The Grief of Good: HR Training - Day 34

Today was the Pigtails Run. In the past, this was my track record:

First time in 2007 - Ran the whole 50k course in 5:28, two minutes slower than my first 50k run (which was the Pigtails Flat Ass, go figure).
Second time in 2008 - Ran two loops, fell asleep while running in the start of the third and decided to bail out. The new job I had really messed up my sleep schedule ever since, even though I quit and went back to my old company.

So, now I have this event as my third time running it and my expectations were:

1.) Do your crazy LSD Base run on the course, but keep your HR more consistant.
2.) Try to enjoy the moment.
3.) If you have time and the family is cool with it, run more loops. Maybe even finish the 50k.

Well, 1.5 out of three ain't bad (ain't good either!)

I did the same course last week, same workout. There were some things that were royally screwed up.

1.) Warm-up sucked. My HR was pretty low one minute, then high the next, waivering back and forth within the first 10 minutes, even though I did a couple of repeats to get the blood flowing in the beginning.
2.) HR was recording some really strange crap on some of the run. I would run hard and it would register 118 bpm. Seriously, WTF? Was the HRM losing contact with my chest?
3.) Footpod stopped sending data to the watch. Dying battery? I had to stick the thing in one of my strap pockets on my Nathan's Hydration Bladder to have it communicate to the watch. Seems that the beeps from the watch would only go off with the footpod being on. (Note: Alot of the data in the chart doesn't totally flow with the run, mostly the interval times.)

But with the things that failed, there were the good things too:

1.) I did enjoy that there was company on the course. Seeing people before the start, my Maniac bros & sisters and friends from the Balanced Athlete group. Honestly, it has gotten too lonely on those training runs sometimes.
2.) My HR was a bit more steady on the ups and downs as you can tell (well, when the HRM wasn't going nutty). If you compare with the previous time, I have done better.
3.) My wife and daughter being there. I usually run most of these things solo, but it is nice to have family. However, I did wish my kid was more patient and not begging for me to quit (I ended doing only one loop and lot of time to kill - next time, she's getting a babysitter).

Below, you can see how I did on Saturday versus the other day on the same course. My Training Effect ended up being higher, but there is more consistancy in the more recent run then the previous one. The recent run is listed in black. (Note: The interval points are in the wrong place for some stupid reason - don't ask me why.)



And as always, the recap for the week. Week 5 is officially over and I'm on the last week now. (Note: I skipped a light run that I was planning to do the following day, but decided to just run errands and spend time with the family. Sometimes, you just gotta do that.)



Tonight, I'm stuck between doing a treadmill Moderate run or swapping that with the Base Builder II run instead. I'm planning on meeting up with the Balanced Athlete group on Tuesday for another group run (I know, I'm asking for trouble), but Eric did say that he had some additional thoughts on my training (some things I won't like he says, but it'll be better for me in the long run) and I'm willing to listen...mind you, I may not DO everything he says, but I am willing to listen to everything. :-)

A Trip to LSD: HR Training - Day 28 & Week 4 result

Today was my first LSD Base run according to the training plan. It's one of the most complicated runs in the entire list, touching all three HR Zones. Here's the pattern:

5 min Zone 1
5 min Zone 2
5 min Zone 1
3 min Zone 3
10 min Zone 1
10 min Zone 2
5 min Zone 1
3 min Zone 3
15 min Zone 1
10 min Zone 2
20 min Zone 1
10 min Zone 2
15 min Zone 1

Total time is supposed to be 116 minutes (not including my 15 minute warm-up). But there are two problems I have with doing this:

1.) The pattern is insane! No way I can remember this! I knew that I'd mess it up somehow. (Which I did during the Zone 2 and Zone 3 runs).
2.) The 3 minute bursts in Zone 3 cannot be programmed into the Suunto's interval timers anywhere, so I'd have to mess with this too, setting my watch to go off every 5 minutes and with the Zone 3 runs, run hard for those 3 minutes and then slow down after for the remaining 2 minutes. This would make the run at 120 minutes instead.

So, with a complicated run like this, what do I do? I make it more complicated by going to a trail with rolling hills (aka Lake Youngs). Sure, like I don't have enough problems already.

However, this would be a good test to see how I would manage myself on the ups and downs while maintaining my HR in the appropriate zones.

As you can see, compared to my past runs, this was all over the place. There were some good points where I was able to keep my HR in zone 1 while going uphill and downhill in spots. However, if I'm going to be able to take on Cascade Crest, I'm going to need to train on hills MORE and get my body toughened up with some core work (hence, my CrossFit training using the Gant Hybrid after day 42.) And I ALMOST finished the whole loop in the 2 hours (2:04:27).

Other good things: Flying on the downhills! Change of venue! The sunshine!

Hopefully, I'll do better next week for the actual Pigtails Run where I'll do the same loop again - maybe faster or have a better controlled HR? We'll see.

And as always, the week in review. Compared to previous weeks, I did alot more harder runs according to the training effect.

Pigtails Run Race Report (a.k.a. I'll take the DNF)

http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/race/pigtailsrun.htm

The short: My first voluntary DNF, although marked as doing two loops (19.2 miles) only by the RD (b.k.a. Pigtails) for a time of 3:17:29.

The long: Due to skipping the Bridle Trails 50k earlier in the month, I really wanted to do this race for two reasons:

1.) I had alot of fun at this race last year.
2.) It was my final race to get me qualified for the Marathon Maniacs, so I was looking forward to trying to PR.

Now with my odd work schedule and late hours, I had ended up getting only 3 hours sleep before having to leave for the race. This will play later in the story.

I got to the race over an hour and a half early since I had to work later on today and the RD was cool about letting me do an early start. So with double-headlamps (one on my head, one around my waist), I set out to run around the fenced-off lake in the dark and freezing cold. Despite the lack of sleep, the first 9.6 mile loop was going pretty well. I was running pretty efficiently along the rolling hills. On the second loop, I passed a few folks once the actual race started and things were feeling okay...until around 16th mile. At this point, I felt oddly tired. Not tired as in exhausted from the expenditure of energy that doing marathons and ultras can put one through, but tired as if I was ready to crawl into bed. I slammed another Espresso Love GU and hoped the double caffeine in it would wake me up more like it did earlier when I was using it throughout the first loop and earlier in the second loop. I was in okay spirits after finishing the second loop. I had my bottle filled with Gatorade again and I set off to do my last loop & out-n-back to make it a full 50k. However, this wasn't meant to be.

After going down the steep hill in the beginning of the trail, I stopped for a moment and shook out my shoes since they picked up little bits of gravel inside. I put my shoes back on and started to shuffle my feet. I closed my eyes for what seemed like a second, but suddenly opened my eyes and had that feeling that you get when you get startled when being woken up (you know, that sudden shocked/shaken feeling). Once that feeling kicked in and my eyes opened, I immediately stopped. I discovered that I had gone several yards from my previous point and almost crashed into a trail post, just missing my crotch by two inches. This scared the crap out of me. I had a narcoleptic episode due to the lack of good sleep before the race. So with the common sense I had left, I decided to call it quits and hike back up that steep hill and back to the start. Guess that my body isn't equipped to be able to handle a 50k on 3 hours of sleep. Had I not been weirded out like that, I think I would have not only finished, but probably PR'ed by 20 minutes or more compared ot last year's 5:28 finishing time.

Van (a.k.a. Pigtails) decided to put me down as finishing two loops (19.2 miles) instead of DNF'ing for the full 50k. So it's not an offical drop out on the records, but I'm considering it a real DNF - Did Nothing Fatal. So after my official time of 3:17:29 (3:33:50 if you add the extra credit of going out and coming back, hitting over 20 miles), I changed into some dry, warm clothes and took a short nap in the car to try and feel normal. After an hour, I went and helped out runners who were trying their best to finish up as the weather changed from icy cold to icy cold & rainy. Everyone appreciates the chicken noodle soup, especially during these times.

So even though I didn't finish this race the way I wanted to, I learned alot today and have some interesting memories from this:

- I figured out how to "pee on the run". Seriously! As long as it was dark and no one was around, I was able to shuffle along and do my business at the same time.
- Seeing Shawn Lawson running in the dark while dragging a tire behind her in preparation for a 100 miler in Alaska that requires the runner to pull a sled with their gear on them.
- Watching the fastest runners being able to pull off a sub-3 and sub-4 hour finishing time after running 31 miles.
- Rooting on my fellow Maniacs and others pushing to the finish.

I'm still really tired and have fallen asleep a few times since this morning (thankfully not while on the drive home), but I doubt I'll be able to do the Yours Truly 50k run at Cedar River tomorrow. I think it's time for me to adjust my sleep clock and catch up on the rest that I need. I still have time to hit my 2008 miles in 2008 and I can truly redeem myself at the return of the Lord Hill 50k next Sunday.