Red Mosquito

15(ish) miles in 2:30

Drank too much last night and woke up with a hangover. I was underfueled and dehydrated for my 2:30 run with the 35-pound pack. Forced myself to stick with the program. Once I was on the track at the gym, I fell into a groove. Felt great until I hit 2 hours, then I could feel the energy drain out of me and it was a slog until the finish. Tough run, but I'm pretty happy that I pushed myself and finished. 3 hours is definitely my max for these pack training runs.

Streak: 64

5 miles in 35 minutes

Would have skipped this one if not for this damn streak. Feel pretty beat up right now. Even split.

After reading race reports and looking at past results, I'm gonna say 6 hours is my goal for this race. Seems every year there's one studly dude who runs it in 4 hours, then the rest of the top 20 is between 5 and 6:30 hours. I'd be fine with top 20. 13 minute miles puts me at around 5:45. I've been averaging 10 minute miles with the pack, but that's on a padded indoor track. The race is on a fairly treacherous jeep trail through the middle of the desert and there's a lot of uphill. I should be training on some trails, but with the pack, the risk turning a knee or something is too great.

Streak: 65

Friday: Few miles of snowshoeing while the wife broke in her new snowboard.
Sunday: Upper Body Workout B
Yesterday: Supersets, these actually tired me out but I believe it was mostly due to not eating much over the weekend; just need to carry over the additional weekday calorie efforts.

Again looking forward to my run tonight, no idea what distance but legs feel good.

Streak: 59

oasisfan35 wrote:Yesterday: Supersets, these actually tired me out but I believe it was mostly due to not eating much over the weekend; just need to carry over the additional weekday calorie efforts.

I wish I still had this problem. I'm hoovering around 165 despite this being some of the toughest training I've ever done. In the past, I'd probably be in the 140s by now.

turned2black wrote:

oasisfan35 wrote:Yesterday: Supersets, these actually tired me out but I believe it was mostly due to not eating much over the weekend; just need to carry over the additional weekday calorie efforts.

I wish I still had this problem. I'm hoovering around 165 despite this being some of the toughest training I've ever done. In the past, I'd probably be in the 140s by now.

I dropped 6-7 solid pounds since the start but weight loss should not have been my goal after agreeing to the half-marathon. I think I'm coming back up well but also believe I would have felt better had I known some things. Hindsight always tends to be 20/20.

9.5(ish) miles in 90 minutes

Felt like shit all day yesterday, but was still planning on running for 2 hours with the 35-pound pack. About 30 minutes before the run, I tweaked my back while playing with the baby. Decided to cut it to an hour. Hit the gym and actually felt pretty decent when I started. Got to an hour and still felt solid, so I added another 30 minutes. Talked with a woman training for a pikermi during most of the run. She's 50 and her husband was a hardcore (sub-3:00) marathoner who died at 45 while running. She's the second woman I have met while running whose husband died while running. We were clicking off sub-50 second laps, so I would guess I did 9.5 miles. Good run and my back feels decent today. 10 miles tonight.

Streak: 66

turned2black wrote:9.5(ish) miles in 90 minutes

Felt like shit all day yesterday, but was still planning on running for 2 hours with the 35-pound pack. About 30 minutes before the run, I tweaked my back while playing with the baby. Decided to cut it to an hour. Hit the gym and actually felt pretty decent when I started. Got to an hour and still felt solid, so I added another 30 minutes. Talked with a woman training for a pikermi during most of the run. She's 50 and her husband was a hardcore (sub-3:00) marathoner who died at 45 while running. She's the second woman I have met while running whose husband died while running. We were clicking off sub-50 second laps, so I would guess I did 9.5 miles. Good run and my back feels decent today. 10 miles tonight.

Streak: 66

foreshadowing?

Alex wrote:

turned2black wrote:9.5(ish) miles in 90 minutes

Felt like shit all day yesterday, but was still planning on running for 2 hours with the 35-pound pack. About 30 minutes before the run, I tweaked my back while playing with the baby. Decided to cut it to an hour. Hit the gym and actually felt pretty decent when I started. Got to an hour and still felt solid, so I added another 30 minutes. Talked with a woman training for a pikermi during most of the run. She's 50 and her husband was a hardcore (sub-3:00) marathoner who died at 45 while running. She's the second woman I have met while running whose husband died while running. We were clicking off sub-50 second laps, so I would guess I did 9.5 miles. Good run and my back feels decent today. 10 miles tonight.

Streak: 66

foreshadowing?

I certainly hope so.

turned2black wrote:

Alex wrote:

turned2black wrote:9.5(ish) miles in 90 minutes

Felt like shit all day yesterday, but was still planning on running for 2 hours with the 35-pound pack. About 30 minutes before the run, I tweaked my back while playing with the baby. Decided to cut it to an hour. Hit the gym and actually felt pretty decent when I started. Got to an hour and still felt solid, so I added another 30 minutes. Talked with a woman training for a pikermi during most of the run. She's 50 and her husband was a hardcore (sub-3:00) marathoner who died at 45 while running. She's the second woman I have met while running whose husband died while running. We were clicking off sub-50 second laps, so I would guess I did 9.5 miles. Good run and my back feels decent today. 10 miles tonight.

Streak: 66

foreshadowing?

I certainly hope so.

perhaps it's just the optimist in me talking, but maybe RM will soon emerge from its dark ages

Yesterday: 5 miles on the treadmill, all I had time for but I no longer worry about where the water stations will be in a few weeks.
Today: Supersets of inverted exercises: full leg lifts, chest-focused dips, pronated pull-ups. No time available after work so fit in during work break.

Streak: 61

5 miles in 35 minutes

Left the house after 11 last night. Even split with no finishing kick. Definitely feel like I'm hitting a low spot in my training. Think I overdid it with the pack the last couple of weeks and now I'm paying for it.

Streak: 67

who here is fulfilled by life, and who feels empty?

My fulfillment in life can only be measured in the amount of blood, sweat, piss and shit that I have spilled in the Arizona desert. So if I meet the end that I anticipate I will, I'll be very fulfilled this time next year.

okey

im hungry as fuck, so i'll go with empty right now.

13(ish) miles in 2 hours

Killed it tonight with the 35-pound pack on the indoor track. Just solid with no fade. A "I can run forever" night. I contemplated just leaving my car at the gym and running home, but knew that would be a hassle for the wife in the morning. Went through about 36 ounces of Gatorade and a gel. I needed this after a shaky couple of days.

Streak: 68

turned2black wrote:13(ish) miles in 2 hours

Killed it tonight with the 35-pound pack on the indoor track. Just solid with no fade. A "I can run forever" night. I contemplated just leaving my car at the gym and running home, but knew that would be a hassle for the wife in the morning. Went through about 36 ounces of Gatorade and a gel. I needed this after a shaky couple of days.

Streak: 68

Solid work. Do you run with a bottle of Gatorade? Word is it might reach 50° here tomorrow and I am jonesing to run outside but obviously won't have a shelf to hold my water bottle like the treadmill offers.

When I carry water or Gatorade (typically only over 10 miles), I run with Ultimate Direction bottles. They have also saved me from shredding my hands on numerous falls on the trail.

Friday: 5 miles in 35 minutes

Morning run after I dropped the kids off. Lots of bluehairs of the canal, but they kept with canal etiquette (get the fuck out of the runner's way) and I didn't have to punch any of them. Even split.

Saturday: 7.5 miles with 2,400 feet in elevation change in 63 minutes

Fuck! Had a sub 60 dead to rights, but got stuck behind some horses in a narrow section of the trail. By the time they pulled off the trail, I knew a sub 60 would be impossible, so I cruised to the finish. Still, an enjoy run on a beautiful day.

Sunday: 10 miles in 93 minutes

Had planned on another 2 hour run with the 35-pound pack on the inside track, but I'm starting to worry a bit about heat on the day of the race, so I changed my plans. Hit the canal with the pack at mid-day and decided to run my 10-miler at about 80 percent effort. It was already 77 when I left. Felt solid the entire way and briefly had dreams of finishing in 90 minutes, but a nasty headwind picked up in the last 3 miles. I managed a dinky quarter-mile finishing kick. 46 out. 47 back. Great run. I had worried that my runs on the indoor track were spoiling me a bit. Perhaps it's the "muggy" conditions of the gym and the rather unforgiving track (it's not spongy like outdoor tracks), but the outdoor runs actually seem easier. 2 hour pack run on Tuesday, then the taper begins.

Streak: 71

the posting tapers or the training tapers? don't give us false hope.