Marathon Training Plans…NOT for me

I was busy this morning and busy this evening, and the only time available for a run was at lunch time. So on a nice morning for a run I ended up running during the hottest part of the day, which was high 70s and sunny. At least there was a breeze at times and the humidity was not too bad. I did not know how long I was going to run or in which direction. I have no marathon training plan and I do not follow any schedule and that is the way I like it. Schedules makes running feel like something you have to do and I want the freedom of flexibility. If you do not have to run a certain a distance on a particular day, then any distance is good. So today my goal was to run anything from 10 miles to a maximum of 22. I wanted it to be closer to 22 though because today was my only opportunity for a long run before the Medoc Mountain Trail marathon next month. Besides not having any distance schedule, I have no time goals either.

So I started at 12:45PM and headed to Providence Park. I like that little park near my house because it has a 1 KM asphalt trail loop which provides a good training ground for road racing. The trail goes around the park and in the middle are little league baseball fields, soccer greens, playground and other park stuff. I usually do a few loops in there and I get bored and head off to other neighborhoods. Today I got lost in listening to trail slammer’s podcasts and did not realize that the time had passed. I had a couple of gels and a hydration belt but I eventually ran out of fuel and when I looked at my Garmin I had already ran 10 miles in the park. I did not count laps, but when I checked the Garmin data tonight it was indeed 16 laps (16K= 10 miles). Thankfully there is a 7-11 across from the park and I went there for Gatorade, water and some salty snacks. My wife called at that time and asked me when I was getting back because my lunch was sitting on the table for a long time. I told her that I was at 7-11 eating junk food and wanted to run some more. We agreed that I would run for another 90 minutes. So I left the park and headed towards North Kempsville and the Rec Center eventually coming back around and I finished in exactly 90 minutes with 18 miles on the dial. This was really an easy comfortable run and I could have gone up to 22 miles. I used the Galloway 30-30 method and really didn’t feel any stress which is a bonus considering I already had ran 30 miles this week with 3 doubles in 5 days. I know my training pace is much slower than my races but I am good with that. I never stop my watch so my actual running pace is usually better than what I post but who cares? I know I can run faster and that would have been the case today if I had time in the morning and gone to run with my friend Andrew for his 40th birthday. Did I say that he is a real slacker as he only ran 40K today, instead of 40 miles? Maybe he will run 50 miles for his 50^th like I did. ha!ha!

This evening my wife suggested that I post a calendar of my long runs so she knows when I will be gone for hours. I explained to her that I do not even know when I go out the door how long I will run for. Hence, the title of this blog... So as a compromise I posted my races on the calendar.

Stat of the day: I just saw that I ran 102 miles in September. Reaching 100miles by the 14th of a month is my fastest 100 yet.

50 miles... seriously?

OK. I signed up for the Gore-Tex 50 Mile race of the North Face Endurance Challenge on June 2 in Washington DC. The race website says 39 days until race day. Seriously?

The race starts at the Algonkian Regional Park, then runs on the Potomac Heritage Trail through the Riverbend and Riverview parks and onto the Great Falls park for 3 tough loops and returns back though the trails to the Algonkian Park. I really did not intend to have a training plan for this race, but my friend Heather who is thinking about signing up was looking up for plans for 50 milers, before she signed up (which is obviously the right thing to do!)  It hit home when I saw her post. I have to have a plan if I am going to finish this thing… I am going to have to work on it, but some people have posted some useful links when Heather raised the question on dailymile I liked this one particularly; since I am geek... but I know I won’t follow it… in fact I should have been in week 13 of 18 if I was to follow it. It does call for a 50K this Sunday… it won’t happen…

Don't fight the trail. Take what it gives you

Rest in peace Caballo Blanco...

Michael Randall Hickman, later known as Micah True and better known as White Horse or Caballo Blanco was a simple man who became a living legend for ultra-runners after Christopher McDougall published his book Born to Run. Caballo passed away last week while out on a routine 12-mile run in New Mexico. He was on the way to Arizona from Mexico. Along the way, he stopped off at the Gila Wilderness Lodge in New Mexico, a place he visited many times. On Monday, he went for a 6-hour run with Guadajuko, a Mexican mixed breed he had adopted and called "the ghost dog". On Tuesday, he decided to do a 12-miler before hitting the road. Guadajuko's paws were sore, so Caballo left him on the porch with a bowl of water and told the innkeeper he would be back in two hours. It took search parties 4 days to find him as he did not give any indication which direction he would go. He was finally discovered by the side of a cool mountain stream not far from the lodge. His death is still a mystery. Everyone came to look for him in those days, including Chris McDougall, Scott Jurek, Kyle Skaggs and other friends. His friends, tweeted remembrances of his passing…

His race, the Copper Canyon 50 miler in Mexico, has grown beyond even Caballo’s wildest expectations – on March 4, 2012, more than 400 Tarahumaras and 100 outside runners participated. Here are a couple of links for the 2010 race:  Race Report   Pictures

I learned a lot from the book but the biggest advice I took from Caballo is how to learn the art of running… this is what he said to the author in the book: "Don't fight the trail. Take what it gives you. Lesson two - think easy, light, smooth and fast. You start with easy, because if that's all you get, that's not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don't [care] how high the hill is or how far you've got to go. When you've practiced that so long that you forget you're practicing, you work on making it smooooooth. You won't have to worry about the last one - you get those three, and you'll be fast."
... I am still working on easy and light,  I don't worry about how high the hill is or how far I have to go

The North Face Endurance Challenge

Run Farther than you ever have! : As I am getting ready to turn in for the night, I can't get this race out of my head... in fact, I have been thinking about it for several weeks now... and in case you are wondering, I am looking at the 50 mile race on June 2nd in Washington DC. So I went to the website and saw this headline: Run Farther than you ever have!. How appropriate!

Can I do it? Can I actually run 50 miles and finish within the allotted time? I will be turning 50 in June, so this could be the perfect celebration... or would it? What do you think?

Anyhow, going to bed now... they are calling for snow for tomorrow.