4/29/2008

My wife gave me her cold! I am trying to kick it with butt loads of Vitamin C and liquids. So far it hasn't gotten (yes, gotten's a word in Texas) that bad so maybe I am keeping it at bay. I got out and ran a couple of miles earlier today and felt awful so I am going to play it smart and not push it too hard. I still have a couple of weeks before Jemez so I have plenty of time to get in a couple of good long runs so I'm not worried. Hopefully it just won't turn into a full blown cold!

4/28/2008

Today was spent getting lots of rest since I am only off for two days then back to Hobbs. I did some good stretching this morning and used the foam roller like crazy. I got my hotel booked this evening for Jemez too. Aubrey is going with me even though he's not running. Pacers aren't allowed but he can hike up to some of the aid stations and crew me a little if he wants. This is apparently going to be a pretty challenging course with some pretty impressive climbs. Also from what I've heard there are some beautiful vistas along the course. Krissy Moehl wrote a short race report from last year. You can read it here. You have to scroll down to the second entry. Anyway, I'll post more after my long run tomorrow.

4/27/2008

No running today. A front blew in and it's chilly and windy here in Hobbs. I just slept in late with no worries. I'll head home later tonight after shift. Tomorrow, if the weather holds true, I plan on putting in some longer distance, maybe 20 miles or so. I've been feeling really good lately so that's a good sign. Short, and sweet, and to the point. Gotta head to work. Later, peeps!

4/26/2008

Well, I'm here in Hobbs working and I actually got up early this am and went for a quick 8.5 miles on some nice rolling hills. It was really a good workout and a good start to my day. I got to chuckling on the way back from my turnaround point cuz a BIG cow had made it's way out of the fence somehow and was wandering out on the road. I was wondering to myself "do cows charge?" Anyway, I kept running towards it and as I got fairly close.........the cow said, "Holy Shit!" and ran. So I was happy and relieved. haha Anyway, I kept running and the cow kept a moderate distance from me and actually made a fairly decent pacer. A sheriff finally showed up and herded it away somewhere. So another interesting day out on the open road! I love running!

4/22/2008

Party on!! It's beautiful outside today, no wind and about 79 degrees. Went out to 1585 and took off. I ran 15 miles nice and easy. It was warm enough that I used the S-caps and good ol' Accelerade. Aubrey joined me for the last 6 miles which made it even more enjoyable. It was hard not to want to push too hard the first half of the run since that's what I've been focused on lately. Especially after yesterday's tempo run. The last quarter of the run I was definitely beginning to feel that maybe I pushed just a little too hard earlier on. All in all, a wonderful run. Tomorrow I am going to do a little recovery in the FiveFingers.

4/21/2008

Man, I have been busy the last few days. Zach's baseball schedule was very hectic over the weekend and he also had a friend spend the night. Kenzie got to spend the night with one of her friend's as well so it was basically just a swap. I got Aubrey out of the house on Sunday and made him go run with me. We only did 4 miles and he did well. I kept the pace about 8:40 and he said he felt ok. Aubrey had things to do today so I ran with my stupid Ipod. I did a 9 mile tempo run most of which was done at 7:40 pace and I felt pretty good. Still having a few hip issues but the foam roller seems to iron that out fairly well. Tomorrow the plan is to just put in some long slow distance stuff. Aubrey plans on running half of it with me so that will make it more enjoyable. I am also going to send an email to my running club and see if there would be any runners around here that would be interested in forming an "ultra club," or at least a half-ass distance club. If I could get a training group together.........whoo hoo! That would be fantastic!

4/18/2008

So I got back from Hobbs around midnight-thirty last night. I didn't get a chance to run since I only had yesterday am to do it and I overslept. Oops! I got out today and put in a little 5.2 mile leg-loosener around the neighborhood and that felt pretty good. I am really using the foam roller and stretching as much as possible to keep my legs in good shape for Jemez. I recovered really easily after my 11.5 miler last Friday and then the crappy little 4.5 mile wind fest on Saturday. I am off the next 7 days so I can get in longer distances throughout the week. Aubrey hasn't been involved at all, since he hasn't been wanting to run much lately. And man, does that make for long boring runs when you are all alone. I don't care too much for running with my Ipod but lately that is the only company I've had. I don't know of anyone else around here at my level, i.e. not very fast, that would like to run these crazy ultradistance races. Maybe someone will cross my path eventually.

P.S. I wanted to give a shout out to Shannon Farar-Griefer and tell her thank you. She and I ran together for a couple of minutes at Rocky Raccoon and I really enjoyed talking to her. Her encouragement really helped. Anyway, she sent me a bad-ass pair of flame pattern Moeben sleeves. I wore them on my run today and loved them. So for what it's worth I think everyone who reads this should run out and buy several pairs. You can get them at www.zombierunner.com or www.moeben.com.

4/15/2008

No running the last two days. Been too busy with work and life in general. I am headed back to Hobbs again tomorrow and Thursday so maybe I can get in a short run while there. I'll post again on Friday and let ya know what's up. I gotta start getting some distance in pretty quick. I'm feeling good so it should come fairly easy. Short post but I got the point across. ha

4/12/2008

I just made it home from what I would call a "pathetic display of tenacity." I took off meaning to run my 5 mile loop around my house and it turned into 4.5 miles because I took some shortcuts so I could get home faster. haha The wind was blowing about 30mph directly into my face the whole way, if I turned so did the wind. It was ridiculous. Anyway, I was tenacious and made it home, even if I did want to cry a little. If I had gone out to the lake like I had planned it probably wouldn't have been such an issue. Oh, well, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

I hope all is well up on Bear Mountain and everyone is having a spectacular run!! Good luck everybody!

4/11/2008

Well, today I decided to "get in the zone" and went a' ramblin. I took off from the house and didn't really have a plan on where to go so I just winged it. I ended up in a really big loop of 11.5 miles. I felt pretty good considering I haven't run basically all freaking week. Even with doing a 20 minute run/5 minute walk I was able to keep my pace around 9:45. Not too bad. I went ahead and registered for Jemez today so that will help keep my training honest. I hope to head out to the lake tomorrow for some tough hill training. Man, do I LOVE hill training!! NOT!!
Time to really get in the ZONE!!

4/10/2008

I made it home finally last night around 1 in the am. I never did get out and put in any miles while in Hobbs. I'm going to have some friends show me around Hobbs a little bit and see if I can't find a nice place to run. They've told me that fairly close to the hospital is a really nice 2.5 mile dirt trail which is supposed to be really pretty. I hope so, cuz (no offense, please) Hobbs, from what I've seen, is ugly as Hell. Anyway, I've been assured that it's not ALL ugly so I'll soon find out. I head out to Austin in the am and run the Bare Buns Run on Saturday. I will make sure that I take my Garmin so I can map it out. Not sure yet how I will do since I haven't run for the last 3 days so it should be interesting. I'll keep ya posted.

Addendum: 5:00pm
My friend Shawna called me this afternoon and cancelled on me for the run this weekend so I won't be going to Austin. It would be a really boring and mundane trip to go it alone. Incredibly disappointing! I will just do what I can to get some more beneficial miles in this weekend. They just won't be as relaxing and fun as they would have been at Star Ranch. Again, I'm really disappointed. Oh, well. Fuck!

4/6/2008

Today's run was fairly uneventful. My calves are still a little tender from the FiveFinger workout a couple of days ago so that wasn't too much fun. I guess that's why I'm doing them, cuz obviously my lower legs and feet aren't in the kind of shape that they need to be. Anyway, Aubrey and I ran a simple 6 miles out and back on 1585. I was getting pretty hot towards the end of the run and I hadn't taken any water with me. Just didn't figure I would need it for so short a run. Oh, well. Gotta start getting used to the heat anyway. I love to sweat but I like to be able to replace it. Lesson learned. I head out again to Hobbs in the am and will be there for three days. Hopefully I can find a good place to get some decent runs in while I'm there.

4/4/2008

Yeehaw! Today's run felt really, really good. I took off and ran a 4 mile out and back from the house in my FiveFingers. My feet are still pretty tender but no bruises or blisters this time which is definitely an improvement. The weather is fantastic today too, 57 degrees and no wind. Plus nice, bright, healing sunshine. Just beautiful! I really enjoy getting out and running on days like this. I'm not sure yet what my run will be like tomorrow since I am heading out to Hobbs. I may have to wait until Sunday to get in some good distance.
Also my abs are a little sore today from my core workout since I added a ten pound medicine BALL while I do my crunches on a stability BALL. All I know is............I got a lot o' BALLS!

4/3/2008

Today I had to force my ass out the door. I had a lot going on today with work-related stuff that kept my mind busy. Anyway, I finally got out this afternoon and put in an easy 4.5 miles at a 9:30 pace or so. Yeah, I know, really slow. I didn't really push it too hard cuz my legs were still a little fatigued from the hill workout that I did yesterday on the elliptical. I am trying to pull off some extra fat over the next month so I am trying to get in high intensity interval training using the elliptical. I can feel that my legs are starting to get stronger which will be good for me in Jemez. So on top of my run today I did my regular sets of dumbell presses and hammer curls followed by a pretty intense ab and lower back workout. Man, I hate those!! Oh, well, gotta look good naked next week, ya know!! Tomorrow I plan on a good 4-5 miles in the FiveFingers and then pull off a 15 miler on Saturday morning before I head to Hobbs for a 3pm-3am shift in the ER. I will be starting my contract with them on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so I will take all of my running stuff with me and see what kind of venues Hobbs has to offer. Should be interesting!

3/31/2008

My run today was really great. I even saved a life. First things first however, last night I finished up my day with a good 15 minute hill workout on the elliptical. I really like my elliptical, it's tough but really does a good job. So, now then, my run today was great because I actually got to put some distance back into my life. I ran 10 miles out on 1585. It's just farms, cotton fields, and flat as a flitter out there but this morning you couldn't see 20 feet in front of you because of a beautiful, thick fog. It lifted after about a mile. Now, about 3 miles into it I heard a weird noise. It turned out to be a little goat with his head stuck throught the fence and one of his horns was caught. He was screaming his little head off too! Anyway, I couldn't help but help him out. So I ran across the road and helped him get unstuck. It was funny cuz he ran like hell once he was free and went back to the herd. Now I know there are plenty of jokes about Texas and how we "push goats and sheep through the fence" but this was real. I swear!! Ok, so back to the run. Aubrey met me at my 4 mile point and ran the last 6 miles with me. I felt really good today, no aches or pains at all. Once I got home I stretched and used the foam roller for good measure and then later today I will get in an upper body workout and some ab work. Also may do some HIIT on the elliptical for about 15 minutes. We'll see.

3/30/2008

Well, I didn't run yesterday, I had too much to do with the family. Oh, well, we had a great day together. I slept alot too which was much needed.
So today I was able to crowbar Aubrey out of the house after he'd taken the last full week off. He just really hasn't been into running much since Rocky so I have really been trying to encourage him. He would like to run a 100 miler early next year so he needs to get going. Anyway, we ran my simple 5k loop around the house. I kept our pace just under 9:00 and he handled it okay. He was glad that we didn't do the original 5 miles that we had planned. ha To make up the difference I am going to try and get in a good hill workout on the elliptical later tonight. I plan on a nice easy 10 miler tomorrow to start getting some distance back into my workouts so that should be exciting. We'll know tomorrow.

3/28/2008

Howdy to everyone! I've been gone for the last three days working in Hobbs, NM in the ER at Lea Regional Medical Center. I was very impressed with all who worked there and the way things ran. There are obviously a few tweaks that could be made to run things a little smoother but all in all I had a great time working there. There were several people that went above and beyond to make sure that I was doing okay with everything. Thanks to them!

So finally after the last three days I got to get out and run a little while Zach was at practice. I just ran a little 5k but my pace was about 7:50 and felt really good. Taking the last few days off I think really helped my legs. My hip pain is completely gone and believe it or not, my left knee that has been trouble for the last 2 years is also completely gone. I haven't had to wear my patellar strap the last 2 weeks. Amazing! I should have bought a foam roller a long time ago. Oh, well. So tomorrow my plans include some time in the FiveFingers now that my feet have healed a little including the blister on my left big toe. I'll let ya know tomorrow how it went.

3/24/2008

I got to run two times again today. First off, I have been doing some research on the net about ITB Syndrome. Anyway, several of the studies that I read said that training barefoot can really help in the long haul. So...........I did. Kind of. I have owned a pair of the old style FiveFingers for the last three years and haven't ever really used them for anything. So I broke them out this afternoon and ran 3 miles at an 8:16 pace. To be honest it felt pretty good but I rubbed one helluva blister on my left big toe. haha I guess my feet aren't as tough as I thought they were. Oh, well. So I am going to work on getting me a new pair of the FiveFinger Sprint's and keep up the training. Ok, so then, this evening at Zach's baseball practice I got to run another 3 miles, this time at a 7:54 pace. I am pretty excited about how I'm feeling even while picking up the speed. Watch out, all you naked asses, I'm in it to win it!!

3/23/2008 Happy Eostre/Vernal Equinox

Well, it's a typical Easter day in West Texas. I don't know how it does it but yesterday it was 70 degrees and gorgeous and today it is 44 degrees with clouds and mist. So stupid but very typical. It does it every Easter. So I have figured out that someone must have mixed up their holidays. I figure what really happened is Jesus awoke, rolled the stone away.............and saw his shadow, so there's going to be 6 more weeks of winter!

As for my run today, Aubrey came over and we ran a 5.02 mile out and back on 1585. My hip didn't hurt at all so I am thrilled. I even ran about a half mile of it at a 6:40 pace and felt fine. I can't imagine sustaining that kind of pace over a long run though. People that can do that are freaking amazing. I am perfectly happy with my 8:30 pace on most training runs and a lot slower than that in an ultra.

3/21/2008

Well, I think my training is going to be a bit boring, blog-wise, until after the Bare Buns Run. I just ran a 3.2 mile loop around the house at an 8:06 pace. I should be upping my mileage fairly soon to get ready for Jemez but right now my runs are staying short and sweet at a faster pace. It's been kind of nice to have a different focus even though I love going long. I will probably run another 3 or 4 miles tonight when I take Zach to baseball practice as well. Practice is way out in the country so the running venue is a little different which is always nice.

Addendum: 6:00pm
I got to run while Zach was at practice. I ran a 4.25 mile out and back on I-27 at an 8:26 pace. Not a bad run and not a bad total for the day with the 3.2 miles that I ran earlier. I have been feeling really good since I have been using the foam roller on my left leg. I guess it really was ITB syndrome. Oh, well........as long as I can fix it then I'm golden.