Tamapla Headlands 50K Training Week Three: Zombies and the Cougar Hash House Harriers

Twirly joined me for a Hash on Sunday

Week three of my training for August's Tamapla Headlands 50K was the most novel chunk of training I've had this year. I managed to bike to work twice (Thursday was "Bike to Work" day in the East Bay), and volunteered at an obstacle 5K where I was part of an obstacle: the Zombie Horde. It was a cross between a three hour game of flag football and a fartlek session. I felt like a kid again; the next day I felt ninety years old. The week wrapped up with a hobbled hash house harrier (HHH) run with the Nevada City based Cougar Hash House Harriers. Lot's of variety, lots of new niggles.

Here's the week:

 

Tuesday: 60 minute tempo

Wednesday: 60 minutes at 9:00 effort

Saturday: Run For Your Lives 5K (3 hours as a Zombie)

Sunday: 45 minutes with Twirly and the Cougar Hash House Harriers

Totals: 21.79 miles, avg HR 137, weight 202.8

Two weeks into my weight loss attempt, and I have gained MORE THAN SIX FUCKING POUNDS.

 

Ridic.

 

Severe measures have been tabled, amongst them the infamous beer exclusion. It is a little-known fact that for every beer considered but not consumed, a fat cell is sacrificed on the altar of the liver. So after Sunday's HHH run I decided it was time to kill some fat cells and take a hiatus from the suds. Other items on the table include salads for lunch everyday, and more activity. I'm considering a standing desk at work, but I need a doctor's recommendation in order to request one.

Feeling undead and old

Speaking of doctors, my zombie horde duties at Saturday's Run For Your Lives 5K left me needing a refill on my ibuprofen prescription. My right hip adductor and psoas, which have been speaking out of turn since March, were not happy in the car ride home, and on Sunday morning I was not sure I would ever run again. My knees ached, my feet hurt. My IT bands were pissed off, and my back and arms were sore in places I'd forgotten about years ago. I implored my coach for a reprieve in next week's plan, and he provided an option I think I can pull off. He also said, with a wink, that I was too old to be running round like a kid. He is right, of course, but even running 50 miles hadn't left me feeling old. So, I have a new goal/aspiration: cross train my way into a level of overall fitness capable of helping me fight this aging feeling. I want to be able to pick up a basketball game without going to pieces the next day. More biking and strength training is in the docket.

Twirly helped me get up the motivation to participate in the Hash, and we both enjoyed meeting some new people and  stretching the legs, although after about a mile and a half I was toast. My legs loosened up a little at the start of the run, but began revolting at the amount of downhill the hare had put at the beginning of the run. My quads were simply shot after all the cutting, juking and jiving on Saturday. We took the three mile option and beat most of the runners back to the beer...

I'll post reports on both Run For Your Lives 5K and the Hash in the next few days.