Catching up

Lots has happened over the last couple of days.

Sunday
Sunday was the Team in Training Kickoff. I worked directions in the hotel lobby, attended the Kickoff rally and then met with the Dallas Walk Team and my mentor group afterwards. I met several of my group and they all seem very excited and motivated. Several of them have a deep "connection to the cause" that is very touching. I'm so lucky to have Angela with me and to be six years distant from most of her serious medical issues.

Sunday was my day off after my Saturday "long" walk (I only walked 10 miles compared to the usual 26-30, so it doesn't seem long!).

Monday
Monday I signed my daugther up for Marathon Kids. One of my biggest shames in life is that I signed her up last year and we never completed her miles! Here I am walking 50-70 miles per week and completing numerous ultramarathons, and I can't even walk/run 26.2 miles with my daughter over six months! Pathetic! This year will be different. Monday we took Lemon for a walk and walked to the park, played a while, then walked back (a full mile!). It rained on us all the way home which was kind of refreshing.

Monday I walked five easy miles in the morning.

Tuesday
Tuesday I did my first speed work in months! I couldn't do it at the track because of last night's rain; my neighborhood track is made up of dirt and crushed rock so it gets very messy after rain. Instead I did 1/4 mile intervals (with 1/4 mile rests) on the local paved walking/jogging trail. I did eight intervals and was pleased with the results, especially considering I haven't done any speedwork in ages. Here were my splits:

2:27 (9:50)
2:32 (10:08)
2:31 (10:05)
2:15 (9:03)
2:18 (9:15)
2:23 (9:32)
2:18 (9:12)
2:09 (8:38)

I really want to break 2:10 for my next Half Marathon (9:55 pace), and 4:30 for my next Marathon (10:17 pace) so I need to keep up the speedwork. My training plan is:

Sunday: rest
Monday: easy 5-6 miles
Tuesday: intervals, from 1/4 to 1 mile
Wednesday: easy 5-6 miles
Thursday: Tempo/Acceleration Tempo training
Friday: rest
Saturday: long mileage

Gotta run and take Lela and Lemon to the park again. Rack up the miles!

Back in the Saddle Again

I took the week off to recover from the all night walk last Friday and to catch up on sleep and personal stuff. This morning I went back to White Rock Lake to train on the asphalt and paved running surface around the lake (at 4:45 am it was already 85 degrees!). I'm officially back in training for marathons and half marathons and will return to ultras and trail walking at some future date.

Today I decided to push myself to see just how much speed I lost during my long distance training. I've done no speed work in months (maybe as long as a year) so I wanted to do an assessment and start building my training plan.

My first miles were slow--I guess I needed more warm up and needed to get my body adjusted for fast walking again. As the morning progressed I picked up the pace and felt pretty good. Here are my splits: 11:51, 11:37, 11:14, 10:27, 11:02, 10:56, 10:50, 10:35, 10:15, 10:27. For reference my marathon PR pace is 11:20; my half marathon PR pace is 10:13. So I was pretty pleased with these splits. I wish I had been faster in the beginning but given the fact that all of my recent walking has been at a much slower pace I felt this was pretty good.

I got new racewalking shoes! They are pretty cool looking:




Unfortunately I got a blister on my left heel, something that never happens to me. It felt like the inside of the left shoe had a hard ridge that wasn't present in the right shoe so maybe the shoes are defective. I'm going to contact the company that sold them to me and try to replace them. Other than that I love the shoes--very flexible, very lightweight. They have a tapered or sloped heel that helps with the natural foot roll that occurs in racewalking. They seem to be well-designed.

Tomorrow is the Team in Training Kick-Off for the winter season. I already have 10 people on my mentor team and may get more tomorrow. We're going to have a big team, which is really cool. I can't wait to meet everyone and start the training.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and getting in some nice training or racing.

Distance: 10.4 miles
Time: 1:54:06
Pace: 10:58

Disappointment, Frustration and Change of Plans

Friday night I drove to Waco to meet my ultra friends and complete a 100k all night training walk/run. It was miserable and none of the five of us got anywhere close to our goals (some people planned more than 100k, some less). We all had to quit early due to fatigue, heat, illness, etc. I was so sleepy (not physically tired but actually sleepy) that I stopped twice and slept in the car before finally calling it quits. It was a very frustrating evening.

That frustration got me thinking about my current plans and goals. I've decided that I'm not going to do Heartland. Friday night was discouraging, but that is not the main reason. The main reason is that I can't keep up this training schedule. Several times I've almost fallen asleep in the middle of the afternoon while driving because I'm so tired; I've had my daughter in the car so that is very scary. I'm spending between 10 and 16 hours training each weekend, and to do that I have two choices: sacrifice time with my family or get up at super early times and walk around like a zombie during the day. I don't like either of these choices. I've missed a lot of training during the week simply because I'm so tired, and I've almost fallen asleep at my desk at work.

I'm just burned out and although I love ultras I think I need to take a little break and get things back in balance. I'm going to spend some time training for half and full marathons and work on my speed. If you've read this blog long enough you know that I won the Mardi Gras Half Marathon racewalk division in 2004. I'd like to train for some marathons that have walking divisions (Little Rock, St. Louis, Mardi Gras, Portland, to name a few) and try to win them. So I'm going to go back to a more normal training plan. I'm not giving up ultras forever, but I really do need a break. I've been burning the candle at both ends, and with my wife's medical problems, my daughter's needs, a new puppy, being in the PTA, being a mentor for Team in Training, I can't keep up. Ultimately it's more important to be with my family and be involved in these other activities than to focus exclusively on ultras.

This was not an agonizing decision--it was pretty simple and I am already very excited about my future plans. I think I will do one or two half marathons, then do the White Rock Marathon in December as a training event. My big goal is a big PR and First Place in the Mardi Gras Marathon racewalk division.
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Here's another reason to switch to road/track walking for a while: I get to buy a pair of these!! Cool!

Great Article

Here's an article on Russell Secker, the Texan running the Trans Gaule.

Thanks to Zack for the link!

Say Hello to the Newest Member of the Family

This is Lemon, our new Miniature Pinscher puppy! I picked her up Friday night and we've been adjusting to having a baby in the house all weekend. She and my daugther have really bonded--she's a very sweet and playful little thing.



She's also tiny!

Texas Runner in the Trans Gaule 2005

Watch this blog for updates on Russell Secker and the Trans Gaule 2005. Good luck!

2007???

Another member of North Texas Trail Runners is really excited about a Trans-Texas Ultra. We are very, very, very tentatively discussing March, 2007. The route shown (which was used in 1993) would be about 670 miles; that's about 40 miles a day for 16 to 17 days.

I am so excited!

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Update: Looks like May, 2007, not March. A little warmer, but it works better with my partner's work schedule. Here is a different route that he suggests that looks great as long as we can avoid major highways.

First Team in Training Information Meeting

I signed up to be a mentor for the Dallas Team in Training Walk Team. I did the Virginia Beach Half Marathon with TnT in August, 2003, and that's what got me started with racewalking and endurance events. I've always wanted to support the team again but have never had time, but I decided to make the time and sign up to mentor.

I went to the first information meeting of the season and it was really great. We completely filled a small hotel conference room with people and 21 people signed up that night! I was asked to speak about my wife and my reasons for joining TnT. I knew it would be hard because I tear up at every video about TnT, and I even teared up during a promo video they played about the Arizona Rock N Roll Marathon, a race I have never done and never plan to do; but I remember the incredible feelings of accomplishment as I finished my first half and then full marathon, then ultra, and so on.

Anyway, I only spoke for a few seconds before I started tearing up. I talked about Angela's diagnosis and recovery, about wanting to do something to help but feeling helpless, and about how TnT gave me a powerful outlet that has really changed my life. I talked about the privilege of walking "In Honor of..." instead of "In Memory of..." and how inspiring and moving it is to see people who are racing "In Memory of Dad," "In Memory of my daughter," "In Memory of a dear friend." Even though it's been almost six years since her diagnosis I still can't talk about it without tears. Hopefully we can all make a difference!

This weekend will be busy. Tomorrow morning I plan to do about 25 miles at the track near my house, then I have to be at my daughter's school at 8:00 am to fill holes in the school yard (our lack of tax dollars at work!). Tomorrow afternoon we are going to an 80th birthday party for a distant relative and seeing my Dad, brother and step brother (and their families) who are all in town for the party. Sunday I hope to do 27 miles at North Shore Trail. That means I'll probably get up at 3:30 on Saturday morning and 1:45 on Sunday morning! I hope I can make it.

Hope everyone is having good training and great racing. Keep up the good work and walk/run hard!

Centurion 2005

In June of 2004 I announced my intention to walk in a Centurion race. A Centurion is a 24 hour judged racewalk, usually on a track or paved loop; anyone who completes 100 miles in 24 hours is designated a Centurion. There have only been 60 USA Centurions (not necessarily US citizens, but walkers who achieved Centurion status in a US event).

Well, there is going to be another Centurion event this year, and it is right in my back yard at the Ultracentric 24-hour and 48-hour race on the weekend after Thanksgiving (this was also the Centurion event last year; RD Scott Eppelman is a member of the North Texas Trail Runners and a really nice guy). So looks like I've got plans for after Thanksgiving; better watch what I eat!

Ollie Nanyes was last year's organizer and is also organizing this year's event. He's a great walker and is really dedicated to the sport of racewalking and ultras. Thanks to Ollie for organizing this again.

Outstanding Running Quote

This is one of my favorite quotes ever and is definitely going on the Ultra Quotes page:

Running is no longer about life and death. It is about finding how large and lovely the nothingness is on the other side of self-preoccupation. Just run. Find nothing.
--Thomas C. Williams

That's from the most recent letters section of Trail Runner Magazine. Perfectly put.

Take care of your feet!

Foot care impresario John Vohnof (who provides foot care and advice for many ultras and has several publications relating to caring for your feel during endurance events) now has a blog! Check it out for great advice on foot care and links to essential foot care products and reading.

Long Track Walk

Today I did my long walk at the track. I prefer the trails but because I need to be home early to take care of my wife and daughter while my wife recovers, I didn't want to waste time driving to the trail (the best trail is 40 minutes away). So I hit the track at 5:00 AM to avoid the heat and get in as much mileage as possible.

My goal was to stay below a 12:00 pace, and I ended up doing 11:43. Because of the Garmin I was able to stay very steady throughout the whole walk. Here are my splits:

13:08, 11:56, 11:49, 11:43, 12:30, 11:42, 11:44, 11:44, 11:44, 11:39, 11:48, 11:49, 11:49, 11:43, 11:48, 11:52, 12:11, 11:14, 10:33, 9:47!

Again I only carried water in my pack. I took two electrolyte caplets. I drank half a Big Red soda at each "aid station" break (two). I ate a Mojo Bar at the first break and some peanut butter filled pretzels and lemon drops at the second. As you can see in my splits, I was able to maintain pace the whole time and I was able to push hard in the last three miles. So maybe this approach to fueling and hydration is going to work out well for me.

This weekend provides a good contast between trails and tracks. Yesterday I did 22 miles at a 15:03 pace; today I did 21 miles at an 11:43 pace, a 3:20 per mile differential.

Good luck to everyone racing today: Jennifer, Dianna, and Annalisa.

1:45 AM

That's what time the alarm went off this morning.  I dragged myself out of bed and was immediately glad I had prepared the coffee maker the night before.  I started the coffee, performed my daily ablution, dressed, ate a granola bar, loaded my gear in the car, prepared the coffee and was driving out my garage at 2:05.  Forty minutes later I was buying Big Red, water and ice.  Ten minutes later I'm standing at the North Shore Trail at Lake Grapevine with Deb and Brett.  I don headlamp, turn on flashlight, put on Camelbak and watch and hat.  At exactly 3:08:30 AM, we hit the trail.

Why so early?  Deb and I are training for the Heartland 100 and she is doing a 50 mile race in three weeks as a training race, so she wanted to start early to avoid the heat and get in 36 miles.  I joined her to also avoid the heat and to get in as much mileage as possible before heading home to take care of wife and daughter (yes, wife is finally home from the hospital!  More on that later).  Brett (training for his first 50k in November) also wanted to avoid the heat and enjoys running with Deb.  So we all three spent the morning together talking, running and walking, peeing, eating and drinking, and generally having a good time.

We had a good day on the trail.  It was relatively cool in the morning and didn't warm up too much by the time I left (9:10).  We saw some other members of North Texas Trail Runners and saw very few cyclists.  We saw an armadillo, an adolescent skunk, a jack rabbit.  We stayed together the whole time and didn't push too hard.  I had to leave by 9:10 in order to get home at the agreed upon time, so I only ended up doing 22 miles in 5:30, a 15 minute pace.  Brett's goal was to do 18, which he accomplished (he also did 18 last weekend).  Deb went on to do her 36 miles and is still out there as I write this.  It was a great way to start the weekend.

Angela finally got home Wednesday and is doing pretty well, all things considered.  She is getting home rehab and is as active as possible around the housel.  Her only problem is bending the knee--she can't bend it to the degree they would like.  She will keep working on it and there are some options if she can't get it done herself.  One option is that the surgeon would put her under and then force her leg to bend (OUCH!).  Hopefully it won't come to that.

That's all for now.  I hope to spend most of the day at home, working with my daughter on her reading and other skills so she'll be ready for school in two weeks.  Tomorrow I'll do about 20-22 miles at the track (I don't have time to drive to and from a trail two days in a row).

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I forgot to update everyone on my nutrition and hydration experiments.   I have been avoiding Gels and energy drinks because, frankly, I am sick of them.  Today I carried water in my Camelbak.  I ate half a peanut butter sandwich, drank half a Big Red and ate a few pieces of candy orange slices at nine miles.  I ate the other half sandwich, drank the other half of the Big Red and ate a couple of peanut butter filled pretzels at 18.  I topped off my water both times.  I felt great for the whole walk.  I never felt a bonk or crash.  Also, I only took three Succeed caplets (in the past I would have taken between five and ten).

So far it seems that I can get enough energy and electrolytes from food and drink at "aid stations," supplemented with occasional electrolyte caplets.  I still keep Hammer Gel and Clip2 on hand in case it is needed, but so far it has not been.

Speaking of Goals, Here is Fat Man Walking

Speaking of walking across America, here is Steve Vaught, self dubbed "Fat Man Walking." Why is he walking across America?

I am going to walk across the United States from San Diego to NYC to lose weight and regain my life!

Normal people doing amazing things!

Goals

I want to do something like this. One day.....
Run Willy Run
Run Across America 2004
Run Across America
Diabetes Run Across America
Run the USA
Running across America

Or a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail?
Or maybe a walk across Texas? I don't know if anyone's done that.

I'd like to have a big milestone goal out there staring me in the face, challenging me to push farther and harder. I'm going to pick something and work toward it....

Catching up

I haven't posted in a while because things have been so busy. Angela developed an infection in her knee and had to have a second surgery to clean it out. It was scary for a while watching her leg turn red and swell up, but now everything is back to normal and her leg looks good. The therapy is REALLY HARD and she's having to work extra hard to get back where she was before the infection. The bad news is that she is still in the hospital; the good news is that she should be home on Monday. She has already been in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks! I'll be glad when she's home.

Since I'm temporarily a single dad I haven't been doing any training. That has been very frustrating, but I know it's temporary so I'm just trying to watch what I eat so I don't put on a bunch of weight. I feel like my past training was strong so I'm not too worried about the 100 miler in October.

One thing I'm very excited about: remember the all night training I did a few weeks ago with some friends who are also training for Heartland? Well, we are going to do a 100k training run/walk in mid-August. It will also be an overnight session (it's so much cooler at night and you don't have to deal with the sun beating on you for hours) on the same gravel roads we used for our all nighter. A few more people are going to join us for part or all of the night. So if you will be in Central Texas (Waco area) on Friday, August 19th, please come join us for some fun. We'll have plenty of snacks and drinks at our "aid station," so just bring your gear (don't forget a flashlight or headlamp). We'd love to have you!

Today, my daughter is going to a birthday party, I'm hoping to get a haircut, and I've got to clean up the house--my daughter is a horrible slob and things are a wreck. Hopefully I'll be back in training next week and next weekend will put in some good, long miles.

Happy training!

Google Maps the Moon???

Yes, you read that right. Google Maps on the Moon. Check this out. Very cool!

URGENT - Your Bone Marrow Is Needed

I've just found out that Diem Tran, one of my customer's friends, has severe Aplastic Anemia and urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately she does not have a matched sibling and there was no match in the Bone Marrow registry; she's Vietnamese, which dramatically reduces her chances of finding a match.

If you are Vietnamese I implore you to join the National Bone Marrow Registry. All it takes is a simple finger prick and a small amount of blood to register. Your simple act might save a life. If you have any Vietnamese friends, encourage them to join, too.

Here is a link with lots of good information on how to join the registry and what happens if you are found to be a match.

EVERYONE should register!!!! But if you are Vietnamese the need is URGENT! Please help!

Update on Angela's Surgery

Angela's surgery was a success. She spent three days in recovery and then moved to the rehabilitation hospital. She should get out by Friday, and may even get out by Wednesday. She initially had a lot of pain and it took some effort to get it under control. We have to be very careful because she has lung/breathing problems as a result of her bone marrow transplant, and three times in the past she has stopped or almost stopped breathing due to excessive sedation/narcotics. So for a couple of days it was stressful, but now they seem to have a good drug combination that makes her tired but not "drugged."

Lela has been with relatives for almost a week, and I really miss her! Sunday I brought her home and she spent the day and evening with me. We went out to eat (Pei Wei) and got ice cream (Marble Slab), then we watched "The Two Towers" and spent time together. I can't wait until she's home again with us.

Today I did my first training since last Monday, and it sucked! I don't know why, I just had one of those lousy days. Even though I was walking on super-flat concrete it felt like I was walking uphill, and I had a lot of discomfort in my feet and ankles. I made the wrong-headed decision to walk on a concrete trail near my house; I wanted to walk ten miles and I thought it would be too boring to do it at the track. In retrospect, I wish I had gone to the track. Oh well, not every training day can be perfect.

Distance: 10.22 miles
Time: 2:02:05
Pace: 11:56

Reunited (and it feels so good)

The family finally got back today from Corpus Christi. They were gone 11 days, way too long. Tomorrow is the day before Angela's surgery so we'll be busy getting things ready (packing a bag for Lela to stay with Mammy, packing a hospital bag for Angela, etc.). I'm working tomorrow and then I'm off the rest of the week. If all goes well she will be home by the weekend.

This morning I did a long walk at Rowlett Creek Preserve. RCP is the closest trail to my house; it is primarily a mountain biking trail maintained by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association. Because of the holiday it was packed; I had to keep stepping off the trail to let bikes pass. I don't really like this trail much because: 1. Too many bikes; 2. Tons of trash, the creek smells sometimes, it can be depressing and it makes you realize that one day we will destroy the Earth; 3. It has lots of short, steep up- and downhills that are probably lots of fun on bikes but not that great when walking/running. I enjoy long, challenging uphills, but these are not very satisfying. So I don't train on this trail very often but today I didn't feel like making the 35 minute drive to North Shore or the 45 minute drive to Cedar Ridge Preserve. That is my only dissatisfaction with our house; there are no trails nearby.

I'm revolting against gu (revolting is the perfect word in this context). I'm just sick of it and I can hardly bring myself to eat any (I normally use Vanilla or Espresso Hammer Gel during long walks). I hardly used any at all during my recent all night 12 hour walk, and I only used one serving during today's 4.5 hour walk. I also hardly used any electrolyte caplets. I've been eating and drinking more during the walk (I try to plan frequent trips to my car). Today I drank a Yoo-hoo, and I ate a Mojo Bar and some candy orange slices (I carried water in my pack, not energy drink). Friday night I ate a peanut butter sandwich, a pimiento cheese sandwich, lots of pringles, some jelly beans and candy orange slices, and I drank some Big Red and Coke (I carried some energy drink in my pack but refilled it with water during the night). I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but I don't seem to notice a lack of energy. I don't feel that I ever "bonked" and both today and Friday night/Saturday morning I've done some of my fastest miles in the last 1/3 of the walk. So I'm going to keep experimenting, but I may stop using energy gels.

Tomorrow I'll be up at 5:00 AM for the usual 6-10 miles.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. If you were racing, I hope you accomplished your goals and had fun at the same time.

Distance: 20.0 miles
Time: 4:31:37
Pace: 13:34