Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

AM:  8 @ 7:22.  Last 2.5 below MP.

PM:  Got the chance for 4 more TM miles, sub-tripeish

No running today, but I plan on 6-7 hours of running over the next 2 mornings.  We'll see if I make it...  If I'm going to run a 50-miler, I need to at least pretend I'm a distance runner.  I haven't actually signed up yet, since they don't have a bunch of stupid fee increases like the mainstream races do.

63F -> 68F.  24 @ 8:03 AP.  Double long run weekend!  Coolest mornings of the fall are this weekend so the timing is good. I did this as 3 x 8-mile out and backs so I could use my car as an aid station.  I stocked it with PBJ sandwiches, cut into fourths like I saw (and poached) when I was pacing April at Bandera.  For the most part, I kept it slower than 8-minute pace, with a random 6:33 thrown in around halfway.

Even though I feel like I kept it pretty easy, my legs are still pretty tired.  Makes sense, but it's going to be interesting tomorrow, as I attempt to do it all over again.  We all know I'm not the best recoverererer.  One of 3 things will happen:

1.  I'll make it, and get a great training stimulus from it.

2.  I'll make it, and be destroyed for weeks.

3.  I won't make it, and be filled with self-doubt for weeks.

61F -> 66F.  24 @ 7:51 AP.  Double long run, day 2 is complete.  Had to get it in off of only 4-5 hours of sleep but once the caffeine kicked in I was ok.  This one went pretty much like yesterday, except the first few miles were slower and more painful, and the back half was faster (~7:40/mile for the last 12) and oddly felt better.  So there we go, 48 miles in 2 days.  Now 50% of my ultra-specific workouts (1 of 2) are complete.  In a few weeks, I'll do a 30-35 miler and call it good.  It would also be wise to, you know, run on trails eventually, since it's a trail race.  I don't have time for that during the week, but I hope to make the rest of my weekend long runs on something more technical than sidewalk.

70F.  4 @ 9:05 AP.  You know that 85-year-old guy you see in races in the last mile, and you don't know whether to cheer for him or beg him to stop running so you can call an ambulance?  That.

5 @ 8:18 AP

8 miles, watch ran out of juice.

71F, 89%.  10 @ 8:13 AP.  Left home @ 4:30am and got back from work @ 9:30pm....one of those days.

73F, 88%.  6 @ 8:59 AP.  Regressive run, felt horrible.  Can't tell if I'm getting sick or just exhausted from a crazy week.  I never thought an "office job" could possibly be tiring after some of the crazy jobs I've been through, but lately...ugh!  One more week until our Jamaican cruise...countdown is on!

AM:  67F -> 74F.  17 @ 8:35 AP.  Fun morning on the trails.  I debated skipping this run since I felt like crap yesterday, but I wound getting almost 8 hours of sleep last night and felt pretty good when I woke up.  So I headed to Government Canyon (worst park name ever) and ran around until I hit ~2.5 hours on the watch.  The trails there are no cakewalk and I was definitely working (possibly even werking)...I'd say moderate to hard aerobic effort, most of the time.  Legs feel nice and beat up - I made sure to go careening out of control on every good downhill stretch.

Went through 40 oz of liquids during the run and was still really thirsty at the end.  So I weighed myself when I got home and saw 139.8!  Pretty sure the last time I was that light, my face was covered with zits and I was listening to the new Soundgarden album (Spoonman!!).  Obviously way dehydrated today, but an interesting note nonetheless.

5 @ 9:09 AP

AM:  70F, 90%.  7 @ 8:28 AP.  Really fatigue-y the last couple days.

No.  14 hours at work instead.

62F.  6 @ 8:04 AP.  Felt amazing outside, crazy low dew point.  Just don't have the time for running lately, unless I start waking up at 3am...by now I've figured out that does more harm than good.  2 days until vacation!

6 @ 8:06

Quick TM run at the hotel in Miami, boarding the cruise ship today.

I'll decide on the 50-miler when I get back, though I'll probably still do it, even if my running volume continues its trip down the toilet next week...this always seems to happen right before big races.

9 on the cruise ship TM, most were somewhat fast, I guess.

4 more on the boat.  Last vacation miles I did.

Rented some bikes and rode around South Beach, pretty fun, but probably didn't quite reach the definition of exercise.

67F, 91%.  5 miles back home - GPS didn't get a good enough signal until after the first 2 miles, but the last 5k or so was 6:33/mile, including a 6:48 up the neighborhood death mile.  With 5 or 6 days off, legs were ready to go from the first step.

Training completely cratered on the trip...I have some excuses, but I shoulda/coulda run a lot more than I did.  Will try to map out a salvage plan with a good 30-miler in there somewhere and probably sign up for the 50 at the last minute, if at all.

59F, rainy, windy.  15 @ 7:44 AP.  My first sub-60 degree run this fall.  Roads were slippery, and I could feel the loss of efficiency from the layoff but otherwise felt ok.  

So this gives me a 24-mile week, which is not a great follow up to the 31-mile week before that.  Need to start cramming.  I almost attempted the super-long run today, but it was a good move to wait, based on how I felt about 10 miles in today.  I might try it mid-week - just block out the calendar one morning and hope for the best...or might cut it back to 25-28 and just do it next weekend.  Hopefully work will allow a few decent running weeks.

58F.  6 @ 8:34 AP.  Sore.  I might just need to go easy this week, we'll see.

AM:  54F.  6 @ 7:18 AP.  Went faster when I felt like it.  Slowed down when I got tired.

Outside chance at a PM run today, fingers crossed.

PM:  no.  feel dumb for even thinking there might be time.

58F.  7 @ 7:20 AP.  More fartlek.  Just biding my time until this weekend, trying to get over a head cold...

58F, 6 @ 8:08 AP.