Why did I sign on for the 50 km version of Psycho Psummer? The battle started in earnest this week. I believe I can do it, but the whole thing scares me.
How long will it take? I'd like to do it in less than 7 hours. I think I need to look at previous years' records to see if 7 hours is a realistic goal.
This is starting to look a lot like my college running years. Lots of running, not much improvement. The primary reason? Not enough variance in training. Really, it's worse than those years because at least then I got out and did speedwork on a somewhat regular basis.
Now that I'm getting to know how far and how fast I'm running, I see that I'm running about the same pace regardless of distance. I do see I'm running a bit more slowly when I go on ten-plus mile runs, but that's most likely because I'm taking some walk-breaks. I bet that the running is at the "usual" pace.
I think I need to plan some pace variance, in addition to the length variance.
Ooops. Been forgetting to post here. Looks like it's been a while since the last entry. Maybe now that I know I still have a job I'll be able to keep up better.
I'm still looking for a reasonable way to track mileage, routes, etc. Hand-mapping sucks anywhere, but without equal at MapMyRun.com. I'm trying AllSport GPS on my Blackberry Curve. It's ok, works with bicycling too, but doesn't give me the mile splits I would like. It also seems a bit inconsistent in terms of how well it tracks "rest" time.
Bought a road bike this weekend. Rode Saturday and Sunday. The new shifters, part of the brake levers, are a little tricky to get used to. I thought I'd be a lot faster on a road bike than on my mountain bike, but only 1 - 2 mph faster on the same course. Hmmm. Work on technique, I think.
Going to run the Red Bridge Ramble this coming Sunday. Snow this past weekend should be melted by then. I haven't run the course before, but I think it might be nice and muddy. Today's weather report calls for temp near 40 deg. F at the starting time.
This past December, I tried the trails at Wyandotte County Park during the Alternate Chili Run. I was naive - never thinking it would take over two hours to run the loop. After six or seven miles, I was tapped out, barely able to slog up the hills. I don't know exactly how long it took me to complete the course, but I think maybe 2:20 or 2:25. I was done for the day, too tired to do anything else.
Call me a fool, but a few days later I signed up for the 10-mile version of the KC Trail Nerds Psycho Wyco Run, Toto, Run.
Fast-forward to this past Saturday, the day of the race. I'd gotten a couple trail training runs in at Shawnee Mission Park and Kill Creek (solo runs, 60 - 90 minutes), maybe a couple runs 60+ minute runs on park paths, and one or two bike rides in the 2 -3 hour range. I was hoping to hit the 2:00 mark or be close to it. On the other hand, we had plans for the evening and I didn't want to be wiped out like the first time.
I started out running slowly, caught up in the pack. I think it was a mile or so out on the course before I didn't have to stop an wait for traffic in front of me. It was colder than the previous time, with some ice on the single-track and a bit of mud on the bridle path. I suppose the course was a lot muddier by the second and third loops, but I didn't get very mudded up.
I was worried about water, so I decided to run with my camelback. I'd tried a couple training runs wearing it, had no problems with it moving around or anything like that. However, when I tried to take some water during the run, I found that the gatorade I'd mixed got frozen in the tube. Turned out to be a non-problem - water and cups were available at the aid station, along with gel packs. I'd never had one of those, so I figured it was a good time to try one. If I puked, it would look better on a race course than during a normal training run. Turns out they are pretty good, although I think they're probably easier to use when it's warmer.
I tend to worry about falling, but after a while, I picked up the pace a few times where I found footing good enough. Turns out I could have picked up the pace a few more times. I was way fresher than I expected at the finish, finishing in 1:59:41. I'm sure I could have done 5 more miles, maybe even a full second loop, without too much trouble. A third loop? Not yet.
Me - Up, up, up the hill we go