I'm A Little Teapot

Surely that title brought on a few puzzled looks.....most guys writing about running have very little in common with a teapot.

 The other day I was singing the teapot song with my granddaughter and it made me think about my running this year....or should I say my running plans.

 It really is a good analogy as my running plans are the steam created by heating the water. I am spouting with excitement and enthusiasm ......just waiting to be tipped up so the results can be poured out.

Even though I had a lackluster winter and couldn't seem to get much running in, I am charging into spring feeling fantastic and ready for some great performances. I am looking to do some faster races this year.

I don't know if it is the fact that I have trimmed down early this year, the lack of running this winter or perhaps the fact that I have no injuries, but it sure feels different this year than the last few. It may just be that my body needs some rest and when I have a heavy winter of running, I head into spring fatigued.

What ever the reason, I am stoked and even thinking about running a couple 5ks. There is no doubt in my mind that I will PR some races this year. That being said, I hope my body can deliver on my head's promise.......

Tuesday workout;

3.1 mile semi  fast pace run @ 25:41 (8:10 pace, 6:58 kick)
Catch breath after fast kick then 3.4 mile tempo run @31:18 (9:18 pace, 8:14 kick)
30 minute cooldown on bike.

Bradbury Blizzard...What Was I Thinking?

I ran The Brad east side Wednesday night and really felt great. It seemed I was not as far out of shape as I was thinking. It probably helped that I was 10 lbs lighter than this time last year even though I have not run much this winter.

Saturday morning I ran a few miles with my son and again I felt really good and actually ran a bit faster than I thought I would for an easy run.

Sunday morning made the trip to Home Depot (seems like a weekend ritual lately) Got back in plenty of time to change up and head to Bradbury for the snow shoe race.

I had time once I picked up my number and dropped off the Banana bread to throw on the snowshoes and get a little acclimated before the race. I had no idea how my legs would feel because I hadn't snowshoed all winter.

Lucky for me we were running the east side instead of the mountain side....this should help me considerably. I hit the trails and immediately found that Ian and Ryan had done a great job marking the trails.

Everything felt great as I settled in rather quickly to what seemed like a decent pace. The legs felt good, cardio was good, I was dressed just right. Everything was almost too good... Suddenly I started worrying about how I would feel during the race.

Perhaps I am using up all my energy during my warm up run and probably should have waited and save this for the actual race. I felt so good, I quickly pushed that thought right out of my mind and convinced myself that this would surely help my race rather than hinder it.

After about a mile, I looped back toward the start and finished my warm up at about 2.25 miles. I had to estimate because for some reason I didn't bring the Garmen today (OK...I forgot it)

As we waited for the race to start, I felt really good and was certain I could at least hang in with the same runners I finished with last year. Just to be sure, I stayed back at the start and ended up falling in behind Jerry, who by the way is an amazing runner at 74 years old.

I wasn't too worried about being behind Jerry because he always starts fairly fast and sets a consistent pace. I felt great and waited patiently to find a spot to pass.

I passed Jerry and picked up the pace a bit to chase down the next runner.
I caught her and wasted no time going by, then caught two more and passed them. This race was shaping up to be a good one as I felt strong and fairly settled in. There was no doubt in my mind at this moment, about two miles in, that the run yesterday and the warm up this morning had surely helped me in this race.

Once I got into what I figured was mile three (sucks not having the Garmen) something changed......like the flick of a light switch, I suddenly felt the weight of the snowshoes and the legs were feeling quite gassed.

It was this moment, merely halfway through this race that I asked myself that question....What was I thinking? Did I really think 5 miles on snowshoes would be a breeze? I realized rather quickly that I had a very strong 2 mile race in me, but 5 miles would be a different matter all together.

I labored through mile three and did actually pass two people..... it was Eric and Brenda and they stopped for her to tie her shoes.
So it was more like pass by default and they quickly passed me back.

Mile 4 was more of the same and I resorted to walking some of the inclines. There was no doubt now that the 2 mile warm up was a big mistake.
During this mile, two of the people I passed returned the favor and left me in the dust.

I began to get worried as I could see glimpses of one of the girls I passed and Jerry behind me and I worried they would pass me too. Though I was totally out of energy in mile five and did get passed by one runner, I was determined to keep Jerry behind me.

I hated the fact that I was no longer running my race as I had resorted to worrying about the runners behind me rather than concentrate on the race in front of me. I can tell you, it sure makes the miles go by much slower when you are concentrating on the people behind you.

Halfway through mile 5 the cardio just gave out and I was now hanging on by a thread and a small thread it was....the only bright spot was knowing I was going to finish and even if it killed me, I would find something in me to get a kick at the end.

Once I got a glimpse of the finish line, it was like a horse heading for the barn at feeding time and the kick came from nowhere I.m not sure where because I had no energy left. The finish was fantastic....it felt so good to know I made it as mile 4 had tried very hard to convince me I wouldn't.

What a great race, snow shoe races are designed to be difficult and why would I expect otherwise. I had 2 miles of bliss, 2 miles of hell and 1 mile of determination. In the end I felt I earned and deserved the gratification. I am so glad I ran.....I just wish I could have stayed around longer after. 

Snow--Ice--Screw Shoes---Stress Relief

When I arrive at work in the mornings, it is 4:30 Am and the place is dark and peacefull .....very tranquil. This doesnt last very long and within a hour the atmostphere has totally changed.

The next 11 hours seem like total chaos and by the end of the day, stress
has peaked. This day was a few steps higher than that and I was ready to split long before 4:30-5:00 ( my normal quitting time)

By 3:00 I was fed up with all the crap and planned an early get away.
I drove out of the gate at 3:30 and by 4:00 I was hitting the East side trails at Bradbury.

The air was fresh, the icespikes crunched as I negotiated Lanzo trail the only noise other than the steady crunch was the sound of my breathing.
It seemed robotic in a way as I twisted and turned while following the single track.

I could feel the stress flowing rapidly out of my body as it was gobbled up by peaceful woods. I felt good all over and I didn't seem to be working at all.

Though this part of the trail had very little traffic recently, I had no problem following it without having to concentrate on direction. I fell into a light trance as the crunch..crunch..breath created a steady pattern.

Suddenly I had time to notice things, almost like time actually slowed down. I could see variuos size deer tracks meandering with the trail, somes times veering off and then returning.

I noticed a few different foot prints .....there was a man sized boot print along with dog tracks and the distinct marking of new Balance minimus, also running shoe prints from someone that was surely pushing the pace as the toe off disruption in the packed snow was quite visible.

the only thing that would made this run more surreal would be a feathery light snow floating down through the openings of the trees.....

I loved this run and even though it was relatively short, it seemed to recharge me and rid my body of all negativity.

02/29/12
Bradbury East
About 4.5 miles, 46:28

Ice Running

I spent all day thinking about getting in a run. I somehow managed to get out early enough to hit Bradbury before dark. I wanted some hill work so I hit the Mountain side.

Last winter I used my Northface trail runners with screws in them for the slippery runs and honestly felt they worked fine. I had to retire them because the heels completely separated and though I tried gluing them, they are just plain spent

On my last run at Pratts Brook I knew I would encounter ice so I decided I needed new screw shoes. I had bad luck putting ice spike in my shoes last year so I didn't use them and had a bunch left over. I figured in shoes that had never had screws they might work better.

I had a pair of New balance 621 trail runners that I didn't use much in the past so I loaded them with the ice spikes. They worked well at PB but I didn't feel they really were that much better than the hardware screws.

Last night brought on a whole new meaning to secure ice running. As I hit the Mountain side, I quickly realized that the conditions couldn't be much worse. The completely ice covered trail had a sheen of running water on top.

This is were the ice spikes really shined. I literally had zero moments of slipping on the ice and felt no danger of falling. I ran my normal stride and these things just gripped.

I had a fantastic run and only wished the dark would have held off so I could run a bit longer. Felt great on this run.

Finally... A Real Running Report.

When I made the commitment to attend the 3rd annual Mockingbird Fatass I had hoped for at least a few laps. That didn't happen this particular day as I only ran one lap. but I can say it was the best run I have had in months.

I missed two Bradbury races and was determined not to miss this run. it was great to see everyone and I couldn't wait to hit the trail.

I read on Vals blog that the terrain was difficult, wet. possibly muddy in places and a fair amount of ice and snow.....sounded like a good mix of "better pay attention" and I worried a little about the ankles where I haven't run much lately.

I hate to admit this because I am supposed to be a hard core trail runner, but I opted to wear my Ino-8 212s today rather than my new 295s because....gulp.....well I am just not ready to get them muddy yet and my 212s were still mud covered from my last run. As it turned out, I didn't hit much mud anyway.

The 212s did a great job as usual and even handled the ice spots (as long as I was careful) I felt great during the run, had good energy on the hills and the breath came back strong after each climb. The terrain was no where near as difficult as I envisioned ( though the deeper snow areas did slow me down a bit)

This run was great....what else can I say. The only difficult part was not heading out for a second lap. I had some commitments to attend to so time was a bit tight, but I left the run feeling great and knowing full well I could have easily run a second lap.

I was pretty excited all day because I felt so good. I really thought that this run would show me how far my cardio had regressed in the last two months with very little running under my belt.....but instead I enjoyed every step of the way I really felt good and could have run faster.

Thanks, Linda, Val, Rick and Gerry for such a great time. I only wish I could have hung around a bit longer.

Started about one minute behind the group
6.2 miles @ 1:07:40

20 LBS of Uselessness

In December I had a plan. It was well thought out and I merely had to impliment it. Winter would be my base period where I used snow shoe races and such to work on base running, Incorporate core workouts, crosstraining and a serious effort to drop some weight.

The success of this plan should catapalt me to great spring and perhaps the chance to find a PR somewhere. After decifering many of my best races and best years, I found that 15 lbs lighter (than my chubby norm) is a good racing weigtht for me......my goal is to drop 20 lbs.

This all sounds good on paper but by the end of December I had not accomplished much. Like any good distance goal, I knew one month was not going to affect me so January was my new focus.

Well, as it turns out, January was a bust too as I had run very little, cross trained minimally and actually gained about 5 lbs. In my defense, there were some circumstances that played a roll in my inability to get with the program.

OK, it's not too late, I figured February could be my breakout month and I surely would be able to get things on track. Starting the month with a weight loss plan that was very simple and easy to follow helped me feel like I was progressing.

As far as dieting goes, I am totally against it. You can't deprive your body of the things you love and need for very long without falling off the wagon. It is inevitable that unless you change your lifestyle with eating, you will spend it on a YO-Yo trip.

I actually think everybody knows this but doing it is another matter all together and the older one gets, the more dificult it is to trim up. For me it is really simple, I only need to limit my calories to a reasonable amount and get running. the rest will fall into place.

So, finally I am feeling like I am progressing. In the first two weeks of February I have lost 8 lbs, got in a few good runs (though I missed the second Bradbury snowshoe race), worked pretty hard on the crosstraining and expect to ramp up the running now that I am past a few hurtles.

The big question right now is, how much of my base have I lost this winter with little to no running? Though I did accomplish some crosstraining, was it enough? I am going into spring optimistic and if things feel well, I am planning a big race in May.

Bi-Polar....A Love / Hate Relationship

I spent the day in anticipation of my planned FIRST trail run since Stone Cat. It is hard to believe I haven't run outside since November. Actually I had planned on getting out much sooner but as with many things in life, The decision was not mine alone to make.

As I prepared to leave work, many thoughts were rambling through my head, how would I feel? Would the rusty running legs hold me back? I kept thinking I should run a few times on flat roads before hitting the trail, but that thought was overridden by my desire to be in the woods.

The plan was to hit the campus trail at Pineland which is close enough to work for me to get in an hour running with daylight. The trail is fairly open and would allow me the room to dodge hazards like ice and at the same time give numerous places to abort if things aren't going well as there are campus roads close to the loop in many places.

As I approached the entrance, I slowed way down as if to start negotiating the turn, but I just couldn't and hit the gas .......I really craved single track and even though I enjoy running the Pineland trails, it was not what I wanted today.

A wave of excitement rushed over me as I quickly weighed options. I decided to keep it close to home and run the mushroom trail. The plus with this trail is that it has probably not been used much this year so there is likely very little ice, The drawback is the half mile incline at Town Forest ( which I would be running twice)

I hit the parking lot and changed up. I purposely left all tracking and timing equipment behind so I wouldn't be tempted to analyze this run. This also would be a good break-in for the new Rocklite 295s, I couldn't wait to see how they felt.

Have you ever had two opposite emotions fighting for recognition? As I started running, I took in a deep breath, the air was cool and fresh. I couldn't think of one thing I would rather be doing at this very moment than trail running. In a very short time I was gasping for breath, but every gasp brought continued excitement.

The legs moved like lead weights, I felt totally out of control. Like a kid on his first carnival ride, my body hated every moment and though it was yelling stop ......you couldn't rip the smile off my face with a chainsaw.

I loved how hard it was to push forward, climb the hills without walking, every gasp of breath not supplying enough oxygen to satisfy the demand.

At the end of the run I threw in pit hill which is fairly short but almost 40 degrees......very much like the last degrading bump at Mount Washington. It was horrible and fun at the same time.

Though a comparatively short run of only 3.5 miles, it did have a good grade of difficulty for a first run. I have to admit that even though I was not timing, I did check the clock upon return (it is hard to break old habits) I calculated about 11:28 mile pace.....not too bad for this terrain.
After the run, the body rebounded fast, much faster than I expected, probably has a lot to do with the cross training I have been doing. Overall........great..great run.

2012...so far a year of didn't....yet

It feels strange sitting here looking at my running log and seeing only cross training workouts for 2012 so far. Not that I don't want to run but things have gotten in the way this year.

I had surgery on Thursday and was told no raising the heart rate in any way shape or manner for at least two weeks....?????? what the .......I figured the doc didn't realize that I was a fast healer and a runner. Even though I haven't been running this month, I have been working out and cross training. It is highly unlikely that I will sit totally idle for two long weeks.

So...of course I missed the snow squall for a second year in a row, not that I was prepared to race it but it would have nice to at least show up and help out.

Doc said, for four days, sleep sitting up or propped, no bending at the waist or dropping my head lower than my heart, no blowing the nose or sneezing, no physical activity ....might as well wrap me in a sheet and prop my body up in a corner.

I honestly believe a large part of long recovery and healing relates to drugs and pain meds. I don't take them and I heal very quickly. Yeah, it hurts but the degree of hurt guides one to realize where that fine line is between what you should and shouldn't do.

Day 1, Friday I wake up with minor pain and feeling pretty good.  Wife yelled at me for cleaning and filling the stove (not supposed to lift over 20 lbs). There was a good amount of snow and it seemed sitting in my chair and sitting in the plow truck was very similar so I chose the plow truck. I spent about three hours plowing with minor moments of shoveling stairs and such .....all with very little extra discomfort. The shoveling did raise my heart rate a bit but being a runner, it wasn't really that much compared the effort I was putting in.

Day 2, Saturday feeling good and slept much better. Wife yelled at me for cleaning and filling the stove. Cleaned off the trailer and took all the wood out of the garage and stacked it on the trailer......finally I have my garage back. With the help of the boys for the bending down and heavy lifting part, I didn't feel like I overdid it at all. Wife thought I did too much and made me take it easy for the afternoon.

Day 3, Sunday, feeling pretty good. Wife yelled at me for cleaning and filling the stove ( I swear the doc said 40 lbs but not arguing) went to home depot and picked up lumber for the garage, went home and used the lumber up. Changed the brakes on daughter's care, did some cleaning and organizing in the garage, went in the house to take it easy for the afternoon( aka watch the game), filled the stove, wife gave up and didn't yell at me.

Day 4, woke up feeling very good, filled the stove,  no complications, went to work and did all my normal stuff. No pain, no bleeding and no concerns.........I am pretty sure I will get in a short run this weekend, I promise I will take it easy and stop immediately if I sense anything wrong. I am sure my wife will yell at me.

2012.....it better be better

I started 2011 with so many goals. Through the year I zig zaged all over the place and ended up with accomplishing....well kinda accomplishing ....only one goal. How does that happen? How can a whole year go by before one realizes how unorganized it was?

Lucky for me, I had a great time on the trails this year and even though I didn't reach my expectations, I had so much fun. It seems perhaps in 2012, I should put much more emphasis on running for fun and much less on specific goals.

I did prove one thing to myself this year, I went into the Stone Cat totally untrained and was able to finish respectfully ....but most of all finish. Of course not the time I had hoped for when I signed up, but non the less it was a high light of the year for me.

In my mind, I can see the fast me running all over the place and sending all my old PRs packing. Unfortunately, my mind forgets sometimes that the body ages and can not do the things it used to. I think my mind and body have to do a little soul searching and come to some agreement that is reasonable.

It seems I should not worry about 2012 goals right now and just get out there and run......create a base and just enjoy the scenery. I guess that will be my focus for now and see how things unfold.

The Not Running Run Report

This is the first time in at least 5 years that I didn't run for a whole month. It is very difficult and if it weren't for the cross training, the busy schedule and the holidays, I suspect the withdrawals would drive me crazy.

The plus is that my body should be pretty well rested and in a couple weeks things will be back to normal. Minus is that will make it two months total and I will be so out of shape that my old slow pace will seem way too fast and unreachable!!

I put my name into a lottery for The Boston marathon ( as I have done every year since I ran my first one)
I hope someday I will win and get a chance to run it. I was hoping that my times would be good enough to qualify as my first one (when I was 46) would have got me in if I was in the 70 plus category. 

So my thinking was, if I wait long enough, the age group might catch up to my times......problem is, I been getting progressively slower every year and right now I have to wait until I am 80 ...or win the lottery. I think my odds are better with the lottery.

If I win, I better get my butt running... real soon! I don't want to be running down heartbreak hill during the awards ceremony.