Antelope Island Training Run: 2/12

It's been a crazy week so I haven't had much time to write.  I've even neglected my daily logbook for about a week as well.  Time to get back on it I guess! 

Anyway, I was able to get out to Antelope Island last week for a training run.  There was a pretty solid group of 30 or so people that came out.  Good times!  I stuck with my buddy Scott for the whole run.  When I do these longer training runs, I like to take it easy and enjoy myself, rather than suffer by pushing myself too hard.  I do enough of that during the week!  So we took it at a steady pace. A few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

All in all a great day; beautiful weather, and 23 miles under my belt.  Starting to feel fit and ready to race in about 5 weeks!

On The Upward Trend

I really look forward to this time of year.  Daylight extends ever so slightly each day, temperatures slowly start trending up, and training comes into full swing.  OK, so this is only the second time I've run through winter, but you catch my drift!  I'm rousing with life again and feel as though I'm just coming out of hibernation.  It's not to say I haven't been running through winter, because I have.  The momentum though, is finally on the up and my energy is in a focused, entirely positive direction.

Another exciting aspect of this time of year is finalizing a schedule for the upcoming year.  The major piece of my running puzzle was completed on Saturday when the lottery for Wasatch was held.  Unfortunately, it's not happening for me this year :(  I was a bit bummed at first, but now I have the opportunity to run the Bear 100.  Since it happens two weeks after Wasatch each year, I don't know that I ever would have done them both in the same year.  So I'm stoked to be able to run the Bear this year!  It's a new challenge on what will be a completely new course for me.  Plus I'll probably end up running most of the Wasatch course in training this summer, so I can't be too bummed about it!

Training is going about as expected.  Been hitting some weeks in the 50 mile range, and I'm hoping to hit 60 this week.  Could be interesting though, as I got my annual cold last week and skipped a few days running.  I'm glad it hit now instead of later!  It feels nice to just about have it out of my system, though.  I'm less than 7 weeks from the Buffalo Run so now's the time to step up and knock out some good runs.

I've also decided to do a run of marathon distance or greater each month this year.  I got my January run in the last Saturday of the month.  It was a perfect day and I was able to bang out my 26.2 pretty easily.  I was trashed afterwards since I didn't hydrate very well or take in enough nutrition, but that's beauty of training... Teaching your body to go without, which in turn makes you stronger.  Not everyone subscribes to the aforementioned philosophy, but it seems to work for me!

My New Food Obsession

I should probably title this "our" new obsession because this is something that me and Lydia are obsessing over at the moment.  It is my blog though, so sorry Lyd. (Truly though, she probably enjoys these even more than me.)  What I'm talking about are Green Smoothies! 

When I first heard about green smoothies, all I could think about is blending a bunch of vegetables together and trying to choke it down.  While I'm sure some people out there might do this, it doesn't sound all that appealing to me.  I was reluctant to add anything green to a fruit blended smoothie.  Eventually though, I mustered up the courage to add some greens and was pleasantly surprised by the results!  Even better is the fact that I'm getting more veggies in my diet (something I struggle with) without having to eat a bland salad every day.  And that makes me happy!  Lydia even swears that it helps her skin :)

I still don't have it down to an exact science - nor do I really measure when I cook - but here are the basics for my green smoothie:

Handful of raw baby spinach
1 Cup Soymilk (or Low Fat Milk)

1 Banana

1 1/2 Cups Berries (pick one or mix 'em up)

1 T Agave Syrup or Honey

Add Water or Ice to achieve desired thickness

My Breakfast version of a Strawberry-Banana "Green" Smoothie

I've been using variations with/without the banana, and different portions of different berries.  To date, I haven't had one I didn't like.  Best of all, it's an easy way to get a bunch of raw foods in a tasty package!  Apparently you can also use kale, mint, romaine, and other greens when making these.  We just use baby spinach because we buy it from Costco anyway, so it's already in the fridge.  Might have to try out some other variations in the future, though.

* Quick Tip - If you need a balanced breakfast on the go, just add some ground oats and milled flaxseed.  It's delicious!

Time For An Update

What a slacker!  Three weeks into the year and I haven't written a thing.  Good thing I have people like my dad to call me out on it!  The reality however, is that I haven't had much to write about so far this year.  Nothing truly exciting has happened - bad or good - and things are pretty much clicking as far as running is concerned.

I've been able to put together some fairly solid weeks for the last month.  Been consistenly knocking off between 40 and 50 mile weeks, with 5 or 6 days of running each week.  It's easily been my best stretch in the last 4 months or so.  Sweet!  I still have some lingering pain in my lower legs which I've attributed to shoe problems, but I think I've finally got the right shoes and things seem to get slightly better each week.  I'm sure if I took a few weeks off things would heal completely, but I'm not about to do that.  Smart?  Probably not, but I'm just over 9 weeks out from my next race and can't really afford the time off.  If things were getting worse I'd stop, but things are slowly progressing in a positive direction... So I'm not stopping!

In my attempt to be a bit more social (being a recluse by nature), last night I went over to Wasatch Running Center for the weekly Thursday night run they put on.  Quite honestly, I was expecting a much larger group to show up.  Turns out there were only about 7 of us, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.  I actually came home with a few goodies courtesy of Brooks and Saucony.  Awesome!  I'm always up for some free gear.

Things are great at the moment!  Now if the snow would just melt...

Looking Ahead To 2011

Resolve is ever present with the coming of each new year.  Although resolutions can be made at any given time, (for many) New Year's is the perfect time to set some goals.  The new year gives you a fixed time to complete your objective, which in turn makes it measurable.  A year also allows ample time to complete a well thought out goal. I personally tend to get down on myself when faltering on the path towards any particular aspiration. It's nice knowing however, that one or two slip-ups along the way won't eradicate my chances of hitting my target; they just make it a little bit more difficult.

For someone like me who enjoys crunching numbers and doing comparisons, I've always thought that a key component of goals is that they're measurable. In 2010 though, one thing I've come to learn is that a goal (for me) doesn't necessarily have to be so.  A goal just needs to be something I can imagine myself achieving.  Whether that's measurable or tangible isn't important, just that it's there is enough to motivate me along the way.

Afer reviewing my goals for 2010, I have to sit back and laugh just a little bit.  I was very ambitious, but also maybe a little reckless.  OK, no maybe about it... I was completely reckless! 

• For someone that had only been running for 9 months, attempting to log 2,500 miles for the year was just plain dumb.  Looks like I'll end up around the 1,800 mile mark for the year.  A far cry from 2,500.
• Running 8 races was far beyond my abilities.  I managed to get 5 actual races in, along with a "Fun Run" that I'll go ahead and count.  That puts me at 6.
• And honestly, running a hundred miler was audacious to say the least (even though I did accomplish this). 

With last year's results in mind - along with the wisdom I've gained from my first full year of running -  I've come up with some goals that seem very attainable for the coming year...

• 2,200 miles for the year
• 6 races (at least one hundred miler)
• Gain balance in my personal life

The last one is something that I completely failed to achieve last year.  It's funny because when announcing my goals for 2010, I said "my head is telling me that these numbers are the balance I'm trying to achieve".  I thought that totally focusing on running and pushing myself to the edge would bring me balance.  Exhibiting brazen disregard for others (and myself) is not balanced by any stretch of the imagination, though.  I especially want to thank Lydia for this revelation!  She opened my eyes up to the fact that my obsession was reforming other aspects of my life.  Jumping from a harmful addiction to a positive one is still addiction.  Period.  Passion for running itself is not harmful; allowing it to control your life is.  Of course, I have other non-running related goals that - hopefully - can also help me achieve those related to running.

I've learned so much about myself in the last year.  Much of it comes because of the things I've accomplished.  However, without the guidance of goals to push me forward and to keep me motivated, things probably would have been lost in the shuffle.  I look forward to working on these goals, and to conjuring up many more short term goals to help me along the road to success in 2011!

Gettin' Out The Door

It’s so difficult to get motivated about running when the weather doesn’t cooperate. The key word there is “motivated” because once I’m out there I always enjoy the experience. The difficulty lies in pushing my sorry butt out the door! I love running in the snow, but we’ve been experiencing a lot of rain in the last few weeks here in Salt Lake. Definitely not normal for this time of year! Add some wind into the mix and it makes for difficult circumstances and miserable days.  Though it’s been tough, I’ve been keeping a consistent base for the last 2 months or so. I’ve had a couple really bad weeks with low numbers, but they were due more to scheduling conflicts than anything else (since I typically run in the evenings).  Maybe I should think about running in the mornings to alleviate this problem?

Now the party starts though! I’m thirteen weeks out from the Buffalo Run 50 Miler and I feel like I’m in a good position to have a great run there. I’ve got a time goal in mind, but I’ll save that for my next post. I’ve put in a couple 20+ mile efforts in the last month and I feel well rested. Now I’m hoping to push myself and build up to 70 mile weeks in the next two months to get me ready for the race.

All the nice new gear I got for my birthday and Christmas helps me too. It's nice to have a few items to select from as well, instead of just one smelly outfit to wear nearly every day.  I’m most excited about logging some vertical with my new Suunto Core. I’ve wanted one for about a year now and I was finally able to justify the expense. Here’s to training for 2011!

Feeling Good Again

After posting last month about all the issues I've been having with my legs, I finally decided that I needed to rest.  So I took a break from running for 10 days.  I hit the gym almost every day during that time, but my cardio was limited to spinning or the elliptical.  No impact whatsoever!  I also did some lifting every other day and heavily iced my legs.  The result: my first pain-free run last night in over 2 months.  I'm not gonna lie, it felt great!  Hopefully I can stay on top of this issue now that I've ruled out a stress fracture.  I was sweatin' it during my time off.  My mind typically trends toward the worst case scenario, though.

I had a ton of time to really let my mind wander.  I got to thinking of a few things...

First of all, my time off reinforced my thoughts about the need to make my body bulletproof.  Not literally of course, but to really focus on not having one shred of weakness.  Going to the gym last week really brought the idea home, so I've decided to add a little gym time to my training regimen.  Of course that means more time dedicated to training, but I think the payoff is definitely worth it!

My run yesterday was at a very relaxed pace.  I think I tend to overdo it sometimes and push it too hard, too often.  A slower pace really let's me focus on my form and gives my body the time it needs to respond appropriately.  Coupled with the right pair of shoes for me, I feel like I'm in good form again... Finally!

The other thing I've had a lot of time to think about is my diet.  I eat fairly sensibly, but sometimes feel like I may not get all the nutrition I need for my active lifestyle.  Oddly enough, I've spent some time reading about vegan diets lately.  While I have no desire to live a vegan lifestyle, I think that incorporating more plants and seeds into my diet is very important.  I do ok with fruits and grains, but I'm terrible with the veggies!  Definitely need more green stuff in my diet.

While it sucks to have time off from running, the last week and a half have been pretty eye-opening for me.  Sometimes just putting in the miles is not enough!  It's about evolving and incorporating change where change is needed.  I can honestly say that I'm glad I was in pain, but I'm also glad it wasn't something major.  Just enough to open my eyes to new, more educated ideas.