Gear I like

I am not sure that people tune in here to my blog to pick up pointers or to get the low down on the latest gear, but as I approach my first 10K trail run in a few weeks, I was reviewing in my mind the stuff I like:

I really like my new trail shoes (I now officially own a pair of trail shoes and a pair of "street shoes"). I absolutely have to have 4E (that's EEEE) running shoes, and nothing fits me as well as 4E Asics, which are wide in the right places. I have tried New Balance shoes in the past, but they are not wide enough where it counts for me: across the ball of my foot. I need tight in the heel as well. This led me to the only shoe in the Asics trail shoe line up that comes in 4E: the Gel Kahana 3. Now, this is not the most "aggressive" looking trail shoe, but it has just enough gription and the 12 4E fits like a glove. My street shoes are also 4E Asics: the tried and true GT 21 series, and I am still wearing the 2120s, which I probably cannot get anymore. I tried on a pair of the 2140s the other day and they should still do nicely. Good shoes are worth every bit of effort to identify!

I have not run enough long distance jaunts to really worry too much about "fueling" during a run, but now that I am starting to run longer trail runs (anything where I am on the trail for, say, 1.5 hours plus), AND given the fact that I run in North Georgia (90+ temps are here to stay for the summer), I have really benefited from replacing electrolytes. I don't really like to drink "sports drinks" exclusively while running, so I normally carry water only. I have really come to like the PowerBar gels followed by water about 45 minutes to an hour into a longer run. Each gel has 200mg of sodium (plus the necessary carbs), and are pretty easy to carry. I can't yet comment on ingesting many of these over the course of a very long run. Would I really want to take 10+ of these things during a 50K? I remain open to electrolyte pills like S-caps, but for now, Kroger has my PowerBar gels, so I'm sticking with them.

For me, it's very important to be fueled prior to a run, and about 200 calories about 2 hours before a run does the trick. When the tried and true peanut butter and banana sandwich is not close at hand, I have come to really enjoy the Clif Mojo trail mix bars, especially the Peanut Butter Pretzel flavor. They are right at 200 calories and have 10g of protein, and have a respectable amount of sodium and potassium to help with inevitable sweat-fest that will happen in an hour or two.

Finally, cotton may be king, but the overwhelming consensus nowadays is that synthetics are golden. I have a couple of the more "technical" shirts that I do not really like. Recently I have been wearing Dri-Release shirts from Anvil almost exclusively. As it turns out, they are sort of a middle of the road choice, since they have 15% cotton fiber. But, my aforementioned sweat-fest tends to overwhelm even the most technical of technical fabrics when the temps. creep toward the triple digits, and the Anvil shirts make me look pretty buff, so I will once again stick with what works.

On the running front, I recently realized that I needed to back off on the mileage a bit while I recovered from self-diagnosed "runner's knee" (patellofemoral pain). I am throwing in a bit of cross training and have pulled out the weights. The pain has subsided, and I probably will not creep up toward 20+ miles a week until I have lost another 15 lbs. or so. Eat less, exercise more, and the world will be a better place :-)

What not to do

Well, went for a 4.5 mile trial run at the Botanical Gardens yesterday and the wheels came off at about mile three. Just felt like crap and--for the first time that I can remember--just had to sit down and get over it. I have been running steadily again for about 2 1/2 months now, and I am at the point that I can analyze poor runs like this and find out what went wrong. Turns out this time a lot went wrong.

1) I did not eat the right things at the right time. I have figured out that my best runs usually occur about 2 hours after a meal. If I am not running after a meal, then a significant snack about 2 hours before a run does the trick. Yesterday, I had stopped by my 4 year old daughter's pre-K to have lunch with her (sitting in the tiny chairs). Lunch was at 11am and I was done with my Chik Fil-A sandwich by 11:15. No fruit. No veggies. My run started at 5:30, over six hours later--I had forgotten a snack and during my busy day at work didn't really think about it.

2) I had also forgotten my water bottle, which I always have for runs over about 4 miles. I thought that I would be fine and I just drank some water prior to the run. I missed having the water about a mile into the run. This was of course exacerbated by something out of my control: it is starting to get hotter, and was about 83 or 84 at the time of my run. Not a scorcher, but under the circumstances...

3) I had given blood the day before. Now, I don't know how much of a difference this really makes, but I can't imagine that it would help. I give blood regularly, and I have no plans to stop, but maybe I should actually listen to the suggestions of the nice Red Cross people and actually take it easy for a day or two. I had also run the night I gave blood as well, and didn't feel great, but I didn't run nearly as far...

So, I ignored a few things I had learned about my personal recipe for a good run. It's actually kind of reassuring in a way that I have run enough now to actually have such a recipe. When I first started running for real in the summer of 2007, it was all about just enduring each run, now I have plans that work, as long as I don't throw them out the window after a busy day :)

This could get out of hand...

Well, now I've done it. I have recruited two friends at work to run a trail race with me this Fall. We have decided upon the 3rd Annual Toys for Tots trail 1/2 Marathon to be held at Oconee County's Heritage Park on November 1, 2009. Yes, I said 1/2 friggin' marathon. This one has been written up by David Ray over at his blog. I am very familiar with the trail system over at Heritage; it's only about 9 miles from my house and I run and hike there often. It was also the location of my first trail run, which I posted about on this very blog over a year and a half ago. My co-workers are no strangers to races, one has completed several triathlons, and the other presently competes in 6 and 12 hour mountain bike races. Starting today (May Day, which may be what I yell out 8 or 9 miles into the event), I am implementing a 6 month "transformative" training plan that will have me ready for 13.1 on the trails by Nov. 1. So, six months to prepare, and I have let too many people in on the plan now to back down. This is crazy (wait until about the 1 min. mark in this video for the way I feel right now, except my run will probably not culminate with Christie Brinkley naked in a pool...probably not)

Follow Through

OK, was thinking during lunch about the idea of a "mantra", a saying that could help as I continue to run, as I continue to seek "Fit and Fearless" status. I began to assess what has worked for me in the past and it hit me: I'm a reasonably intelligent person, therefore I have never bought into a "fad" as a way toward better health. Everything I have done in the past has worked. Everything. Counting calories, worked; running, worked (and works); mountain biking, worked; lifting weights, worked; swimming, worked; and so on, ad infinitum. What I have always failed to do is Follow Through. If I had followed through on fitness in the past this blog would not be about the journey but about how I am enjoying the view from the top. My successes in life have always been the results of hard work and following through and tying up the loose ends. My quest for a fit body should be no different. I have a quote on my wall in my office that reads: "A year from now you may wish you had started today." Well, a year from now I will be forced to look back and assess whether I followed through or not. The same assessment will be made later tonight, after my scheduled run, and tomorrow morning, after that scheduled run, and next week and next month as well.

FOLLOW THROUGH.

OK, back to work.

Beer Me

Gotta love a race where the race packet contains a beer glass and tickets for "free" microbrewed beer, and they put on your "I'm 21" wristband before your even head to the start. The inaugural Terrapin Brewery 5K plus One More Mile (4.1 mile) race was held at 4PM on Saturday in Athens, GA, and a great time was had by all. The race course was not the most picturesque, but the family friendly party afterwards was worth the run. I felt great for the first 2 miles or so, but slowed down considerably after that. I will have to say it was a bit of a wakeup call, and I am now motivated to get in much better shape and to continue the very successful calorie counting that I have been doing for the past few weeks. The best part of the race was hearing my 4 year old daughter's little voice yelling "two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? Gooooo, Daddy!" as I approached the finish. All three of my kids ran with me through the finish "chute", surprising Will Chamberlin, the race services organizer from Classic Race Services. Luckily, most of the other racers had finished by then. The kids especially liked the band, and danced to the music for the better part of an hour. Wondering what my time was? Well, have a beer and stop worrying about it.

Badwater 2009

This is just awesome! I have become more and more enthusiastic over the last couple of weeks about my trail running and training, and I have decided that I need to set my sites on something that is a true challenge. I decided that a 135 mile race through Death Valley would just about fit the bill. I was initially disappointed to find out that the Badwater 135 was invitation only, but I contacted the race officials this past weekend. Based upon the fact that I have been running steadily for weeks in moderately warm weather, and based partly upon the fact that I really, really want to, they have added me to the roster for the race on July 13-15, 2009! The time limit is 60 hours, but based upon my present 12 minute per mile pace, I think that I can can complete the race in about 27 hours if I try real hard. Well, I just couldn't contain my excitement, so I had to do a quick post. Now, off to train. I figure that I need to up my present weekly mileage by about 98% each week for the next 14 weeks, so I better get started. Badwater! Hoo-yah!

Home Trail

Atlanta may have a great botanical garden, but the official State Botanical Garden of Georgia is just three miles from my front door. In addition to, of course, the "botanical" stuff, which is beautiful and impressive, the "Bot" Gardens also have an impressive set of trails. The "White Trail" is a ~four mile loop through the hardwood forest surrounding the Gardens proper. One can probably double that distance without repeating much by also exploring the numerous side trails and access roads that branch off of the main trail. UGA students seem to love this trail, but I have never seen the trail crowded with people; it's more the norm to be one of a handful of people on the trail at any given time.


I went out for a run there this morning (now that the rain has stopped) and decided to take some pictures. By the way, anyone who has been in this part of Georgia in late March or April may remember the yellow dust covering everything. Well, the first thing I noticed as I got in my car was the pine pollen. As I drove to the Gardens, I realized that the Georgia pines are poised for their annual wind-blown orgy, and anyone with a hint of allergies should gird themselves for two weeks of hell. This is the only time of year that my allergies give me trouble.

(Pine Porn: parental discretion is advised)

Things are still a bit hairy in places on the trails thanks to the heavy, wet snow a few weeks ago, and the Chinese privet has formed some hard to navigate tunnels in places. Some larger trees have fallen across the trail, and I suspect that they will be there for a long, long time. Us trail runners will just have to crawl under and over the trunks for now.

(just a minor obstacle)

The trail is not very rocky, but can be "rooty" at times, and the terrain varies a surprising amount, from nice and flat to pretty serious hills (including some that require stairs, see my new blog heading pic). There are numerous creek crossings (all with bridges) and plenty of trail down by the Oconee River.

(Bot Gardens trail ankle-snapper)

Some parts of the trail are downright picturesque.

(crik-crossin')

My run today was great, except for the fact that my Garmin would not turn on and must have been "out of batteries". The runs in general are starting to feel better now, and I am starting to look forward to my upcoming races.

(A nice day on the trail, but...)

(...this is still Georgia)

Sacramento, Day 2

So, woke up this morning and opened the shade in my hotel room and lo and behold, I could clearly see the snow covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains from my hotel room! I thought they must be 20 or 30 miles away, but it turns out they are more like 50 miles away. Needless to say, it has been a beautiful, sunny (but brisk) day in Sacramento. Left the hotel about 4pm to complete a 2 mile run downtown, and I ended up at the State Capital building about a mile from the hotel.

(California State Capital building)

The sidewalk around the capital and the Capital park is almost exactly 1 mile long (1.07 miles for the track I took according to the Garmin). So, I could run one mile loops without having to wait for lights or to cross busy streets. The park is also an impressive arboretum, and even has a couple of huge redwood trees, along with other large varieties of conifers that I had never seen before. The trusty Garmin said that I had covered 3.8 miles by the time I arrived back at the hotel (but there was some walking included at the beginning and the end of the outing). Looking forward to another run tomorrow.

Cross country running

Well, I am in Sacramento, CA through Wednesday for a conference, and I just got back from a quick mile and a half along the Sacramento River in beautiful 60 degree weather.

(The run took me across this bridge, built some time in the 1930s.)

The mile and a half was really all I had in me after getting up at 4am Eastern time and getting into CA after a ~4.5 hour flight. I was in a middle seat, and felt a bit snug the whole way, with two other "wide" passengers sharing the space. The run made me feel good, and reminded me how nice it is to go for a run in a new city.

(I also ran right by this interesting building on the West Sacramento River Walk)

I've done the same thing in Washington, D.C. (on the National Mall), in New Orleans, Honolulu, and even in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Great way to see the sights and to feel fast, since most other people are walking. Also, since I made the plans for this conference months ago, I had not really looked into exactly where Sacramento is in the state of California (it's my first trip to the state); turns out that I am not too far away from what is essentially the heart of serious trail running out here. I am not that far from places like Cool and Foresthill, CA, home of the Way Too Cool 50K and the Rucky Chucky 50K, respectively. Not to mention the proximity of the grandaddy of them all, the Western States 100, which I believe snakes through those same hills down to Auburn, CA, just 40 miles or so from where I sit. It may be neat, if time permits, to get a rental and head about an hour east to check that area out... Well, it's officially 9:22 Eastern Time, and that means that I have been up for about 17 hours. Time to fluff up the pillow and grab the remote...

Brew Ha Ha

Today is Friday, which is my day off from running. I have a small fire of guilt burning in my belly about not running today; oh well, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale should put that fire out. Cheers.