low 80s. I only used one electrolyte cap when I felt some "crampy" feelings in one calf. Other than that it was: Gatorade, Coke, Yoohoo, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, Mac & Cheese, Twice-Baked Potato, Pringles. I always try to eat real food during ultras, so this seemed like a good test of that strategy. Things seemed to go well.
I'm still getting some blisters on my left heel, but I seem to be getting blisters on my old blisters and they don't hurt; I can tell they are there, but they don't bother me. I probably had blisters for 20 miles yesterday, with no issues.
The Rest
I did get some new shoes and they are working well. They are the latest version of the Asics Gel Speedstar (I've used this shoe before and decided to return to it). I wish it had a little more forefoot support, but other than that I'm very happy with it. I'm going to bring three pairs of shoes to FANS; I plan to start in the Speedstars and switch to a more supportive shoe if I feel the need.
So I guess now it's time for FANS. I plan to stick to my normal weekday training schedule this week, then do 10-15 miles next weekend, then no walking all week until the race. I hope we have good weather, that's all that's stressing me out at this point! I hate waiting for the race - this is the worst part of training and racing!
The Bad and The Ugly
Last weekend I did some long training at White Rock Lake. I normally start my long walks around 4:00-5:00 am, so I get many of my miles out of the way before the sun comes up and it starts to heat up (I would say most weekends I'm finished by 10:30 or 11:00).
This weekend I had to start later, around 9:15 (we had our first Team in Training training session that morning). I did three loops of the lake (including an out-and-back on the spillway) so about 10.25 per loop. First loop 1:59, second loop 2:09, third loop 2:36 (last few miles were a death march, 16:00 - 18:00 minutes per mile, and that time does not include pauses to rest or vomit/dry heave).
I thought I was drinking a lot (I carried two bottles and I drank at the water fountains from time to time). I stopped at my car every loop to refill my bottles, drink a bottle of Yoohoo (a member of the North Texas Trail Runners introduced me to that and it is so good!) and eat some potato chips. I also used three packages of Clif Shot Blocks (I don't think I'll do that again, they made me queasy and I felt like I needed to belch or vomit but couldn't) and two Succeed caplets every hour. I don't think I ate enough because of mild nausea and lack of desire, a result I think of the Clif Shot Blocks and HEED, which I can tolerate in cooler weather but which makes me sick to even think about in warm weather.
After I finally stopped I couldn't keep any water down for a few hours (anything I drank would come back up a little while later). After I finally had some food I started to feel better and could eat and drink without problems. But I was sooooo tired, more tired than I ever remember being after any races I've done. That afternoon and evening I had the worst leg cramps of my life (and I don't usually cramp). I had them in both calves, causing me to scream out in pain. It was not very fun.
I posted this information to the e-mail group for the North Texas Trail Runners and got lots of advice, most of it conflicting. The two things that stuck out were that I probably had too many electrolytes, not too little, and I probably shouldn't push so hard this early in the hot season. My body still needs to adjust to the heat.
The Good
This weekend my wife and daughter went out of town so I took advantage of their absence to do my last long training walk before FANS. On Saturday while I was shopping at Central Market I went to their prepared foods area and bought some macaroni and cheese and a twice baked potato. I also bought Gatorade and more Yoohoo. Finally, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I got up early Sunday and started walking by 5:00 AM. I walked a 3.2 mile loop at Breckenridge Park. Every two loops (or 6.4 miles) I stopped at my car to eat and drink. My goal was to maintain a 12:30 pace for as long as possible since this is the pace I plan to maintain for the first 30 or so miles at FANS.
Surprisingly, I was able to maintain a 12:02 average pace for almost 42 miles. I was slowing in the final miles, but I was slowing to 12:30 - 13:00, so I didn't slow that much. I ate and drank successfully without any sickness, and I felt good most of the time, even when the temperatures crept into the low 80s. I only used one electrolyte cap when I felt some "crampy" feelings in one calf. Other than that it was: Gatorade, Coke, Yoohoo, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, Mac & Cheese, Twice-Baked Potato, Pringles. I always try to eat real food during ultras, so this seemed like a good test of that strategy. Things seemed to go well.
I'm still getting some blisters on my left heel, but I seem to be getting blisters on my old blisters and they don't hurt; I can tell they are there, but they don't bother me. I probably had blisters for 20 miles yesterday, with no issues.
The Rest
I did get some new shoes and they are working well. They are the latest version of the Asics Gel Speedstar (I've used this shoe before and decided to return to it). I wish it had a little more forefoot support, but other than that I'm very happy with it. I'm going to bring three pairs of shoes to FANS; I plan to start in the Speedstars and switch to a more supportive shoe if I feel the need.
So I guess now it's time for FANS. I plan to stick to my normal weekday training schedule this week, then do 10-15 miles next weekend, then no walking all week until the race. I hope we have good weather, that's all that's stressing me out at this point! I hate waiting for the race - this is the worst part of training and racing!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Speedy Walking!·
Big Congrats to Sarah who broke 30 minutes racewalking a 5k! Good job. My PR is 31:06 so I'd be eating her dust.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Big Weekend·
This weekend was my last final "big weekend" of training for FANS. I would have like to have done it next weekend, giving me a three week recovery and taper, but my schedule forced me to peak a week early. I'll still do some good miles next weekend, then lower the intensity and distance gradually.
On Saturday I went to a local park where I mapped a 3.2 mile loop (FANS is a 2.4 mile loop). I repeated the loop 10 times for 32.1 miles in 6:20:23, an 11:51 pace. On Sunday I went to White Rock Lake and did the "long loop" (standard 9+ mile loop plus the spillway addition for about 10.3 miles per loop) three times for 30.84 miles in 6:30:10, a 12:40 pace. Saturday I walked in new shoes and got some big blisters on my left heel. Sunday I switched to older shoes and the blisters only got a little worse. Both walks went pretty well and were fairly even in terms of splits; no major crashes. Now I just have to recover and maintain for FANS.
Yesterday was the kick off for the Fall Team in Training season. As I mentioned previously I am a coach for the DFW Metro Walk Team. I'm really excited about the opportunity to coach. We will have 35-40 walkers on the team, so it's going to be a big group and hopefully a lot of fun. Training starts Tuesday, but the real hardcore training will start on Saturday. I'll let you know how we are doing as the season progresses. My team is training for Nike Women's Half/Full Marathon, Dublin Marathon and the Dallas Half Marathon, all in late October/early November. It's great to be able to help people achieve their personal goals and do things they never thought possible! I can't wait to get to know the team.
On Saturday I went to a local park where I mapped a 3.2 mile loop (FANS is a 2.4 mile loop). I repeated the loop 10 times for 32.1 miles in 6:20:23, an 11:51 pace. On Sunday I went to White Rock Lake and did the "long loop" (standard 9+ mile loop plus the spillway addition for about 10.3 miles per loop) three times for 30.84 miles in 6:30:10, a 12:40 pace. Saturday I walked in new shoes and got some big blisters on my left heel. Sunday I switched to older shoes and the blisters only got a little worse. Both walks went pretty well and were fairly even in terms of splits; no major crashes. Now I just have to recover and maintain for FANS.
Yesterday was the kick off for the Fall Team in Training season. As I mentioned previously I am a coach for the DFW Metro Walk Team. I'm really excited about the opportunity to coach. We will have 35-40 walkers on the team, so it's going to be a big group and hopefully a lot of fun. Training starts Tuesday, but the real hardcore training will start on Saturday. I'll let you know how we are doing as the season progresses. My team is training for Nike Women's Half/Full Marathon, Dublin Marathon and the Dallas Half Marathon, all in late October/early November. It's great to be able to help people achieve their personal goals and do things they never thought possible! I can't wait to get to know the team.
