Some Days Just Suck

Have you noticed that some days just suck?  This morning's run was slow and sucky.  I finished it, but my heart rate kept pushing the top end of "easy" according to my HR monitor.  Slow down.  Slow down.  Geez, I was only going around 9:00 pace, even a bit slower at times.  Then I come to work and have a survey go out to all graduating seniors at our big University...it comes from me, but on behalf of the Chancellor...yikes that's stressful!  Then one of my best employees tells me she is leaving the country and will need to resign her position in May.  Holy cow. When it rains, it pours.  Some days never seem to end. 

The upside...

• I already have over 600 responses from graduating seniors...in less than 3 hours.
• My running may be slow, but it's pain-free and steady.
• I may have a candidate to fill the soon-to-be vacated position in my unit.
• It's 50 degrees and sunny outside.
• My degu is happy sunning himself.

The world isn't too bad.  Tomorrow is another day...and it's a buffalo Thursday!  One more group tempo run on the trails.

McNaughton Park 50 and 100 Mile Runs

Only 12 days until the McNaughton Park (actually it's now called "Potawatomi Trail") 50 and 100 mile races in Pekin, IL.  I've done this race many times and also volunteered at the Heaven's Gate aid station.  It's a great event.  This year, I signed up for the "short" 50 mile race.  Seemed like a good thing to do a few months ago.  Even if I wasn't fully prepared, it was "only" 50 miles.  Who can't run 50 miles on trails?  Well, me for one!  I am woefully under-prepared.  I skipped the Land Between the Lakes Marathon a couple of weeks ago, I skipped the Lake Mingo Fat Ass (28 miler) in February and I haven't done a long run since the Riddle Run at the end of January.  My calf injury seems fully healed and I am now running well...if the distance is 12 miles or less.  I now have one more weekend to get in a longish run...but I need to fully recover too.  Can I run 20 miles this weekend and still be ready 7 days later for 50 miles?  Maybe I should just run a couple of 10 milers instead of one long run.  Or maybe I should skip the race altogether.  Or DNF after 20-30 miles.  Lots of options, but none is ideal.  As I was contemplating my next 2 weeks of running, I came across this David Goggins video of his 150 mile run at McNaughton Park a couple of years ago.  I was at the Pekin race the same year this video was taken--struggling through 100 slow miles while David raced 150 miles. The video was a good reminder of what runners can do if we put our minds to the task and really focus.



If David can do 150 miles, I can do 50 miles.  It may not be pretty, but I can finish.  Of course, I'll bet Mr. Goggins actually trained for his 150 miles.  Wish I could say the same.  If nothing else, I hope to see lots of old friends on that McNaughton Park trail come the weekend of April 9-10.

Tempo Run Feels Awesome

Yesterday was my first Thursday "buffalo run" of the year.  Over winter, the tribe moves to road runs in town (which I normally skip).  The buffalo trail runners move back to the Lake of the Woods trails after daylight saving time changes.  I missed the first run last week due to work obligations (doesn't work interfere with running?).  This week I made it to the group run on the gently rolling trail. My intent is to use the Thursday group runs as my tempo run for the week.  Yesterday went very well.  (NOTE: For Phil Maffetone and Stu Mittleman heart rate zones, a tempo run is something like a "Speedy Aerobic Pace" run--for me that range is 145-165. A true "tempo run" would be toward the top end of that range.)

The regular buffalo run is a 5-mile trail jaunt on the interconnecting trails at Lake of the Woods in Mahomet, IL.  Yesterday, I warmed up by doing an easy outside loop (about 2.5 miles) before the main 5-mile group run that starts at 6pm.  I kept my heart rate under 135 for that full loop.  Just a nice easy loping pace.  Even walked a couple of the hills.  When I returned to the main parking lot, there were about 10-12 runners hanging out. It was 5:59pm.  Good timing.  I grabbed my water bottle, said "Hi" to a few runners, and hit the trail following the two Jeff's down the first hill.  Riddle was passed within 10 meters, but Fago stayed with me for the full 5 miles...well, until we came across Riddle again around the 4.5 mile mark (The Riddler has a knack of shortening the full 5 mile course and getting ahead of us).  At that point, the "fast Jeff" walked it in with the "slow Jeff".  Fortunately, by that time I was also running with Seth and we kept our tempo pace to the end.  Wish I had taken the 5-mile split, but my warm-up was included in my overall time and heart rate average.  I think we were going around 8:00 pace, maybe just a bit slower.  My heart rate was mostly in the 155-165 range--peaking at 175.  I'd like it to stay below 165 next week.  Less talking on the hills!

If I can incorporate a weekly tempo run into my schedule, I should improve my running efficiency and form which will benefit all of my runs.  I anticipate going faster and faster within the same target HR range.  By mid-summer, I hope to be maintaining a 7:30 pace for the full 5 miles each Thursday.  I need a longer cool down afterwards.  Last night I was a bit sore and stiff.  Maybe my 2.5 mile warm-up should be followed with a 2.5 mile cool-down after the 5-mile tempo run?  That would turn each Thursday into a fantastic 10 mile run. Mondays and Fridays are "off days" (cross training or nothing) and Tuesday and Wednesdays are easy runs.  The weekend is reserved for longer trail runs--either two moderate distance runs (10-12 miles) or one long run and one short run (18-20 miles and 3-5 miles).  Sounds like a plan and I am psyched!  Next week I'll have heart rate data to share.  If you are in central Illinois, feel free to join me and the other buffalo runners each Thursday at 6pm.  We post updates and running plans on our Yahoo group forum.