Sunday, April 30, 2006

Wow, you can coast the downhills


Well, the three days of the Northwest Crank have come and gone and I have to say, I had a good time. My butt didn't bother me as much as I had feared and my neck didn't get too terribly sore. However, my lower back got very tight (reminder to self - CORE EXERCISES!!) and my feet actually hurt from time to time due to the stiff shoes and no foot flexing.

The first day was quite warm with highs in the mid-eighties and there was quite a bit of climbing. I found I could climb pretty strongly on a bike, but bonked on the last ascent to the ski area at Mission Ridge. Coasting down at up to 42 mph was a hoot.

Day two called for 100 miles (day one was 80). However, at about 60 miles, Desmond was flagging and we could either go straight and reach the car in about half a mile or turn right and head uphill for 19+ miles. We chose the car, immediately followed by the purchase of beer, chips and salsa. GOOD CHOICE.

Day three was a trip from East Wenatchee up Hwy 97A to Lake Chelan, via a side spur about 28 miles in. The two trips officially recognized were either 76 miles or 125 miles. We modified the longer route; eliminating a couple of out and back sections and ended up with ~90 miles for the day. Several other riders followed our example, so we felt we simply offered a good third alternative.

Bottom line - met some nice people, had a good time. More photos from the ride can be found under my albums link.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

And now for something totally different

Since not training for running didn't work too well at Mt. Si, I am going to see how not training for long bike rides works. This Friday I will start riding three of the four day Northwest Crank rides put on by the Seattle Randonneurs. Friday will be an 80 mile ride that eventually works up to the Mission Ridge Ski area and then back down. Saturday is 95 miles with a trip up Badger Mountain. Finally, Sunday will be 125 miles with a trip to Lake Chelan with some additional out and backs thrown in. At least these aren't races and I can coast on the downhills.

I have done some spinning classes over the past months; usually one hour on Mondays and have done three 2+ hour rides since mid-February. That should be enough training, right?

The weather forecast is for low to mid 80's in Wenatchee so I won't have to worry about keeping warm. I'm betting that my butt and neck are sore by Sunday. =>KRK

Monday, April 24, 2006

A new PW

After looking back in my running records, I noticed that the time I ran at Mt Si in 1999 was for 54 miles, not 50. So, in one year I managed to go from a PR to a PW. Getting sick and not training is obviously not the hot ticket for running a fast 50 miler. krk

Sunday, April 23, 2006

50 miles is not a marathon

Well, I have been humbly reminded that I may be able to fake my way through a respectable marathon on minimal training and perhaps even a 50k. However, 50 miles is a completely different story. Today was an exercise in perserverence. I started of with Carol O'Hear and felt pretty good through about 15 or 16 miles. As always, I enjoyed the time running with Carol and we got caught up with a lot. Unfortunately, things started to come apart a little at a time after that. The race had also relocated some aid stations and I hadn't paid attention to the pre-race announcements. My bad. Ended up running out of fluids on the way up to Rattlesnake Lake. Just past the parking lot, the cramping set in. I spent the next three plus miles hobbling slowly and trying to get on top of the cramping. Any attempt to run brought me to a complete stop with fully locked calves. Eventually, I was able to start running very slowly a little bit at a time. By the turn around at 35 miles, I was moving better. I kept trying to run as much as possible and stay ahead on water and electrolytes and did fairly well until the golf course. Then the cramps came back, although not quite so intensely.

To make a long story a little shorter, after running under seven hours last year, I ran 8:00:20 this year. My knees are aching and I'm feeling pretty beat, but I got to see a lot of good friends and was forcibly reminded that it doesn't matter what you've done before, without the training, it's not going to be as fun or as fast.

I plan to get in some miles before the Watershed 12 hour in May.

KRK

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Mt Sigh

Well, I should be well tapered anyway. My week of non-running because of work turned into almost two weeks of non-running because of illness. Some sort of bug jumped up and bit me this past week and actually made me miss work on Wednesday. I did run for 30 minutes on Friday and an hour this AM and feel generally okay. However, I think my endurance may be a bit off for the 50 miler at Mt Si tomorrow. Such is life. At least I will get to spend time with good friend Carol O'Hear and see other running buddies. That is if Carol runs slow enough.

This will be my 8th running at Mt. Si. The previous times have been:

2005 - 6:56:23
2004 - 7:13:15
2003 - 7:09:14
2002 - 6:57:14
2001 - 7:06:42
2000 - 7:23:34
1999 - 8:27:10

I think sub-seven this year is out of the question, but 7:30 may be doable. 7:15 or under would be gravy. We'll find out tomorrow. Maybe Carol will pull me along.

KRK

Monday, April 10, 2006

Week of limited training

Well, this week looks to be one of very limited training. I will fit in a spinning class at lunch time today, but that will be it until the weekend. Two days of a conference in Seattle and two days on the road will kill the rest of the week. I'm not sure what I will be able to fit in on Saturday either. Daughter #4 has her first volleyball game Saturday AM.

I have also linked some pictures of a recent trip to a local indoor climbing gym with my two youngest daughters. Just click on the photo album link. They both really enjoy climbing and I hope to get out this summer to some real rock. Just top-roping, though. No death wishes or free-climbing here.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Belated follow up to Yakima

Since nobody knows about this site but me, I haven't rushed to post anything about my run at Yakima. The weather was nasty prior to the start, but ended up being quite good during the race. The course was quite scenic with only two significant hills. The first hill at 14 miles was a welcome change to the relatively flat course. I ran all of it without too much slowing. The second hill at about 23 miles was longer and occurred when I was starting to run out of gas already. I ended up walking a couple of short sections going up. The downhill wasn't as strong as normal - my calves were right at the threshold of cramping. Just too few miles in training.

I ended up running 3:19:21, good for 29th overall and 5th in my age group. I'm pleased with the run and hopeful that my conditioning will continue to improve. Yesterday was ~20 miles in 2:31 on the Centennial Trail. Next race - Mt. Si 50 mile.