Year in Review: 2013

2013 turned out to be a very satisfying year at Wanderplace, despite interrupted training by a mid-spring groin pull. I did not see the volume I set out to complete, but I did finish all of my races, and I ventured into new territory via a couple of fifty milers. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles run: 1499
• Average week: 28.8 miles
• Total miles raced: 300.25
• Elevation gained: 154,553'
• Avg HR: 139
• Total calories burned: 172,108 (about 49 pounds worth!)
• Longest run: 49.88miles
• Avg run: 8.56 miles

My total mileage for the year was a bit low (only 125 miles more than 2012) but within my goal of keeping it under 2000. Too much too fast has gotten me into hot water more than once, and upping the distance raced in lieu of total volume worked well for me in 2013. In fact, I doubled my total distance raced from 2012, despite participating in only 10 races, compared to 16 in 2012. Elevation gained increased 50% and my average run rose 33%. The numbers are trending in the right direction.

2012 provided me the opportunity to get to know my body and how it feels under exercise stress. My daily training impulse graph (TRaining IMPulse (TRIMP) = Avg HR zone * minutes) illustrates my progression from running Bizz Johnson 50k (Zone 2 * ~400 minutes) at a much lower TRIMP than CIM (Zone 5 * ~225 minutes), to fully realizing how hard I could push, and for how long, in the Tamalpa Headlands 50k and NFEC 50 Mile. Ironically, it was my Garmin that was holding me back. I raced Tamalpa Headlands 50k and NFEC 50 Mile without looking at anything but the time of day and using a heart rate alarm to let me know when I was nearing my lactate threshold, and my resulting effort was much higher. I was letting my watch tell me I was going too fast, when I actually had another gear (or two).

Daily TRIMP Chart

Finishing the year with a strong and comfortable day at the NFEC 50 Mile was the icing on my ultra cake for the year. All of my GI woes were mitigated by using Tailwind for calories and electrolytes. This simplified my fueling and allowed me to focus on my performance instead of reacting to my discomfort. Of course, just when you think you have everything figured out, everything changes.

2013 also brought Nevada County's first Hash House Harrier club, the Cougars. Twirly and I have really enjoyed getting out for fun runs with like minded beer drinkers. The hash runs are just the thing to break up my regimented training schedule. They remind me how fun it is to run with no expectations. Speaking of expectations, after employing Footfeathers as a coach for a little over a year, I had to let him go after NFEC 50; we just weren't aligning anymore. The feedback had become scarce, the support failed to materialize in my darker moments, and Tim held the opinion that States was "a lot to bite off" for someone in my position. Obviously, that attitude was not one I cared to have in my camp while preparing for my first hundo. Fortunately, Jorge and Laura at Mauka Running have stepped in to support the next six months of training.

Last but not least, 2013 brought me my first Western States 100 entry. This follows a rather smooth progression into longer distances, and despite feeling a deep-seated anxiety about the distance I am eager to experience such an epic and prestigious event.

Race Report: Run For Your Lives 5K

When I learned of the Run For Your Lives 5K series, the first thing that came to mind was:

 

How cool! I can sign up as a zombie and get a novel speed workout.

 

Unfortunately, there was no NorCal venue in 2012, so I would have to wait until May 2013 to get my stumble on. The race was conveniently timed to be about a month after American River 50 Miler, so I signed up. I tried to convince Twirly and others to join me, but the novelty was lost on them.

 

To be part of the Zombie Horde required a five hour commitment. Two hours for make-up and general zombie transformation, and then three hours on the course, chasing participants down in order to infect them. Each runner got three flags of the football variety, and whomever crossed the finish line with at least one was considered a survivor and got a finishing time and survivor's medal. Those who returned flag-less were given a finisher's medal indicating that they were in fact, infected.

 

Zombie's received an infected finisher's medal (I ended up running almost 6 miles during my shift), a beer ticket and a t-shirt. Spectators were allowed, and Twirly joined me for the day just East of Clear Lake, although she failed to see why or how zombies had become so popular. She dressed in her brightest, rainbow-iest outfit and declared herself the zombie anti-dote.

 

In the ZTC awaiting transformation

I had vacillated on my costume in the weeks before the event. I wanted to be comfortable, but memorable. Complicated outfits like business suits and scientist garb were off the table. I considered life guard, but my 25 lbs of excess weight precluded a shirtless option. I also did not want to have to buy clothes which I was going to trash afterwards, so that left me staring into my closet the night before. I picked out some shorts splattered in paint from the boat yard, and a golf shirt from the 2010 US Open. My father and I had volunteered at Pebble Beach that year, and I had an extra uniform shirt which was nice and lightweight. A golfer I would be.

 

 

Waiting for the paint to dry

We arrived at the event just as the fourth wave of runners was starting. There were a few who had finished already, as a new wave of runners started every 30 minutes. We figured attendance must have been thousands by the end of the day. I entered the "Zombie Transformation Center" and began the change. My clothes were shredded with a serrated blade, and make up was applied via air brush, spatula and brush. The final touch was a spattering of blood. It was messy, but fun. Eventually the horde was divided into 14 groups and spread around the course.



Freshly bloodied

As each runner was given three flags, we were instructed to allow them to keep at least one until the later zones. I was in zone 9, which meant that any runner with two flags was fair game. We were allowed to take their last flag, but advised to offer it back to them so that they had something to run for as they neared the end. My zone had about 18 zombies, and three of us were chasers.

It was a hot day, and water quickly became the focus for both zombies and runners alike. The course only had two aid stations, and the two bottles of water provided to each zombie quickly went dry. We sent someone to the aid station to pick up a few gallons for our zone, and the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. The stumblers would act like gates and funnel the runners towards the chasers, who would wait until the runners had passed before running up behind them.

Think flag football for three hours.

I had a blast chasing people of all ages and shapes. I even got my groan down pretty well, for if I didn't groan, they assumed I was another runner behind them and it was too easy to rip a flag off their belt. We all agreed that three hours was a long shift; two hours would have been perfect.

I could tell that most of the runners were not "in training". There were the obvious zombie fans; the goths and emos that had come out not for the exercise, but because there were zombies. Then there was the enormous contigent of stoners. They could run for brief stretches, but ran out of breath quickly and became apathetic. The runners in the crowd set a pace and did not stop. I saw five of them, maybe. Mostly, the runners were groups of overweight friends, but they all had a good time running when necessary, and as long as they ran, I chased. A few were too fast for me, but mostly, I would catch them and take their flag.

I was exhausted by the end of my shift, and it was obvious I had hurt my hip/groin. My limp resembled a stumble, and my chase only lasted a step or two. When I returned to the Apocalypse Festival to find Twirly and start drinking beer, the pain had gotten worse. I needed a shower and food. There was a water tanker truck providing a forceful blast of water to remove mud from the runners and make-up and blood from the zombies, which felt awesome in the heat of the afternoon.

Feeling undead at the finish, sporting bling

Once I was cleaned up, fed and had a couple beers in me, we agreed it was time to go. My legs cramped in the car on the way home, and I could hardly walk the next day. As I write this four days later, my quads and calves are still extremely sore, and I have come to the realization that I probably pulled my groin...

I guess distance running is not the best conditioning for flag football.

 

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.

Tamalpa Headlands 50K Training Week Two: Sweep L.A.!

Week two saw a small increase in volume, and noticeably sore muscles after about an hour of running. I took an optional day off on Friday, and just plain skipped a 90 minute workout on Saturday and a 45 minute workout on Sunday. Twirly was in town and we sailed across the Bay to AT&T Park. We picked up some friends for an afternoon cruise around the Bay and then returned to South Beach Harbor next to the ballpark to tailgate on the boat and then got to watch the San Francisco Giants BEAT LA in the bottom of the tenth inning on a walk off home run. Our section, in the bleachers, was full of Dodgers fans. It was very satisfying. The G-men went on to win Sunday as well, sweeping their rivals in three one run games.

 

The week:

 

Monday: 60 minutes @ 9:00 effort 

 

Tuesday: 45 minutes on the treadmill

 

Thursday: 60 minutes @ 9:00 effort

 

Totals: 18.50 miles, avg HR 138

 

So, a weekend spent on beer, baseball and sailing did not do much for my race weight goal. I won't see a scale until Saturday morning before the Run For Your Lives Zombie run, so I have a few days to count calories, cross train and try to hit every workout on the schedule.

 

I'm unsure, at the moment, what my costume for the zombie run should be. It has to be comfortable enough to run in for three hours, but I also want to wear something that will be memorable.  

 

Crazy scientist zombie? Maybe.

 

Ultra runner zombie is too obvious.

 

Business man zombie would be too hot.

 

Lifeguard zombie?

 

Hmmm. Something in the middle. Got any ideas? Leave me a comment!