12 days and counting...

Well, I feel I am now far enough away from last week's 50 to dive into planning the main focus race which is twelve days away!!

I am feeling great, just a little scattered and overwhelmed by the event ahead.

I'm still in the afterglow of finishing the 50 which was a great experience for me and a welcome redemption from dropping down from the 50 at Land Between the Lakes last spring. It is encouraging to feel that I have hopefully come along way since then (March), at least in terms of being prepared, eating right and being realistic about my race. Of course it helped that the conditions in Nashville we're perfect and the race had almost no terrain or weather to deal with.

I was a bit nervous going into it since the last long race I had completed was probably the 1/2 ironman distance race this past spring. I had put in several 2-3 hour long runs in training but still felt like I was woefully lacking in my long runs. In the end I felt I did a good job of listening to my body. A couple of weeks out from the Nashville Ultra I started feeling some pain in my shins running so just backed off to a couple of days a week and focused on healing and getting ready for the race.

I do admit that I couldn't help but run a local 5k on Friday night and am certain I pushed it harder than I needed to running just shy of 22 minutes less than a week after my 50 miler. It was satisfying to see how far I've come in my fitness when I used to think 30 minutes would have been a major accomplishment. I was definitely off my pr of 20:13 last year for the same race but I have not exactly been focusing on speed work.

So what is the plan from hear out!

With less than two weeks left I plan on mostly taking it easy with some longer cross training days thrown in. I would like to hammer out a trail marathon the middle of this week just to focus on my stride for 3 or four hours but will wait and see how I feel.

I am definitely in race planning mode and still scrambling at the last minute to decide what gear, food etc I will use and how to set up all my drop bags etc.

I plan on ordering a new pair of shoes tomorrow since I have been in constant debate with myself over the trail/road shoe issue. After Nashville I decided I wanted to stick with a similar asics platform to the 2130's I wore in the race but with a more dedicated trail focus.

After reading some reviews and looking at way too many pair of shoes I think I'm going to go with the asics trabuco 11 wp which is on a similar last at the 2130's with the addition of a goretex upper and rock plate in the forefoot.

My goal is to get the shoe in soon enough to get 50 or 60 miles in on it so we'll see.

As far as the rest of my gear I don't plan on changing it too much. Will run with the same hip pack I usually use and may add a pocket or two for my camera and gels.

For headlamps I'm sticking with my black diamond mio's and will probably pick up another flashlight to have with me as well.

For food I'll stick with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and GU gels. The perpetuem worked great in Nashville and I can get the GU gels cheap at Nashbar so there you go.

Really the only thing I plan on doing different for the 100 will be to try to consume more calories in the first half of the race. I felt Nashville went great even though I got sick briefly about an hour after the race but otherwise my energy was good. I did use the amino and clip 2 products by succeed but was not convinced of all they promised as far as alertness etc.

So that is where I'm at right now. I would like to drop 5 lbs before Alabama as I have been eating junk since my last race and know that I should be consuming more quality food products.

Thanks for reading!

Nahsville recap...

Just wanted to post a quick race recap from Saturdays 50 miler in Nashville.

I actually just wrote a much longer version but as I am trying to figure out how to post a blog with pictures and rearrange them correctly I accidentally deleted the whole post.

In essence, I finished the race with the time goal I was shooting for, just over ten hours and had a great day. Weather was great, no blisters, or cramps and was able to see my family several times throughout the course.

I may post later when I am less frustrated over just having wasted and hour or two of my time.

Four days till Nashville...

Well after running pretty hard Wednesday (for me) and still having some lower leg tenderness I decided to back off for a couple of days and try to get one middle distance run in before the 50 miler this weekend.
So I took Thursday, Friday and the first party of Saturday off and waited till the sun went down to run Saturday. Tried to make myself take it easy and back off the pace a bit and had a pretty decent run (13 miles). Started out with some pain early on but a few miles in I felt pretty good.
This is always a frustrating phenomenon for me. About the time I feel really comfortable cardio wise something starts hurting or becomes irritated.

My plan between now and Saturday is just to rest, stretch and maybe do some light workouts on the elliptical, stair stepper or other low impact cross training.
I'm doing my best to not get stressed out about it but now is always the time when it is so easy to question the quality, quantity and intensity of your training as well as the many other factors that could cause you to not be as successful as you have built yourself up to be.

I am convinced that I must strive to keep negative thoughts at bay and continue to just enjoy the blessings I have in family, friends and health. Whenever, I become bummed I think way back to the first run off the couch when things felt terrible and I got through it.

This is why I love races that are new to me. Whether in the heart of Nashville or the mountains of Alabama I try to savor the spirit of adventure that goes into a race you have never done. Add to that the excitement that both of the races coming up on my horizon are brand new and not attempted by anyone. I have been surprised to hear some people say they don't have interest in going to new races due to the usual snafus associated with them. To me that is part of the adventure, besides the fact that I someday hope to be a race director and am willing to learn all I can on the athlete side before switching to the directing side.

So that is where I'm at this evening. Relaxing and trying to keep stress at bay. My wife is on fall break so I have the opportunity to spend some great time with my family and be reminded of what it's all about.
They are all coming to Nashville to root me on which is really encouraging. My wife is such a trooper bringing two toddlers to an ultra to watch me run for hours. Of course she'll probably take the kids on some detours but they will be there at the end to see me finish. My kids are at the age when I constantly wonder what there first memory will be and I can't help but hope it is of their daddy, victorious coming across a finish line telling them they can do anything they set their minds too.

the week in training...

Well, I just received the final results from Saturdays 10-k and I must say I was pretty surprised. I was pretty close on time as I wound up finishing in 47:39.

What I was surprised about was how close I could have been to finishing first in my age group. The top age group spot went at 46:23, a time I feel I could have easily attained had I picked it up a bit in the first half. I know it's still not a super fast time but I can still remember finishing my first 10-k in under an hour and thinking it was the hardest thing I'd ever done because it probably was at the time.

Next year I'll be back!

Anyway, after my satisfying day Saturday I was able to cheer my wife on at her race Sunday. She did great and managed to secure 2nd place in her division! Man I hate it when my wife beats me at the races but overall a great weekend for the Jaques family as we both medaled in our respective events. I'm especially proud of my wife because I'm sure I'm able to get out and train ten times to her 1 and she still goes out and has a good time. Thanks to her fantastic swimming abilities and new bike she was able to take probably ten minutes off her time from last year.

Sunday evening I was able to get about 2.5 hours of running in down at the trails and became ever more convinced that my GPS is very inaccurate in the trees and switchbacks. After running sub 8 minute pace for most of the 10k my Garmin only gave me credit for 12 miles in 2.5 hours. Hard to believe, especially since I have been consistently running sub 2 hour half marathon splits in my training runs. Oh well, the experience of being on my feet on the single track was more what I was after and I feel I accomplished that. I spent the first hour and a half running from daylight to dusk and was able to get a good hour in running with my headlamp. I had one near miss and one full fledged crash tripping on a root so I can only imagine how many times I will fall at night during a hundred mile race. I was not even that fatigued but had to make a very conscious effort to lift my feet and make sure to clear obstacles. I can see why Karl Meltzer, an elite ultra runner consistently runs with fingerless cycling gloves. I imagine 24 hours of crashing on rocky terrain could be rough on the palms.

Monday was work/rest day.
Tuesday I had a pretty good hour training run at the park and was proud that I finally took the time to learn how to download sermons at my church to my itunes and then to my shuffle. Since I was unable to attend Sunday due to sick kids I was able to take the time on my run to listen to the entirety of my pastors sermon, I found it a great use of my time for two reasons. First, I probably am better able to pay attention to a sermon while running than doing anything else and secondly, it forced me to run easy and light on my feet so I could keep my heart rate relatively low while being able to focus on the message. I look forward to utilizing this technique in the future, not just for sermons but books on tape, lectures etc. I have always enjoyed listening to books in the car but my present 4 minute commute hardly warrants it.

Wednesday I was able to get 15 miles in but definitely felt a bit sore. Have still been having some ankle tenderness and a little bit of shin pain. The pain currently seems different than classic shin splints as it is more medial to the bone. Ever since I went too hard on the treadmill several weeks ago I have noticed it. Unfortunately, there is not much soft to run on around here lately as even the trails are about as hard as pavement with the lack of rain. Decided to take two full days off with the goal of running 30 miles tomorrow morning.

Switched to Perpetuem from Hammer Nutrition so that may also take a little getting used too. It is noticeably less sweet and a bit thicker than the accelerade I was using so we'll see how it goes. Based on all the athlete testimonials I have read Hammer Nutrition makes some great products.

Only 8 days till Nashville!

Race for education 10k

Instead of getting a nice long Saturday run in today I decided to hit a local 10-k in Midway, Ky.
Since I can't remember the last time I ran a 10-k, it's mostly been jumps from 5k to half or marathon distance I thought it would be pretty fun.
We stared out with an awesome clear morning with some of the coldest temps we've had this fall.
The course started in downtown (see 1 block) Midway and proceeded out past some nice horse farms and rolling hills. I ran with a friend from work and planned on doing about a 9 mile pace. We were both surprised when our first mile was below 8 minute mile pace. I felt great and it seemed easy so we kept right around there for most of the race. Training in the hills of Frankfort I didn't find anything on the course that taxed me too much although there were certainly rolling hills.
At the halfway point I was still feeling a bit tight in my hamstrings from running 16 a day and half prior but was starting to loosen up. Heading for home it was a struggle not to kick it in too fast, especially when I knew I could catch a group of 3 0r 4 runners a quarter mile in front. My buddy thought I might have been picking it up a little too much and he may have been right. When I went back and looked at my splits we went from running an 8:15 mile from 3 to 4 and a 7:30 from 4-5. My bad, at this point I was smelling the barn so at mile 5 I decided to make a break with the goal of catching a girl who had passed me early. I caught her within probably 3/4 miles and ran with her to mile 6, when she looked over at me and said "you're gonna make me kick aren't you", to which I replied "sorry, I have to try" and took off.
In the end, I finished below 48 minutes which I'm sure is a PR for me at the distance. Turned out to be a great race and I wound up getting 3rd place in my age group which is always fun! I couldn't help but think about how much longer I would be going in two weeks in Nashville and how six miles will be approximately 1/8 of a 50 miler and usually the point I start getting warmed up.

So with my other couple of days in the week it looks like I am up to about 36 miles to end the week. Looking forward to a nice long run tomorrow after watching my wife compete in the tri-for-sight.

10-4 update...

Well,
I had a decent week in as far as mileage goes.
Still a bit tired due to the sickness thing but feeling better. Thankfully the temps have been dropping in Central Kentucky giving me hope for the upcoming ultras.
Monday night I was able to crank out 16 miles in 2.5 hours so I was pretty happy about that. My goal is to always run a half in under two hours and then go from there, on the road at least.
Finally started to feel like I had some energy in my legs and that I could go the distance.
Rested at work on Tuesday and wasn't able to get out on Wednesday due to family business. Thursday wasn't looking too optimistic either until I made myself go out the door at 8:30. Wound up being a beautiful evening in the 40's with almost no moon and lots of stars. Ran some pretty good hills before retreating to the quiet and no cars of a local park loop. Again was able to get in almost sixteen miles and still feel pretty good. Purposely ran the first couple of hours without added gel or fluids to prepare myself for that hungry feeling later on in the race.

As far as pace I read an interesting article that was linked from the Furnace 508 website the other day. The article talked about the misnomer associated with LSD, being the term for Long Slow Distance. The authors theory was that training (in his case cycling) at a very slow speed just trains your body to run very slowly. Instead, the author suggested looking at the term in terms of Long Steady Distance, or training at a pace that while below race pace is still making a steady effort.

That is kind of what I was experimenting with this past week in training and have found it to be pretty encouraging. Sometimes all those miles at a slow pace can just be discouraging. It made me feel pretty good to know that I could hit the road throughout the week with any kind of major preparation and run a half marathon close to my PR. After that distance which is pretty familiar I feel alot better about backing off the pace and enjoying the miles. By mixing up speed, terrain etc. I feel like my body is alot less likely to develop repetitive type injuries and my mind stays more alert. Thursday night I also ran with a mp3 player for the first time in years and found it pretty relaxing. I never like wearing headphones during the day when I have to deal with more cars etc. but to run at night in park I found it made the time go by much faster.

Next post, my recent 10-k experience.