Decided to do my long run today as tomorrow is my wife's birthday and I don't want to be gone for a good portion of the morning.
I ran in Chino Hills State park. I selected a very hilly course. On one of the trails (Hills For Everyone) I passed 2 mountain bikers. The look on their face was great. Made me feel good too. I love to run hills. Had some technical single track mixed in as well. I still do not like running down hills much and would much rather run up or at least flat. That is just something I need to work on.
The greatest part of the run was just being out there, not seeing any houses, cars, or streets. The view was great. Something I missed when I used to Mountain Bike up there.
1 hour 45 minutes, 12 miles, 1784 feet ascent.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29th
Set out for another tempo run. 30 minutes today. Legs felt heavy today for some reason and my left knee cap felt like it was out of place. When I got home, I stretched and sat on my heals, leaned back and felt a pop. It felt much better afterward. Taking Friday off.
30 minutes, 4 miles
30 minutes, 4 miles
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 27th
Today was scheduled as an interval day of 8x800m. Since the track was busy with football practice and soccer, I decided to skip intervals (not that I don't like them) and go for a 5 mile Tempo run. I should be doing this instead of intervals anyways for Ultras, but I also want to be competitive in the half marathon in September.
I started out feeling strong, but held back. Slowly I picked up the pace until 10K pace at the last 1/3. Finished strong, felt refreshed, no real pains. 35minutes.
I started out feeling strong, but held back. Slowly I picked up the pace until 10K pace at the last 1/3. Finished strong, felt refreshed, no real pains. 35minutes.
The week of July 25th to July 31st.
Sunday, July 25th. Today was scheduled to be a 90 minute run. I wasn't worried about mileage, just time on my feet. Ran from my house, into Chino Hills State park, and down Bane Canyon to lower Aliso Trail. The steep uphills were giving my left knee a real sharp pain. Something I began feeling on my hill intervals last Tuesday. I shortened my stride and continued. At the end of the run, all felt good. 90 minutes, 11 miles, 1200 foot elevation gain.
Monday, July 26th. I had planned an easy run, but life sometimes takes over. My wife had a function after work, and I needed to be up at 2:30 am for work. Needless to say, no run today. Let's call it a rest day.
Monday, July 26th. I had planned an easy run, but life sometimes takes over. My wife had a function after work, and I needed to be up at 2:30 am for work. Needless to say, no run today. Let's call it a rest day.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Well, I have made the decision to make it official. Let this be the first entry regarding my road to ultramarathon running.
Back in March of this year I decided to get back into running after a nearly 15 year hiatus from competitive running. Originally my goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon within my first year back. I based my training and mileage build up on just that. The plan was to run a 5K in July, a 10K in August, a Half-Marathon in September, and my goal Marathon in January.
During my mileage build up, I reached 12 miles on my long runs, and it just seemed easy. On July 4th while in Las Vegas for a wedding, I decided to run Red Rock Canyon. Unfortunately, I was ill prepared for this run. I had eaten a few doughnut holes, an energy bar, and a couple of handfuls of trail mix for breakfast. Initially, I thought the loop was 10 miles. Later, upon leaving for the canyon, the valet at the hotel told me it was 13, and I thought, "ok, I got this. I am already running 12." Upon arriving at the canyon, I did my normal stretches, topped off my 16oz water bottle, and headed out. The road began uphill, and continued on a constant grade for 5 miles. At the top I spoke to a triathlete that had given me some words of encouragement on the way up. He said if I made it this far, the rest of the loop shouldn't be too bad. As I looked down at the valley, I thought, "ok, piece of cake, its mostly down hill and only 8 miles." So I started off down the road with about 7 ounces of water left in my bottle. As I continued on my journey, it began to get hot. The road rolled much more than I expected and the hills began to wear on me. By mile 10, I was out of water and beginning to bonk. At mile 12, I was completely out of fuel and walking/running. My hope was that I only had 1 mile to go. When I rounded the next bend, I saw the road.....the only problem, I could not see where I parked. My heart sank and I began to pray. Shortly after this discouraging sight God answered; a 4runner passed, stopped, and began reversing. They pulled up next to me and offered a bottle of water to me (I guess I really looked bad). I graciously accepted. I had thought about asking for a ride, but decided to finish what I started. At the 13 mile mark, a tour bus rolled up. The driver asked if I needed any water, but now I had a full bottle. She said they saw me from the beginning and the group in the bus did not think I would make it, but she said she knew I would. She said they were all amazed to see me there. She also asked if I had been in the military to do something like that to which I said "no, I just like to run." This was a huge encouragement and helped me get back to the car. Little did I know, that from the road to my car was another 2 miles! End of it all, I ran 14 miles and walked a grand total of 1 mile in about 2 hours.
With the above experience, why on earth would I want to run farther? The answer; "I just like to run!"
Over the next several months, for those who are interested, I will be documenting my road to running an ultramarathon. From the cramps to injuries, to blisters, to victories over distances, it will all be here.
The reason for this blog?
I hope to encourage others to get out there and challenge themselves. Whether it be in running, other sports, or a life goal, I believe it is never too late to start.
Back in March of this year I decided to get back into running after a nearly 15 year hiatus from competitive running. Originally my goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon within my first year back. I based my training and mileage build up on just that. The plan was to run a 5K in July, a 10K in August, a Half-Marathon in September, and my goal Marathon in January.
During my mileage build up, I reached 12 miles on my long runs, and it just seemed easy. On July 4th while in Las Vegas for a wedding, I decided to run Red Rock Canyon. Unfortunately, I was ill prepared for this run. I had eaten a few doughnut holes, an energy bar, and a couple of handfuls of trail mix for breakfast. Initially, I thought the loop was 10 miles. Later, upon leaving for the canyon, the valet at the hotel told me it was 13, and I thought, "ok, I got this. I am already running 12." Upon arriving at the canyon, I did my normal stretches, topped off my 16oz water bottle, and headed out. The road began uphill, and continued on a constant grade for 5 miles. At the top I spoke to a triathlete that had given me some words of encouragement on the way up. He said if I made it this far, the rest of the loop shouldn't be too bad. As I looked down at the valley, I thought, "ok, piece of cake, its mostly down hill and only 8 miles." So I started off down the road with about 7 ounces of water left in my bottle. As I continued on my journey, it began to get hot. The road rolled much more than I expected and the hills began to wear on me. By mile 10, I was out of water and beginning to bonk. At mile 12, I was completely out of fuel and walking/running. My hope was that I only had 1 mile to go. When I rounded the next bend, I saw the road.....the only problem, I could not see where I parked. My heart sank and I began to pray. Shortly after this discouraging sight God answered; a 4runner passed, stopped, and began reversing. They pulled up next to me and offered a bottle of water to me (I guess I really looked bad). I graciously accepted. I had thought about asking for a ride, but decided to finish what I started. At the 13 mile mark, a tour bus rolled up. The driver asked if I needed any water, but now I had a full bottle. She said they saw me from the beginning and the group in the bus did not think I would make it, but she said she knew I would. She said they were all amazed to see me there. She also asked if I had been in the military to do something like that to which I said "no, I just like to run." This was a huge encouragement and helped me get back to the car. Little did I know, that from the road to my car was another 2 miles! End of it all, I ran 14 miles and walked a grand total of 1 mile in about 2 hours.
With the above experience, why on earth would I want to run farther? The answer; "I just like to run!"
Over the next several months, for those who are interested, I will be documenting my road to running an ultramarathon. From the cramps to injuries, to blisters, to victories over distances, it will all be here.
The reason for this blog?
I hope to encourage others to get out there and challenge themselves. Whether it be in running, other sports, or a life goal, I believe it is never too late to start.
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