M'kay

5 miles in 40:16, 8:00/mi, HR 169.

Been a long time since I've posted.  This is my first officially sanctioned run since the hip surgery.  Short tryout runs on the treadmill at the PT don't count.  Neither did the trail "hike" I did with the dog a few weeks ago where things felt so good that I wound up running short stretches.  Nor did the dog walks that turned into dog trots.

The run was decent enough.  Pretty beat by the end....sad that it only took 5 miles to do that.  Groin was sore afterwards but no sharp pain so that's a good sign.  Dealt with some hip tightness but that seems to be improving with the abductor strengthening.  Still relearning to walk and run without hiking my left hip protectively with every stride, not easy when its subconsiously implemented. 

5.06 mi in 40:36, 8:01/mi, HR 173.

Officially sanctioned run #2.  Needed the full day to recover from the first.  Managed to make it through this one running continually.  Still a lot of soreness that shouldn't really be there, but at this point I can't tell if its normal or not.  Guess a little bit more time will tell. 

5.04 miles in 40:45, 8:06/mi, HR 171.

After some intervening time off with a few sporadic short treadmill "PT" runs, back to trying again.  The left hip muscles started overtensing again around 1/2 mile in, mostly the glute/hamstring and the adductor but was pretty manageable and faded to nearly nonexistant by a couple of miles in.  Soreness/pain got to about a 2. 

6 trail miles in 1:21:42, 13:37/mi, HR 157.

Snoey to E. Anvil Loop to Upper Elkspur to Memorial West to Memorial East back to Snoey with Ivy.  Aside from a few stops to investigate suspicious smells, a pretty steady effort.  Several sections had some icy snow on them which made for slow going but most were in surprisingly good condition.  Not even any trees blocking the trail from the ice storm a few weeks back.

I believe I got into Cascade Crest via the lottery today.  I'm guessing I made it since my credit card got charged.  That means I have 195 days to get in 100-miler shape.  This hip thing needs to get better in a hurry. 

8.08 miles, 1:08:08, 8:26/mi.

2.11 miles, 16:31, 7:50/mi.  Crappy.  Hip.

8.5 miles, 1:13:13, 8:37/mi.  Some trail miles.

3.15 miles, 26:25, 8:23/mi.

5.09 miles, 43:04, 8:28/mi.

2.96 miles, 24:28, 8:16/mi.  Crappy.  Hip.

8.13 miles, 1:03:21, 7:48/mi

5.13 miles, 42:27, 8:17/mi.  11 x 30 sec repeats.

8.16 miles, 1:06:53, 8:12/mi

8.25 miles, 1:06:49, 8:06/mi

10.04 miles, 1:14:57, 7:28/mi.  We'll call this a MP run w/ Trevor & Dave.

8.15 miles, 1:04:32, 7:55/mi.

8.07 miles, 1:03:10, 7:50/mi

8.20 miles, 1:04:53, 7:55/mi

9.04 miles, 1:07:20, 7:27/mi.  5 miles tempo.

~ 14 trail miles, ~ 3:30.  Elbe hills.

8.14 miles, 1:04:13, 7:53/mi.

8.12 miles, 1:02:03, 7:39/mi.

8.17 miles, 1:04:31, 7:54/mi.

8.25 miles, 1:05:46, 7:58/mi.

8.20 miles, 1:07:09, 8:11/mi.  15 x 60 sec repeats w/ equal rest.

13.11 miles, 1:44:23, 7:58/mi.  First 7 miles crap, so when the hip got better, didn't want to stop.

8.06 miles, 1:07:41, 8:24/mi

9 miles, 1:11:05, 7:54/mi.  2 mi warmup, 5 tempo miles, 2 mi cooldown.

8.05 miles, ~ 1:05.  Used backup FR305.

9.02 miles, 1:10:43, 7:51/mi.  12 x 90 sec repeats w/ equal rest.  1 x 2 min repeat.

8.18 miles, 1:06:46, 8:10/mi.

8.08 miles, 1:06:04, 8:10/mi.  Tired.

18 trail miles, ~ 4:45.  Elbe Hills.  Muddy from equestrian users.

8.12, 1:05:11, 8:02/mi.

8.09 miles, 1:04:18, 7:57/mi.  

Left hip muscle spasms were pretty mild and only lasted a couple of miles.  Better climbing gear today.  Warm weather.  Unfortunately, felt a bit sick to my stomach the entire time.

8.16 miles, 1:10:30, 8:38/mi.

Left hip flexor overly fatigued today.  Didn't have much juice at all.  Need to get some rest. 

32.55 miles, 5:38:55, 10:25/mi, ~ 5000' vertical.  2 1/2 marathon loops and 1 5 mile loop.

First race since August.  Hip still not 100%....sometimes not 50%, but need some motivation to do longer runs and to get more consistent.  Fun event.....muddy, hilly, and decent weather.....all the way until about mile 22, when the skies opened with a downpour, thunder, and evidently lightning.  Misery index was pretty high towards the end but plugged along and got 'er done.  Loop courses aren't my favorite and it was mentally tough to head out on the 5 mile loop, especially since it went up a pretty steep fire road and I knew I had return on some singletrack I'd run twice already.

Hip held out well.  Hip flexors were pretty tired by around mile 15, so probably need to work on strengthening them.  Quads were pretty mashed by the end of the 2nd lap, with the left quad worse.  Not nearly as beat up as expected, probably due to the hokas.

So, pretty happy.  Not my best race ever, but considering how undertrained I am, good enough.  Thinking about another 50k in a couple of weeks as another training run. 

5.1 miles in 43:08, 8:28/mi.

The race took a heavy toll on my left hip muscles, including the left ITB.  All are extremely sore and tight.  Like post first downhill marathon/100-mile race sore and tight.  But today was day 3 so I chanced a run.  Pretty ugly, as expected, and difficult not to limp-run.  Moving into a hip flexor stretch afterwards elicited a gasp of pain from the ITB so maybe not such a good idea....

8.13 miles, 1:07:22, 8:17/mi, 8 strides.

Left leg better but still tired and sore.  What energy I had fled around mile 5.  Obviously not recovered from the race yet.  Didn't help matters that today was sunny and therefore warm, something we haven't seen much of here in the PNW this year. 

8.13 miles, 1:07:22, 8:17/mi.

Left hip/leg slowly improving.  Tired legs and body again.  High humidity really zapped me today and it was a slog. 

8.11 miles, 1:04:15, 7:56/mi.

Felt a bit better recovered today.  Hip didn't tighten up until nearly 3/4 miles into the run and loosened up again by mile 4, so all in all a decent day.  

8.56 mile bike ride uphill to trail head in 56:32, 6:36/mi.  11.45 trail miles in 2:43:07, 14:15/mi.  8.56 mile bike ride downhill back home in 29:32, 3:27/mi.

Crosstraining is supposed to be good for you, right?  Stepping off the bike at the trailhead, I realized my bony butt was not happy with the bike riding....pain radiating down my left leg and soreness on both sides.  The first couple of miles of running were pathetic, but I hoped to shake the bike ride from my legs.  It worked.....kinda.....but took several miles and it was more of a fast hike today.  Plenty of vertical....2600+' according to garmin connect.  Plenty of mud and torn up trail too....the horses did a real number on some of the trails lately.  

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.

8.11 miles, 1:04:03, 7:54/mi

Late day run.  Started slow with some leg soreness, but the hip only started tightening near the 1 mile mark, wasn't too bad, and got better around 3 miles in.  Got 2 sub-7 miles in on the return. 

6.04 miles, 48:08, 7:58/mi.

Hip struggles from .75 thru 3 but good otherwise.  Tired legs.  Especially tired left outer glute/hamstring. 

4.02 miles, 33:21, 8:18/mi.

31.34 miles, 6:14:03, 11:56/mi.

Today's race was.....hot.  93F at start/finish aid station at the beginning of the last short 5 mile loop.  Starting temps were in the 70s and most of the people running the marathon and 50K took the early start to beat the heat.  Being a glutton for punishment, I opted for the regular start and ran the suffer-fest.  Plenty of hills to work the climbing and descending gears, but by the halfway point, I was happy just to be able to hike the uphills and jog/run the flats and downs.  By the 5 mile loop, I was happy to string together 60 seconds of running in any direction.  Ran out of water on the return from the out-and-back about 1.5 miles from the mid-point aid station when the turnaround water ran dry.  Spent minutes in each aid station from then on, attempting to hydrate as well as possible before continuing.  Did I mention suffer-fest?

Anyway, I survived, finished, and ran my first 6+ hour 50K.  I also managed to run this 50K after running half(+) of the 50 miler last weekend, so I'm thinking this makes up for that DNF.  Or at least tells me I can get in the proper mental place when suffering is required.

Interestingly, I've taken 6th place in each of the 50k races I've run this year, and not against the same competition.  Weird. 

8.21 miles, 1:08:08, 8:18/mi.

VA run. 

8.01 miles, 1:06:42, 8:20/mi.

Post-bowling tourney run. 

8.08 miles, 1:23:16, 10:18/mi.

Trail run along Mud Mountain Dam rim trail.  Decent enough trail, not a whole lot of significant elevation change.  The further away from the dam rec area the less obvious the trail got.  A couple of sections dumped me out onto gravel roads and had connections across it that disappeared, but I found the *real* connectors a bit further down the road.  Evidently the end was only a short distance away from where I turned around, but I had to get back to make Dianna's horse lesson. 

5.08 miles, 57:34, 11:20/mi.

After a day spent with the WTA working on a trail (and meeting my trail work requirement for Cascade Crest), I got in the Rampart Ridge loop from Longmire.  Definitely worked the climbing and descending gears. 

8.10 miles, 1:07:20, 8:19/mi.

6.16 miles, 49:27, 8:02/mi.

5.13 miles, 42:16, 8:15/mi.

Still hot. 

10.11 miles, 1:25:12, 8:26/mi.

Climbed a logging road that heads up Dobbs mountain at the end of my normal 8 mile route.  Dunno what views I might've had.....foggy today. 

6.03 miles, 50:30, 8:23/mi.

7.63 miles, 1:11:23, 9:22/mi.

Trail run in Nisqually-Mashell state park (future).  Didn't even know these trails existed.  Met up with a small group, headed by the Lynch Creek 5K director.  His 3-3.5 mile run wound up being 2.4, so I headed out for a 2nd "exploring" loop, wound up finding some even nicer trails, one that got progressively overgrown until it hit a washout by the Nisqually river, and a couple of others that I would've kept following except that darkness was approaching, I carried no water, and I'm supposed to be tapering.  Good times. 

5.0 miles, no watch.

Crappy.  Hip muscle spasms and weakness.  At least no stomach cramping, so the meds appear to be helping.  Still, I only managed 4 miles last year 2 days before cascade crest at a 10+ min pace, and I know I was faster today.  Strides with the dog afterwards were good. 

4.13 miles, 32:39, 7:54/mi.

Left hip was tight pretty quickly, paused at 1 mile to stretch and it got better gradually until it was a minor nuisance 3 miles in.  That fatigued feeling in the left quad but I think that would've gone away had I continued.  Under 70F but warm in the sun...the effort felt easy throughout.  Gosh, I think I might just be ready....

Goals

1. Finish. (Doable)
2. Enjoy the race. (Doable)
3. Faster than last year's time. (26:30-ish). (No clue)
4. Faster than 24 hours. (Stretch).

100 miles, 14:22/mi

• Cole Butte (11mi) 2:05
• Blowout Mt (16mi) 2:53
• Tacoma Pass (23mi) 4:23
• Snowshoe Butte (29mi) 6:00
• Stampede Pass (33mi) 6:45
• Meadow Mt (40mi) 8:25
• Olallie Meadows (48mi) 9:56
• Hyak (53mi) 11:10
• Keechelus Ridge (60mi) 13:09
• Lake Kachess (68mi) 14:30
• Mineral Creek (73mi) 16:38
• No Name (80mi) 18:40
• Thorp Mt (84mi) 20:30
• French Cabin (88mi) 21:26
• Silver Creek (96mi) 23:18
• Finish (100mi) 23:56:40

 Beyond my wildest expectations.  Okay, maybe not quite that great, but beyond all reasonable and most of my completely unreasonable expectations.  Since I ran this race last year, I have run over 20 miles exactly 4 times.......3 50K races and one 50 mile race where I dropped at 27-ish.  Not exactly a textbook training cycle.  Coupled with continued left hip problems that just won't completely resolve and a GI cramping problem that forced me to drop from the 50 miler at the midpoint a mere month prior to race-day, I had no reason to think that this would be the experience it became throughout the day, night, and morning.

5.13, 40:25, 7:53/mi.

6.13, 52:25, 8:33/mi

4.05, 33:54, 8:22/mi

4.08, 33:31, 8:13/mi

5.03, 41:33, 8:15/mi

4.01, 38:55, 9:43/mi

4.0, 32:25, 8:06/mi

6.0, 47:21, 7:53/mi

5.01, 57:34, 11:30/mi

5.08 miles, 40:38, 8:00/mi.

6.08 miles, 47:45, 7:51/mi.

A bit of pain in the left hammy towards the end but manageable.

7.0 trail miles w/ Ivy, 1:21:25, 11:37/mi.

Ran in Pack Forest.  Plenty of dog stops and pauses, but she really drove me up some of the steep hills.  Trails in pretty good shape. 

6.01 miles, 49:02, 8:10/mi.

6.06 miles, 50:41, 8:22/mi

~6 miles.  Unfortunately, the garmin ran out of juice at 1.16 miles.

6.16 miles, 50:33, 8:12/mi.

I really need to get some consistency going.   

6.03 miles, 49:30, 8:12/mi.

Lugging around too much extra weight. 

6.07 miles, 49:41, 8:11/mi.

Dark and rainy.  6 miles is tiring and I find myself having to concentrate on keeping form, but doing so lets me run normally.  Couldn't say that for most of this past year. 

10.29 miles, 1:39:28, 9:40/mi.

Explored new trails and old logging roads in Nisqually-Mashell state park.  A few really nice short sections of single-track to test the agility.  Only came close to taking a dive once.  If I was in better shape, I wouldn't have had to slow to a hike intermittently. 

6.56 miles, 53:18, 8:07/mi w/ 10 short (~30 sec) Fartleks.  

I am so out of shape.   The short fartleks were slow but still very tiring.

6.18 miles, 50:12, 8:07/mi.

Fought knock knee syndrome for the first half of the run.  Left hammie had some pain and the beginning of some hip muscle spasms but mild. 

6.09 miles, 48:54, 8:01/mi. 

Pretty serious knee knock for the first few miles but the return trip was better and stronger towards the end. 

Cross-training day, but I'm not sure how to compute equivalent miles.  Anyone has a running-miles-to-trapeze table I could use?

http://youtu.be/Dsg4m_oYFU0

6.6 miles, 53:13, 8:04/mi w/ 10 short Fartleks.   

Same workout as last Monday.  The short repeats were a smidgen easier.

7.09 miles 56:08, 7:55/mi.

Tired legs but best pace in a while.  Even with a couple of walk breaks on the climb.

6.14 miles, 48:58, 7:59/mi.

Hello hip, knew you still weren't quite right.  Today it just felt weak and fought the knee knock again. 

10.09 miles, 1:32:16, 9:09/mi.

4 road mile bookends around a Mt. Dobbs climb up the logging road, which had a few inches of snow.  Reduced to hiking more than I'd like to admit and the descent was slow because of the slick rocks.

7.09 snow miles, 1:00:59, 8:36/mi, w/ 12 short Fartleks between 30 and 90 seconds.

6.07 miles, 48:17, 7:57/mi.

A bit rough today.  Tight calves, sore feet, and my hip acted up for most of the run. 

6.13 miles, 47:56, 7:49/mi.

More like a moderate effort.  Really huffing and puffing towards the end.  Only some knee knock going on for mile 2&3, but the remainder was good. 

5.3 miles, 1:00:59, 11:30/mi.

Supposed to be the Rebellion Hill Climb unofficial race.  One of only two people that showed, scared my competition off with tales of mud on the trails.  Not quite knowing what the course was supposed to be, I bush-whacked twice.  But I think I won. 

6.36 miles, 52:16, 8:13/mi, w/ 15 x 1 min on/off repeats.

First "hard" workout in quite a while.  Was walking most of the recovery towards the end. 

4.08 miles, 34:30, 8:28/mi.

Crappy run.  Hip tightened immediately and never loosened up.  Gave up at 4. 

6.09 miles, 50:31, 8:18/mi.

Much better than last run, but still some residual tightness.  Back has been tight lately too.