M'kay

10.93 miles in 1:30:59, 8:20/mi, w/ 8 x 90 sec hill repeats (~1/4 mile each) w/ jog back recovery.

Massage this morning so muscles were nice and loose for the run.  Which isn't to say the quads and hamstrings weren't tortured appropriately, but that's another story.  So feeling pretty good, decided to try a hill workout.  In my new Altra Provision (zero-drop) shoes.  Which are pretty opposite to the hoka one one shoes I've been running in.  See where this is going?

Actually, not too bad.  Hill repeat distance was pretty close to what I used to be able to cover in 90 seconds, maybe a few yards short.  Form stayed pretty decent and consistent throughout.  Left hip/leg only a bit troublesome, and not really on the fast stuff.  Even the sit bone/hamstring attachment soreness wasn't too much of a factor, although I'm still swearing off the bike for a while.  The legs were pretty dead for the return and the feet started really feeling the lack of cushioning inches under them but I do like the altras......my heels/achilles thanked me for not propping them up too high off the ground, causing them pain and suffering when the heels hit harder than they should.  Good workout. 

8.13 miles, 1:03:49, 7:51/mi.

Legs felt a bit worn from yesterday but managed to get progressively faster during the run. 

8.11 miles, 1:06:11, 8:10/mi.

It appears summer might have finally arrived.  Sunny and warm today (which means 75F for the PacNW).  Tired from July 4th labors, which included cutting and hanging plywood in the new shed. 

31.24 miles, 5:32:16, 10:38/mi.

Too tired for a full race report now, but got my heat/hill/long run training in today.  These lap courses are killing me... 

Short and sweet.  3 10 mile loops and one short 1.1+ mile loop.  I dislike loop courses and loop 3 just sucked out loud.  Lord Hill itself is like hiking up a ski slope, but its not too terribly long.   Plenty of other climbing and descending for a reported total of 5100' of elevation gain.  Plenty of flats and gentle grades too though.  Lap 1 my average pace was about 10 min/mi.  Lap 2 it had faded to about 10:10 min/mi.  Lap 3 it tanked.  Lap 3 it also got warm/hot out and even though most was in the shade with some breeze, the heat took a toll.  

Finished behind the same guy I did at Taylor Mountain but I closed the gap a bit, so a sign I'm getting into shape a bit more?  My sore hip flexors definitely told me I'd worked my climbing gears.  Still loving racing in the hokas, but I did turn my ankle a couple of times again. 

3.16 miles, 28:44, 9:06/mi.

Short just to loosen things up.  Starting to really feel the tightness in the left ITB again. 

4.11 miles, 35:55, 8:44/mi.

Left ITB sore and weak, really affecting my running again today.  Hit it with the foam roller and some tiger balm again afterwards.

6.15 miles, 52:13, 8:29/mi.

Legs still zapped.  The cadillac shoes helped but still limped along until the hip finally loosened up for the last couple of miles.  More foam roller on the ITB. 

8.1 miles, 1:06:49, 8:15/mi.

Legs woke up after the first couple of miles for the first time since the race.  Had a bit of a progression feel by the end.   

8.13 miles, 1:03:20, 7:47/mi.

Felt pretty strong this run.  Got tired the last few miles but pushed the pace and kept the form good.  First run in a long time where the hip felt completely normal, aside from a minor twinge or two in the first mile. 

8.11 miles, 1:04:27, 7:57/mi.

Another run with virtually no hip issues.  Can I keep this up? 

8.21 miles, 1:06:55, 8:09/mi, 10 strides.

Hip still feeling pretty good.  A smidgen wonky today but I'll chalk that up to the zero-drop shoes.  If I didn't feel like the hokas were making me soft, i'd wear them all the time.  But they are, so.... 

8.07 miles, 1:03:41, 7:54/mi.

Legs felt a bit beat up but being back in the hokas made it all ok.   Can't remember the last time I ran 7 days straight.

8.09 miles, 1:04:14, 7:56/mi

Hip acted up a bit, as per normal after taking a day off.  Didn't feel particularly rested either.  The sun and humidity made it a bit tough towards the end. 

8.13 miles, 1:04:08, 7:53/mi.

8.12 miles, 1:03:37, 7:50/mi.

Hip spasms for the first 4 miles, then better but not great. 

8.2 miles, 1:06:15, 8:05/mi.

Hip spasms for the first 3+ miles but then a bit better than yesterday. 

6.16 miles, 49:28, 8:02/mi.

Not great, not horrible.   

4.21 miles, 36:02, 8:34/mi.

Sudden intense GI distress mid-run forced an extended break.  Tired. 

DNF, 26.89 miles, 5:00:00.

My second DNF at the same race I DNF'ed at last year.  This year, I felt ok for most of the first half until stomach pain/cramps started slowing me down on the return from Corral Pass back thru Ranger Creek into Buck Creek.  Unfortunately, they progressed to the point where running more than a few steps brought on pretty severe pain.  Some nausea produced (reproduced?) my stomach contents just before the halfway aid station and gave me a 10 second reprieve but attempting to move at faster than a walk made the rock in my stomach return, and even walking/standing wasn't terribly comfortable.  Spend about an hour and a half at the med tent lying down, sitting up, doing whatever to get thru the cramping before a trip to the restroom produced some relief.  The medics guessed than I had some kind of stomach bug since the day prior I'd had some GI issues during my run.

So, now I'm left with what next.  My confidence for running Cascade Crest next month really hinged on how well I did here, since I've not really gotten in a bunch of quality long runs this year (like 3, including this one).  Plus, at the halfway mark, my legs were pretty beat up and I was already mentally struggling, although how much of that was brought on by the stomach woes?  Dunno.  My splits up until where I dropped were decent....a bit faster than two years ago, although a slight course change made the comparisons moot until the 2nd Ranger Creek time:

• Camp Sheppard: 29:15
• Ranger Creek: 1:29
• Corral Pass: 59:26
• Ranger Creek: 59:05
• Buck Creek: 1:02

The Buck Creek time is really just a crappy estimate....I think I pulled into the aid station at the 5 hour mark but forgot to stop my watch.

Spent the rest of the weekend thinking about what next.  Initially, I was pretty convinced Cascade Crest was out.  Really not 100% convinced it was a stomach bug, given my predisposition to GI distress.  Wonder if the gels got to me (I am about ready to swear off gels for good...given that what did come back up looked like a clear string of twisted wax, I'm guessing it was a gel I'd consumed an hour or so prior).  

The winner had no such problems.  He destroyed the old course record (which had been set in 2010 in a significant course record run), despite the warm weather.  I remember getting passed by him on my way to Corral Pass thinking "the front-runner is HERE already???".  Just wish I could've made it through the entire 50. 

8.11 miles, 1:07:38, 8:21/mi.

Better than I expected.  Legs a bit sore, some hip tightness the first few miles, some definite fatigue, but not so bad.  No GI distress. 

8.11 miles, 1:04:30, 7:57/mi.

Better.  Took nearly a mile before the hip issues started.  Legs were tired the last couple of miles but kept a decent pace.  Tried (and failed miserably) some one-legged squats beforehand.  Need some work.