Old Man Still running

Rocky Raccoon 100 is now the focus in less than three weeks.   It is a 20-mile loop that is run five times in Huntsville State Park, near Houston.  I ran it in 2005 and 2008.   I have yet to break 24 hours there, but I should if the knee holds up.

So, today, I ran 20 miles on the dreadmill. I ran the first 16 miles at marathon pace but then had to back off because the knee started to ache.  Shoot.  I backed off to 10:00 miles which is a more sustainable pace for RR100.  I finished my 20 miles in 2:45, which is much faster than I will do a loop at Rocky.  (My fastest loop there is 3:08). But my workout was pretty tough, because I threw in some tough inclines to punish me.   The treadmill thinks I climbed 3,000 feet and burned 3,500 calories.  It was pretty funny, at mile 16, the guy cleaning the rec room said, "you still here, how far are you going?"  I said I didn't know, but had gone 16 miles.   I heard gasps from the others working out.

I did this workout as another no-carb run.  I've been asked why I do no-carb workouts.  My theory is that it helps my body handle running stress better, and it can make the transition to fat-burning very easily.  For some people, when the body needs to start burning fat, they bonk (hit the wall).  So, my theory is it helps me.  But it also helps get lose some weight.  The danger of it, is that I get very comfortable running without calorie intake during 100s, and tend not to eat enough.   I really have to monitor that and try to take in 250-300 per hour during a race.   If I don't, after 14 hours or so I'm in danger of a major bonk.   That happened last year at Wasatch 100 and JJ100.  It then takes a couple hours or more to recover.   I pulled out  of it in both cases and finished fine.

Tough treadmill workout.   Ran steady at about 7:40-mile pace with 5% incline with some bursts to 10%.  Seven miles in less than an hour.  Felt good and strong.  The knee felt fine, I think it is getting stronger.

P.M.

Another treadmill workout similar to the morning.

Treadmill, 7:30 pace

This was my last long run before Rocky Raccoon 100 in two weeks.  28 miles of mental torture on the treadmill.   Started at 5 a.m. Actually, it wasn't too bad.  If I hit the treadmill first thing in the morning when I'm still sleepy, my mind doesn't get bored fast.   I guess I sleep run for the first hour of so.  I did keep the lights off at the rec center.   The first person showed up at about 6:45, so I had the place to myself for awhile.   People came and went, and I kept on running.

I hit the marathon mark around 3:40, felt fine and just kept going for a couple more miles.  The knee did  start to ache around mile 26, which is 10 mile further than last week.  So that is good.  It seems to be making progress. It was nice to spend four hours on the feet.   Things held up pretty good.

I did this as another no-carb run, so I was a little hungry at the end.  The view out on the lake was beautiful after the storm.  The were a cool bank of fog stretching up and down the lake, looking like a snowy hill in the middle of the lake.

I don't feel too guilty about not running outdoors in the cold.  I think running at 70-75 degrees is good for my training right now, because the last time I ran RR100, the heat in the 70s affected me.   Since I'm not running trails right now, I'm trying to do some ankle exercises now and then.