Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

61F, NE 18 mph.  6 @ 7:45 AP.  Cold front blowing in now, perfect timing.  Legs are starting to get a little life back as well.  Just gotta remember I don't have my distance legs back yet, and it'll probably be a ~2 hour race tomorrow so better not get too carried away early on.

45F.  Great conditions today for my first race of 2016.  I got my $&@! handed to me by a few 20-somethings but still had a lot of fun.

Course - it was in good shape, not too wet or muddy other than a few creek crossings (water can be pretty wet).  I realized about halfway through the race that these were my first trail miles all year.  The course, true to its name, basically takes you up and down switchbacks the whole time except for a few nice stretches of sandy jeep trail.  My fastest Garmin mile was ~6:30 and the slowest was ~8:30...actually, those 2 were back-to-back, not that I ever bothered to look at my watch.  Anyway, some of my climbs were pitiful "power" hikes, especially towards the end.  More trail running needed.

Race - start was fast, but worked my way into 3rd once we hit the singletrack.  I stayed there, sandwiched between Short Shorts and Yellow Soler's for the first couple miles and it hit me that I was basically sprinting with 13+ miles still to go.  So I pulled over, let Yellow Soler's pass, pulled my head out my @$$ and started running my own pace in 4th place.  3 miles later, I passed Yellow Soler's, and was then by myself in 3rd until maybe mile 12-13.  Blue Shirt caught up and absolutely blew past me...he ended up putting almost 2 minutes on me over the last 2-3 miles.  Not sure what he was doing behind me for so long, but in Tejas Trails races you only need 5th to get the crazy trophies, so whatever!

Somewhere in the last half mile, during a pointless push to the finish line, I tweaked my calf a little.  I thought it was about to ball up and cramp but now it just feels kinda strain-y.  I think it'll be ok by next weekend.

54F.  6 @ 9:15 AP.  nnnnnnghghhhhahahhhhowowowaahhhaaaachhh

Calf's fine.

49F.  7 @ 8:31 AP.  Still got the cool weather...40s in April is pretty rare down here.  Helps me so much, even during recoveries like this, as it just makes running so much less work.

AM:  49F.  7 @ 8:01 AP.

PM:  4 TM miles in 30+ min.  Included Begrudging Strides.

61F, 90%.  8 @ 7:56 AP.  Tired this morning.  I was going to try a little tuneup but legs still have a lot of race stink on them, so i ran easy instead.  Last week was relaxed and I got a lot of sleep, but this week is frantic with minimal sleep...not good for recovering from a 2-hour race.  Next couple days need to be super easy.

85F.  7 @ 8:04 AP.  Had to get to work too early for a run so I went out in the afternoon instead, to soak up a little heat.  My race will be a little warm this weekend but not too bad...mid-60s by the end maybe.

55F.  5 @ 7:50 AP.  Legs are starting to feel better now, at least they aren't gummy worms anymore.  I'm definitely not recovered 100% though - this week was way too tough.  Probably averaged 4 hours of sleep per night, and not restful sleep at that.  Last chance to get some zzzzz is here at the hotel tonight.  I'm in Waco - home of the Dr. Pepper museum, the Baylor Bears and the once mighty Branch Davidians.  It's another destination race, obviously.

55-65F.  A bit humbled up in Waco today.  A smaller turnout for this race compared to last weekend, and I didn't know anyone there, but still super challenging and fun.

Course:  Yeah.  I wasn't really ready for something like that.  Someone told me last weekend it would be tough, but I still underestimated it.  They set it up to be 10-mile laps.  There was some bushwhacking, crawling, and finally some hellacious stairs around the 9.5 mile point (and unfortunately the 19.5 mile point).  Not like stairs in your house, like Mayan temple stairs...

However the main problem was navigation.  It was marked ok but there were many, many intersections, and a few you just had to guess.  There were dozens of easy ways to cut the course, even if you weren't trying to.  I was looking for old race results last night and I saw one year where the RD wrote, "so-and-so is declared the winner of the 20-miler because he was the only one to run the full course."  That probably should have been my first clue.

Race - I started out in the lead and gapped everyone fairly quickly.  Then after 2 miles I got to a T in the trail and it was unmarked.  I went maybe 100m in each direction, hoping to see some markings then decided I'd missed something and better re-trace my steps.  Fortunately, from a distance I saw the new 1st and 2nd place dudes and caught up to them.  One said, "hey, aren't you that guy that took off in the beginning?"  Uh huh...

We dropped 1 guy and I was left following the older dude (55!).  After a couple miles it was clear we had a pretty big lead and we agreed there was no reason to run too hard.  After getting lost once already, almost twice, I was in no rush to pass him despite the easier pace (he'd run it last year and said they had the same problems).

We stuck together for most of the race.  There were a couple open sections and there was no one to be seen behind us.  I was feeling a little guilty because he'd kept us on course this whole time and I knew I'd just blast by him once I was ready.  But with 3 miles to go a totally different guy we'd never seen before pops up behind us.  We let him pass and it didn't look like my buddy was going to be able to keep up so I let him know I wanted to go after the new guy and he stepped aside and wished me luck.

But this new guy was flying.  Within a few minutes he completely disappeared.  It was weird because there was a long straightaway climb right after I lost him - I completely expected to see him up there, but no.  According to the RD after the race he was ~5 minutes ahead.  I was pushing pretty hard too, and had reserved a decent bit of gas in the tank.  Could not for the life of me figure out how a guy with wheels like that wouldn't have caught us much earlier, or why he wouldn't have tried to go out with our relatively slow-moving lead pack.

I talked to the older guy after the race who finished a couple minutes after me and you could tell he was quite suspicious.  But that might just be the nature of the beast in trail running...I mean I had to do quite a lot of hiking vs running, and the stairs at the end took me forever compared to the 1st loop - it's definitely possible that he legitimately just stomped us at the end.

Anyway, gonna skip this one next year.  The Tejas Trails races (the last 2 I did) make it nearly impossible to go the wrong way...just a lot cleaner competition, I think.  But it was mostly enjoyable, and a really neat park to run in.  Every time I do a trail race I learn things that I can improve on, so hopefully I'll get better as I go.

71F, 80%.  6 @ 8:47 AP.  Legs were a little tired and sore, but felt like I just did a regular long run yesterday, not a race.  Man, I thought I was running tactically smart for the win, but I could've easily taken it if I'd just kept racing the whole thing.  Which leads me to this list...  I'm going to try and add to this as I go for my own reference and hopefully make better decisions.  Obviously a few common themes I can draw...

Wild Hare 50

• Buy and use a handheld water bottle.  No one is going to hand you drinks here.  Wasted 5-10 minutes and ended up dehydrated.
• Don't be afraid to go out with the leader.  You can always decide later to let him go if it gets unmanageable.
• Don't stop racing.  Guy almost took 2nd away from you.

Hells Hills 25k

• You suck at hills.  Fix that.

TnT 20-miler

• You suck at hills.  Fix that.
• Pay better attention to where you're going.  No harm in laying back initially, especially if you don't know where you're going.
• Don't stop racing.  Guy took first that shouldn't have.  When people catch you near the end of the race, it gives them the mental advantage and drive to put you away.
• Plan for the race to be much longer than you think.  This is the only race I've run during which I actually got hungry while running.  Poor hydration again, should've stopped for another refill.

Paleface Marathon

• Underhydrated and underfueled again.  Eat and drink more than you think is necessary 
• Hot races = don't be the rabbit; pack it up with the guys you know are your competition.

Pedernales Falls

• Need more heat training but probably just had stomach virus.

To be continued 

8 @ 8:23

8 @ 8:00

11 @ 7:30 AP.  

On Monday, despite not having felt anything at all around my stress fracture area for weeks, I was WALKING to a meeting and all of a sudden felt something go bad down there in the same spot.  It stopped me in my tracks, but I walked around a bit and it seemed ok.  Ran Tuesday after doing lots of hop tests, and it started feeling a little sore after the run.  I cut this Wednesday run short because the sensation was still increasing, even though it still felt pretty minor.  But 30 minutes later it was not good at all and I was back to favoring the inside of my foot while just walking.

A much much slower onset than the first time...not sure what to think.  No running on Thursday for sure, and we'll see what happens.

4 easy miles in the bigfattrainers on the TM.  I took 2.4g/day of vitamin I starting Wednesday, and it seems to have basically taken care of it.  I popped the last 800mg before bed last night (none since then) and it felt pretty good this morning - before, during and after this run.  I don't know, my guess is I haven't seen the last of this foot thing, but I'm hopeful; there really is nothing right there that can get injured other than the metatarsals and some tendons your toes use.  Weird.

73F, 95%.  7 @ 8:02 AP.  Buttsweat towel season has begun.  Outside run, foot was fine during the run but slightly twingey afterward.  Wearing shoes around the house seems to make it happier.  Going to keep up the 800mg before bed for now, I think.

Flooding and thunderstorms so I hit the TM at work.  Legs felt really good - I finally got some rest this weekend and the downtime last week helped my legs.  Kept increasing the speed and averaged 10.5 mph or so for the last mile.  Foot seemed ok.  Still wondering if I'm 1 weird landing away from disaster, but I'm not just going to sit around when it feels fine to run on.

AM:  62F, 95%.  6.5 @ 8:19 AP.

PM:  3.5 on the TM.  2 x 1 uphill miles: 1 @ 10%, 6.0mph and 1 @ 11%, 6.2 mph.  About 1100' total climbing for those 2 miles.  By the end of the second one, my lower back was hurting a little.  Good to know my uphill leg muscles are so weak that my lower back has to be recruited to chip in.  I was actually hoping to use the stair machine instead of this but it was broken.  But I'll be doing some hill stuff like this at least once a week, as long as my brittle foot holds up.

AM:  68F, 95%.  7 @ 8:10 AP.

PM:  4.5 on the TM with 6 x 1 min @ 5k, incline 0-3%.

69F, 95%.  I met a couple guys from the trail running club at 5am for some hills.  Most Thursdays they meet to run up one of the longer hills in SA - about a 200' gain over a half mile - and there is a nice beat up trail alongside the road.  About halfway through, I started charging hard on the downhill part, and then just doubled back to recover with them.  The last 2, I charged the uphill part (which is what I needed the most).  Good stuff - around 1700' of climbing overall, and met a couple good dudes.  It was actually worth it waking up at 3:45 and driving across town!

4 easy TM miles in the evening in the gym at my new apartment complex.  This is my first night here at the bachelor pad...definitely sad, weird, maybe a little exciting, but yeah mostly weird for now.  The last time I lived on my own (other than deployments) I was 20 years old.  But I'll adjust, as all humans eventually do.  The girls will be spending the night here tomorrow too - they just couldn't wait to sleep in the new bunk beds.

AM:  56-70F.  20 miles.  Met up with a guy from the trail running club and had a good run at Freidrich park.  After awhile it got a little crowded and he took me up a nearby road that goes to these ridiculously big houses with some really cool views - about 350' climb which is basically a mountain when you live in San Antonio.  Man, I never knew these places existed.  After that we did another trail loop at Freidrich and he had to get going.  Didn't have my watch running but it was ~2.5 hours total at that point.  When he left, I changed into the fastwitch and went back up the "mountain" road and back down, running pretty hard the whole time.  I had my gps on for that and it was 4 miles in ~27 minutes (6:42, 7:45, 5:58, 6:32).  The 7:45 was probably the hardest mile I've run all year; the 5:58 was recovery compared to that.  I can tell my fitness might be starting to approach that crazy New Year's Eve workout breakthrough I had right before getting hurt.

It seemed like my foot was getting better the last couple days so I didn't do the ibuprofen last night which was maybe a mistake, as it's a bit tender right now - definitely got a good pounding today.  I'm pretty sure it's not the bone anymore though.  No way would I be able to get away with some of the stuff I've done this week if it was; back in January I couldn't even walk on it without hurting it worse.  Probably it's just some collateral damage from before - I know the tendons right there are part of it if not all of it.  I pushed my toes down the other day, stretching the extensor tendons right there for a few seconds and that made em hurt for an hour.  So I think I'll be ok, just need to be more careful than I was today.

PM:  rockhopper party - they had the spring social, headlined by the beer mile...on trail of course.  I've always wanted to do a beer mile but have been booze-free for 3 months now and definitely not worth it to break my streak.  They did, however, have a donut mile undercard (eat a donut before every quarter).  So I ran that (no idea what my time was) and won a fork.  Spectating the beer mile was probably more fun anyway!

69F, 80%.  6 @ 8:41 AP.  Ran in some old bigfattrainers that were retired a long time ago.  Must've been before I figured out that bigfattrainers last forever.

AM:  71F, 95%.  8 @ 7:44 AP.

PM:  0.  ran out of time...going to happen a lot more (doubles will become rare) so need to increase morning mileage probably.  And not pass up any opportunity for a double...like I did on Sunday!

AM:  12 @ 6:53 AP on the TM.  Included 6 x 1 mile repeats (1/4 mile recoveries at 7mph).  Speeds for the 6 miles were 9.4, 9.6, 9.8, 10.1, 10.3, 10.8.  No incline.  Last one was 1/2 mile at 10.5 and 1/2 mile at 11.1.  Clearly started out too slow but I suppose easy does it is ok for now...  After the last recovery, I finished with a 1/4 mile @ 12mph.

AM:  61F, 95%.  8 @ 8:11 AP

PM:  4 tired miles on the TM at the gym at work after a 12-hour day.  Made myself do 15 minutes of hill work at 5%, 10% and 15%.  I think I need to do more at the highest inclines at power-hike speeds.

In other news, the K3s are on their deathbed.  I wonder if I can find some black market K2s...they are still showing no signs of quitting on me.

66F, 95%.  7 @ 8:33 AP.  Kinda worn out...legs were not in the mood to run this morning, so I cut it a little short.  I need to get in a long run tomorrow morning, since I'll have the kids this weekend and there is a lot planned (as I try to overcompensate for not living there anymore).  Anyway, stupid legs better get in the running mood overnight.

75F, 90%.  22 @ 7:23 AP.  Really solid run with a dew point of 72 this morning.  These days I don't have the privilege of a weather-based running schedule...more of a schedule-based schedule.  That's right.  Anyway I was annoyed it was so hot but it was good for me, especially as I'm planning on racing long distances this whole summer.  Gotta adapt sometime.

Able to knock out the last 4 around MP (6:40s).  I actually just emailed the Paleface RD, trying to move up to the full marathon next race (8 days from now) as I was wait listed for the following race.  Feeling like my aerobic endurance has finally improved enough since the injury, although I probably don't have enough of a base built yet.  Meh.

5 easy on the TM, 42 min.