In the middle of it

Running is fun, yes.
Running crazy is not fun.
Running is fun, no!

     I love to move and watch the miles add up.  I love to see what my body can do, and how much stronger I can get.  I don't love feeling like I don't have a weekend because I committed to running a 50 miler.  This weekend I dd 41.1 miles in three days.  Wow yea me, how cool is that, said no one ever.  More like how freaking NUTS are you? I write this at almost midnight because I can't sleep.  This large weekend has left my stomach in knots and exhausted.  My legs feel great but I can't sleep.  I fell asleep at 6:30 and woke up at 9:20.  I am done with this.
    I am excited to start taper and race season at the end of this week.  I can have more time with my family, more time to relax, more time to just breathe.  Yea, breathing what you do lots of while running but never seem to have time to do otherwise.  The exhilaration of charging up a hill and feeling your calves swell as if to bursting is second to none.  The thrill of speeding through a 5k or intervals is a great high.  All of it is done to better myself towards a particular goal, 50!  I don't think I will tackle a 50 anytime soon again.
     Marathons, sure!  Next year I am thinking of focusing on one thing, the half marathon.  I wana go fast!  My goal is to hit or break 1:40.  Looking on the calendar I plan on running the John Dick 50k.  Yes it is a long race, but I have done it in the past with a long run of 10 miles.  It is just a great cold day in the woods.  I plan on racing the south shore half in April too.  I would love to target a half in the fall that I could take my wife to and have her run or relax too.
     I just need to hang on for one more week.  I am shooting for a 50 mile week.  6-3-6 mid week runs and a 13.1 race on Saturday.  Add some walking miles and I should be good.  I will throw in some strength training and core work this week to keep up the intensity.

Recovery

As I sit here in the middle of my biggest running weekend I am thinking about recovery.  How do you recover from a run?  I like to soak my legs in a tub for a bit, lots of food, and rest.  Sometimes I wrap my legs in ace bandages to keep the blood from pooling.  I take extra protein in the form of powder added to almond milk or Gatorade.  Add to that lots of stretching and yoga.  I ran 7 on Friday night at an easy pace.  20 today, that was a struggle.  I have not walked in a long run in a long time.  On the trails I stop at homemade aid stations and walk up some BIG hills.  Today after mile 12 was brutal, it was humbling.  I am trying to recover effectively so that I can run my 13 miles of hill repeats tomorrow....keep charging towards 50.

When less is More

I have finished one week of peak phase and I feel good.  I am excited for training to be done and for race phase to get here.  Over the last week I ran 50.8 miles and walked 9.2.  For running 60 miles I thought I would be worn out, but I am not.  Over the weekend I ran 20, 10.5, and 7.5 on Monday.  All hard workouts but my legs felt good.  I need to continue to roll and do yoga to keep fresh.  This week I have 7 miles on Wednesday that I am going to run as a tempo run, 7 easy on Friday, and 18 at marathon tempo for Saturday.  I decided that during peak I will keep mile miles around 50 a week but focus on specific speed and types of workouts.  This Sunday will be my last time my foot touches the trail until my race.  That means it must be race day soon!  I am sure in taper will come the phantom running pains, but until then I am happy that the less training I do the more it pays off.


Included in this post are some recent pictures.....keep charging towards 50!

August

August has always been a busy time in our family.  There are many birthdays and with that family outings.  My oldest is now starting school in the fall, and that makes for more busyness.   Add to that running.  August and September are always prime running time for anyone training for a fall race.  This August I expect I will have my most mileage of any month, ever.
I feel like every weekend for the next 8 weeks is full,  just ask my wife.
This weekend I have a 20 miler and a 10 miler.
August 17th 27 miles and 13.1 on Sunday
August 24th I am running the BLS Half and 6.2 on Sunday
Aug 31st I am helping others train for a half marathon running 10 miles
The weekend of Sept 7th two 10k's
September 14th is the weekend of the 50 miler
Next weekend after that a 6 mile training run with others to help them achieve their goals.
Sept 28th is the Brewers Mini Marathon that I am pacing for.
October 6th is the Lakefront Marathon.
I feel like after the next two weeks I will get a break in the mileage as taper begins.  I love running and I love running A LOT but I do not think I will do a 50 again until the girls are older.  That or do a 50 with less miles in training, only train for a full marathon and try my hand at 50.
I need to get through the next couple weeks....keep charging towards 50.

Aches and Pains

     After a recovery week, a week that my mileage is down, I am starting to feel the aches and pains of training for 50.  No real injury or pain.  Just fatigue, and creaky bones.  I thought I would be cool and try out my zero drop shoes again.  Actually I wanted to save miles on my shoes for future use.  Silly me, now I got an achy right knee.  So no more zero drops till next spring.  My calves have millions of knots in them.  I need to continue to drink water.  And or get some massage therapy.  Not massage for relaxation, massage to heal my legs.  I wonder what my legs would feel like with a real foam roller.  I have been using a steal rolling pin, that is all I got.  I also need to add more yoga, or re dedicated to actually doing it.
     Today is the beginning of peak phase.  It is the time when my miles are the highest just before the taper or rest phase.  My 13.1 mile trail run was less than stellar.  I do it to myself every time.  I went out with out eating to prime my body to burn fat.   I also went with out food or carbs, once again to burn fat not carbs.  I went hard and ran all but one of the hills on the first 6.5 mile loop.  So of course I would be wiped out and tired.
   Here is to continuing the charge to 50.