open the box

the shoes were waiting for me outside of my front door when i came home for lunch.  i am wearing them right now.  this is something that i don't often do.  i believe that running shoes should be run in, not walked in.  but i want to wear them on tomorrow's run and i thought it good to break them in.  plus there are some people i'll see tonight that i want to show them to.  they are the new lunar racers in the final stages of development.  they seem more flexible, softer cushioning, not as stiff, and perhaps lighter (if that is possible).  they added more design to them including what looks like an iron on swoosh just past the middle of the shoe and some funky braided cord business that spans from the sole to the laces and some in the back.

seerockyrun[faster--and then fall on his face]: week 13

sunday, 10 miles . . .

monday, 18 miles . . .
. . . 2.5 mile warm up
. . . 25 min. @ 5:20 pace
. . . 5 min. easy
. . . 20 min. @ 5:16 pace
. . . 5 min. easy
. . . 10 min. @ 5:21 pace
. . . 5 min. easy
. . . 5 min. @ 5:16 pace
. . . 2 mile cool down

tuesday, 14 miles . . .
. . . 9.5 miles easy
. . . 8 X strides with full recovery
. . . .5 mile easy

wednessday, 13 miles . . .

thursday, 12 miles . . .

friday, 0 miles . . .

saturday, 6 miles . . .

. . . relax, you can do this, what is four seconds?, a meager one second per mile faster per lap at a track, this is nothing, this is minuscule, this is doable, this is easy. these were the words that i tell myself before, during, and after my first run at the new pace of 6:35. but even as i type it, it sounds crazy fast for an easy pace. but this is the beauty of the daniels' method. small steps that create big results. it makes since to me even if it doesn't work for everybody. it give me a sense of confidence which as a runner is one of the more important mind sets.

a bit of a windy morning and extremely warm. too warm for my north face gloves which a kept on and my brooks cap which i left in my mailbox. this pace was an ebb and flow of ease and push. it will be interesting to see how these new paces will work themselves out.

some soreness in the right leg. i finally found the spot that is giving me trouble. it is a small knot hidden behind the achilles. i've been using a broken drumstick to apply pressure to it and it has been doing the trick. decided to wear my compression socks today to prepare for tomorrow's workout.

. . . i couldn't have asked for a better day to do this run. the track was clear of people. very little wind and no rain. just cool enough without freezing. the sun came out directly as i was done. i thought about this work out all day yesterday. not with dread but excitement. the idea that i was going to destroy this track, hit my times, and complete the workout 100%. i kept that attitude going as i prepared for the track this morning, pushing out all negative thoughts about limitations and fear of pain and questions of if i am ready.

the warm up felt great. no clunky starts, no push, just an easy three miles at my new easy pace and it did in fact feel easy.

then the first 25 minutes. for some reason these minutes just cruised on by. at one point i was 3 seconds below my target time and i felt great. i didn't have to use any of my mind tricks or images. i just cruised, feeling the pace, regulating my breathing, relaxing, getting in tune with my body.

the second tempo of 20 minutes, which had to be 4 seconds faster was very similar. it wasn't until the last 8 minutes or so that i really had to focus and when i did i sped up way to fast and had to pull back a bit. i felt great, amazing.

the third tempo was supposed to be 15 minutes. this is when things appeared to fall apart. the pace got to me. things began to hurt and hurt fast. i decided to end it at 10 minutes and skip to the last tempo effort.

i had to push this failure behind me and really gear up for this shorter effort. my tendency is to fail once and let that effect the rest of the workout, week, training cycle, etc. so i determined to stay on my target pace and for the full five minutes. and so i did.

all in all this morning inspired confidence in me. i have had to do this workout (or ones very similar to it) on three separate occasions. this morning i was the most successful and at a faster pace. my body is adapting to this faster rocky. my mind is following suit.

started noticing a little bit of pain on the top of my right foot but it doesn't hurt while running.

. . . oh great victory! just a little sore for the first couple of strides in my inner thigh/upper quad (whatever that is?) but it loosened right up. a little clunky for the first stride (took 25 seconds which is the slowest i've ran it in a long time). the cool down felt more tiring than anything else. other than these three very minor moments, the rest of the run was epic.

i settled quickly into my 6:35 pace (and ran much of it at 6:34/6:33) and nothing could break it. and it felt easy, so incredibly easy. i was just cruising along. even after each stride, there wasn't much difficulty.

a perfect day too. not a cloud in the sky, perfect temperature (at least the way i like it), no wind to speak of, the sun slightly hazy but still big and bright. i was planning on 13 but i just felt too good. i shall conquer this week.

. . . being a runner, putting this much time out there, i know that there are certain experiences that i will encounter. it's just a matter of time. overheating, hypothermia, dog bites, injuries, d.n.f., and the list goes on and on. trials that link the running community together. where we sit back and tell our tragic tales again and again. outdoing each other in pain and torment.

today, i gathered a new story.

last night my two year old got sick. i slept in passed my alarm and was doing my morning routine: eat, bathroom, stretch, run. my wife knocks on the bathroom door. our daughter had thrown up on her bed. i knew my run would have to wait. i comfort, i console, i give a bath, i change her clothes, i get her water, i cuddle with her and watch tv, all while my wife attends to the other three.

it's now the time that i'm usually coming back from my run. i lace up my shoes and head out after eating another slice of toast. i settle easy into my pace and things are great for about three miles. i even decide to hit up one of those classic loops that has been overlooked for several months. it's down a nice trail a half mile from my house, cruises on a country road, and meanders through a park that must have been built by a runner. acres upon acres of cement, cinder, gravel, pastures, forest, sloughs, river. it is in this park that i have to stop in order to hold things in. i need a bathroom and i need one quickly. i look at the time. this is when i usually go, when i'm usually at home. i know that i'm about 1.5 miles away from the nearest outhouse. it is while i am standing there contemplating, that i become unsure about my attempts to hold things in. i start running again, make it to the outhouse, turn around, pull shorts down, and the ugly truth is realized.

i know now what i must do. i slide my shorts off all the way. then my soiled underwear. they are a lost cause. i throw them into the outhouse toilet (as i type this now, i wonder if this was a bad thing to do. is there a law against this? at the time sitting there, this question never occurred.) i run the remaining 8 miles without. which in the end proved quite beneficial as the temperature began to rise and i became overheated.

. . . something (or things) happened today. too many variables, too many combination, too much data to make sense of it all.

a monster headwind that seemed to appear only uphills.

a knot in my upper back on the left side of my spine that made it painful to take deep breaths.

big mileage week with an increase in pace.

sore inner thigh on my right leg that never worked itself out.

all of this combined made for a very miserable, difficult, inglorious run. i never got into a groove, never relaxed.

so after typing this, i will leave this run far far behind me. except in one respect. five miles into the run i knew that it was an epic defeat, failure. i wasn't going to hit my easy pace. my body just couldn't do it. for awhile, i became progressively more depressed as i witnessed my garmin proclaiming my constant slowing down. and then a point of freedom, a breaking away, a shift in attitude. i was going to finish this run and i don't care about the pace. i'm just going to listen to my body and run by effort. after that i only looked at my watch for the mileage, something i ought to do more often.

. . . i looked at the weather last night and saw that this morning called for cold, rainy, windy weather.  saturday, warm, sunny, beautiful.  so i thought it best to switch friday's long run with saturday's 11 miler.  but when i woke up this morning, my back was still very sore.  and i decided to run with my mind today instead of my body, which is a huge shift in my training.  normally i am i 'if it's on the plan i'm doing it' type of runner.  most of the time this sort of motivation and resolve pushes me beyond what my body would be able to do.  but then there are those rare times when it does more damage than good.  i've ran through many miles that i probably shouldn't have.  i wanted to end that cycle, to be more in tune with my body.  so i forgo this run for the future good, for tomorrow, to be completely ready for the hard work out.  for now i rest.

. . . so obviously i didn't run long again today.  what happened?  still trying to sort this out.  i don't think that i'm injured, i'm still just trying to avoid it.  those six miles today were painful and slow.  my stride is considerable shorter and downhill is a joke.  all this from my inner thigh on my right leg.  i think that this pain is what caused the pain in my upper left back.  overcompensating and all that stuff.  so i figured again that it was best to not go according to the plan.  i knew that i could push through it, but at what cost i wasn't sure.  i still got in a little over 70 miles with a really good quality run on monday.  i figure if i take tomorrow off and get back to the bike, i shouldn't have lost too much.  strangely i don't feel depressed.  i think i'm making the right choice that will benefit me long term.  but it does go against all that i am.  to think that this was supposed to be a 100 mile week.  maybe my body is just not ready for this.  i need patience and time.  why do i feel like i don't have either?

. . . and i just can't hide it.

i just got an e-mail from nike.

they asked me if i want to accept a long term test.

obviously i responded yes.

sometime next week, the new lunar racers will be mailed to my house.

i will get to test them for eight weeks.

I'M SO EXCITED!!

the four rules of running

rule number one . . .
you can always run faster.

rule number two . . .
you can always run farther.

rule number three . . .
your body and your mind form an alliance in hopes to trick you in to believing that rule number one and rule number two don't really exist.

rule number four . . .
the goal of running is to figure out how to stop rule number three from becoming a reality.

clunky starts: week 12

sunday, 0 miles . . .

monday, 12 miles . . .

. . . 2 mile warm-up

. . . 40 min. @ 5:19

. . . 2 mile cool down

tuesday, 10 miles . . .

. . . 6 miles easy

. . . 8 X strides w/full recovery

wednesday, 10.3 miles . . .

thursday, 10 miles . . .

friday, 22 miles . . .

saturday, 5.7 miles . . .
. . . 2.7 miles easy
. . . 6 X strides w/full recover

. . . only a 70 mile week. this is an oasis in my desert. i needed this recovery week so badly and here it is. i will rest within it. for that reason decided to take the day off.

. . . things were a little rough for the warm up today and it made me a little bit worried. my right ankle is acting up a bit. this makes me a little nervous. just seemed really clunky the whole first 2 miles. is this what the whole work out will be like?

i shed my pants and long sleeve shirt and prepared for the 40 minutes at tempo. 20 minutes one way around the track 20 minutes the other way. the first few laps is alway interesting. you just get into that groove. the pace is not quite set. after this i settled into a 5:21 pace. over the next 10-15 minutes, i shifted between this and 5:20. fighting it. but it was a controlled fight. two people running up the bleachers. a college track girl doing plyometrics in the football field. the grounds keeper (who i found out is named walt) driving around his tractor and spraying new parking lines in the gravel. and so lap after lap goes. i'm now at the 20 minute mark and turn to go the other way around. i'm now in my groove. all doubts about this work out are squelched. i'm going to finish and hit my time. my mind is focused. fells great to be done.

on the cool down, i work out a new song that i'm writing and just enjoy the weather.

. . . felt good to only have to do 10 miles. that 6 miles and then my strides. these 6 felt really easy. it's strange, though my right ankle hurts at times when i bend it weird or dig things into it or flex and bend move my big toe, it doesn't really hurt when i run. this could be a good sign. i worked on it a ton last night. iced it also. strides felt great too.

my plan says that if i want to i can increase my fitness level by one point. this would mean an increase in speed for all of my paces. still debating whether i will do this or not.

. . . another clunky start. all sore from the knees down. legs flopping around, feeling like bricks on my feet. but only for the first mile. and then everything became clear and relatively easy. breathing, stride, everything just came super easy. this run gave me confidence in my fitness. a little .3 posted on to the end because i mistook the distance of a little loop. felt strong.

. . . days like these are why i run. everything was perfect (except for that first quarter mile where again things where a bit clunky--though not as bad as yesterday). a thin frost covering in the shade, a crisp feel in the air, low wind, bright blue sky, gigantic sun spraying me with it's rays. and the pace just felt easy, controlled, comfortable. i just sat in that pace and could have gone all day in it. 10 miles felt like 2. the right amount of clothing, was neither too cold or too hot. makes me believe i can do anything. and i shall.

i've decided to push forward in my training. to move one more step closer to my goal. this will mean that starting on sunday all of my paces will be quicker. but i know that i'm ready. i have to take this step. i realize that it will be uncomfortable, painful, but this is the road i've chosen. i can't just sit in the same place for too long, i can't get too comfortable. it is time.

. . . everything was perfect today, everything except for the temperature which was too cold for the first half of the run and too hot for the second half. i went from freezing fingers to nearly overheating in my hat. but such are these last days of winter.

i found the magic pre-long run meal. half banana, toast with almond butter and jelly, and a small red potato. this seemed to be the right amount of food, settled well in my stomach and gave me enough energy throughout the two and a half hours. this followed with a gel every 6 miles.

i hit my stride early on and just settled one second under it. when i hit the hills on the way back home for the final four miles, i thought i was in trouble because of the heat, but i actually sped up. finished with an average pace of 6:37.

i wasn't sore, tired, or anything for the whole day. i had energy to spare. i'm ready for this.

. . . so easy mentally this morning. just knowing that i would only be out there for over thirty minutes. didn't have to gear up for anything, didn't have to work myself up mentally, just went out there and ran. again things were a little clunky at the start and even the first three strides were a little rusty and awkward, but after that, it was pretty easy.

tomorrow starts a new beginning.

fighting the elements: week 11

sunday, 0 miles . . .

monday, 14 miles . . .

. . . 2 mile warm up

. . . 3 X mile repeats with 4 min. recovery

. . . 3 X 1000m repeats with 3 min. recovery

. . . ??? cool down

tuesday, 14 miles . . .

. . . 10 miles easy pace

. . . 8 X strides with full recovery

wednesday, 14 miles . . .

thursday, 14 miles . . .

friday, 17 miles . . .

. . . 2 mile warm up

. . . 20 min. @ 5:24

. . . 10 miles easy pace

saturday am, 12 miles . . .

saturday pm, 5 miles . . .

. . . 2 miles easy

. . . 6 X strides w/full recovery

. . . and so another week of running begins. i find myself at camp, the very last day. i am exhausted and very unmotivated to put in any miles today. maybe because of the lack of sleep, all of the relationships i've been building, all the messages i've been giving, the elevation, the thought that if i do run it is going to be a death uphill. this week is a 90 mile week. if i don't run today, i'll be paying for it the rest of the days. but at this point i don't care. i think it is a good call. at least for now.

. . . the last nice day. that is what all of the weather reports are saying. the last attempt at winter will unleash itself on the valley for these first weeks of march. i felt pretty rested, though still a little bit weak from the madness. ended up taking the afternoon off from work just to hang with the family and do nothing.

i had so many doubts going into this workout. the mile repeats were supposed to be at 4:53. and the strange thing, i actually hit that right on for the first two. but i just couldn't hold it for the last one. again i was supposed to do this same pace for the 1000m. it wasn't happening, not today. all i can say is that i finished them all. when i wanted to quit i kept pushing and finished my workout. i'm just not use to running at this pace. it is so fast. i had some weird taste in the back of my mouth during the cool down and it stuck with me for the whole day. intense and different runner's high throughout the day too.

windy on the track. really windy. it seemed that on the last 1000m i had a headwind running south and north. i don't know if that is possible but it sure felt that way.

. . . dramatic decrease in temperature. i should have worn my big gloves but i didn't. by the time i got home my fingers (especially on my left side) were in really bad shape. they hurt so bad. i tried blowing warm air on them, running them under water, and finally wrapping them in a towel. it burned, it hurt. i almost cut my strides short because of it.

. . . today was a very difficult day. especially those last few miles. somewhere in the middle someone shouted out to me from their car: nice pace!! these are always encouraging. i snatched greedily at those words and clung to them for the remainder of the run. using them to push me forward. some pain in the left leg on the left side right below the knee for the last half mile or so. i'll focus on that during massage tonight. i thought this was supposed to be an easy run. wore my big gloves today thinking it would be just as cold. wouldn't you know it, it was warmer. this sort of over heating could be on of the causes of my problems today.

. . . running low on motivation. the weather sure didn't help. cold, windy, and rainy. really really windy at times. the harshest of winds was always during the steepest of hills. i'm not sure how i ended up staying on my easy pace because at times it felt like i was going backwards. there were times of peace and fluidity on this run unlike yesterday. i finally got into that mindset that i often do on just crappy days like this. who else would run in this weather? and the answer: no one. i am getting tougher, stronger, mentally and physically. i draw on the eyes of everybody in the nicely heated cars driving down the street, splashing water on me, looking at me like i'm some sort of freak of nature. so i push harder.

i got that same pain below my left knee as i did yesterday though not as intense. i'll have to work it out again tonight.

. . . defeated. completely defeated. today the days and miles and weeks and stress and everything piled up on top of each other. i couldn't even hit my 5:20 pace for those twenty minutes (though it did get a bit easier). the 10 miles at 'easy' pace was very difficult. i went back to my car and sat there for awhile. feet hurt, ankles hurt, shins hurt, but more than these minor aches, my will to continue was completely destroyed. i decided to cut things short and finish up tomorrow.

. . . this day brought hope. the morning run was quite easy and i could have done those strides fairly easily but it was already quite late and i needed to go to the bathroom. i knew that i was risking a lot by saving 5 miles for the evening. i hate night running. and i knew after saturday night service, getting the kids to bed late, and the hour of sleep i was losing, a 30 minute run would be the farthest thing from my mind.

a few things helped.

first, i got my compression socks today in the mail. they are my new best friends. the feel so amazing on. i will have to devote a whole post to these later.

second, it was a beautiful night. clear, dry, and slightly crisp.

third, only 5 miles to hit my 90 mile goal. was i really going to quit at 85 miles when i wasn't injured? yeah you could say only 5 miles, what difference would that make? but that is not the way that i want to train.

fourth, i made a vow to myself on the next night run i would put on my tights and my skin tight long sleeve top with only my light vest over it. i showed my wife. she laughed and asked if i was really going to go out like that. i figured if apollo ohno could, so could i.

an insane week: week 10

sunday am, 5 miles . . .

sunday pm, 10 miles . . .

monday, 16 miles . . .

. . . 2 mile warm up

. . . 25 min. @ 5:25

. . . 1 mile easy

. . . 20 min. @ 5:20

. . . 3/4 mile easy

. . . 15 min. @ 5:20

. . . 1 mile cool down

tuesday, 12 miles . . .

. . . 8 miles easy

. . . 8 X strides with full recovery

wednesday, 14 miles . . .

thursday, 11 miles . . .

friday, 21 miles . . .

. . . 8 miles easy (at 8 miles, i refuse to call it a warm up)

. . . 30 minutes at 5:37

. . . 4:45 at 5:21

. . . 30 minutes at 5:36

. . . 4:45 at 5:20

. . . 2.?? miles cool down

saturday, 11 miles . . .

. . . too much on my plate this week. hitting the limits of mental and physical barriers and still pushing. this is what running is all about apparantly. teaching at a camp and running 100 miles. what a week!!

. . . i didn't wake up to my alarm and i had to be at church at 8:45. i guess it was good to sleep but this is a really long week so i had to get some miles in. i could barely squeeze in the 5 that i did do. it was really easy. a beautiful morning.

the afternoon was even nicer. i went to church. came home. ate. put the kids down for a nap. waited an hour. and then set out to run the other ten. t-shirt and shorts run. nice. things were going great until about 5 miles into it. then my stomach started hurting bad, on the upper part. i went to the bathroom in burger king. felt better, but then a mile down the road, started hurting again. i'm not sure if it was something i ate or if i just didn't wait long enough.

got home, went to the bathroom again, but still my stomach hurt. hurt through the whole night. hope it feels better tomorrow.

. . . a grueling death workout. not sure even now sitting here at my computer how i finished this one. a beautiful day that just got warmer as the session went on, shedding gloves and arm warmers after each tempo effort. that first 25 minutes was a crazy push. and only a mile break. one little break. and then i was in to the 20 minute effort that was 5 seconds per mile faster. just at the point that i wanted so desperately to give up, there was a relaxation. i had finally hit my happy spot even in the midst of a 5:20 pace. this is crazy for me to think about. a year and a half ago, this was my mile pace. i had to focus like crazy on those last 10 minutes but i made it though somehow. and now a shorter break.

during this short break, i started wieghing my options. thinking about cutting the work out short. just finishing with some easy miles. i worked with all that i had to push that thought out of my head, pushing it way in the back. and then i found myself running. and finishing right on my pace.

another success. though i would say more of a mental one then a physical one.

stomach was fine during the run but in the early afternoon started to hurt again. what is this thing? some sort of bug, food poisoning, too much proffin? i hope this thing clears up.

. . . everywhere i am sore. i am worn out. i have already put in 31 miles. 31 miles over two days. my body is feeling that right now and it makes even my easy pace seem like an effort. but i hung on, pushed through. i even put in those 8 strides at a really fast pace. i thought about just doing them half way. i have to shake this attitude. if i'm going to succeed in this, to push my body to the limits, i must do it with every single workout. so i did it. i thought about each sprint with a fresh perspective. focusing just on it.

stomach feels completely fine today. left i.t. band still causing problems.

. . . it seems that all my stomach stuff has gone away completely. i was lacking in motivation this morning. 100 miles just seems like such a long distance even though i have done it before. i have thought about the daily doubles thing, but evening running doesn't fit with my schedule plus i really don't like doing it. even if it is only five miles.

my legs felt tired, just sort of everywhere. similar to yesterday. with one exception. after about 5 miles, i got into my groove. then the miles just cruised right by. running was easy and fun again. i even added an extra mile at the end because i was feeling so good. for the majority of the run i was hanging at a 6:38 pace and for the last two miles i hit 6:37 a few times. this felt great.

on the very last quarter mile some grade schoolers on their way to school shot out of their house and started running alongside of me. they actually kept my pace going which was impressive and fun. then just for kicks, i surged in front of them. i can see the beauty in running with people but not enough to pursue a running partner. this is my solace.

. . . back in the groove of things today. a crisp cool morning. no rain. a little bit of fog. up to the cemetery and meandering around some residential areas. i settled into my pace early on and just hung out there without much effort. it was great. nothing hurt, no pain, no push, just a nice easy recovery run. what these days are supposed to be.

. . . the week has worn upon me, wearing upon me, pressure crashing and breaking me. tonight is the first night of camp. so much anxiety going into it. will they like me? will i be effective? will GOD speak through me? will i be ready? will they be ready?

and then here it is, the final thing before camp . . . a 21 mile run. haha.

even those first 8 miles was a bit of a challenge. took so much mental energy once this was over and i was at the track. trying with all my might to do battle with myself. and then i started. 30 minutes at marathon pace. this was a huge, hard, constant push. how was i even going to finish this, let alone do the other half of my workout.

again, i made it through somehow. i was off a second for the marathon and tempo pace for the first half but right on for the second half. this is further cementing in my mind the concept that i can always go further and faster than i think that i can, than my body will want me to.

i'm glad that it was a nice day this morning. no rain, very little wind, just slightly cold that continued to warm up throughout the run. if it was like last week, it could have been the final piece to topple me down to complete death.

i meant to run 22, was scheduled for 22, and though one of my running maxims is 'a real runner never says i was going to . . .' under these circumstances, i had to make an exception.

. . . here i am at camp. started out at 3000 feet, peaked out at nearly 3,500 feet, and had a total gain of 1284 feet. these 11 miles was less of a recovery run and more of just sheer madness. i stayed up with some of the campers to get to know them and finally found my way to my bunk where i tossed and turned on a very lumpy mattress sometime around 1:30. i decided to run during their small group time and after my morning message.

a beautiful morning. i found a ton of different trails. waterfalls, oregon trail historic sites, beautiful views of hood, a downhill section with giant banks on the switchbacks, a tunnel, a couple rivers, some snow, a section of hurdling fallen trees on what looked like to be the old highway, rocks, mud, heart pounding steepness, several breaks to rest and look out at creation, constant change in temperature sudden drops, not really knowing where each trail will end up.

the final section was intense. a steady uphill. i really wanted to quit at 10 miles but i just couldn't. something unnatural about a 99 mile week. so even though it took all i had to pass camp and continue up the hill to finish of the 100 mile week, i did it.

i ate a hearty soup lunch with the band. my hands shaking, dropping my bread into my soup several times, and most likely stinking terribly.

these last 11 miles felt like 20. i was proud of my 7:18 pace average. i can't imagine a tougher week.