TrailHonky

My training is in the crapper. After weeks of not being busy with work, now I am working 12-hour days and usually don’t see sunlight during the week (unless I leave the building). This weekend I was busy and didn’t have time for a training run. I had scheduled to run with Deborah on Saturday but we both had too much to do and called it off. Then I had planned on checking out Lake Mineral Wells SP or Fort Richardson SP but plans to get in an afternoon run on Saturday fizzled. After a new NTTR member alerted me to the nice length of trail at Mineral Wells, I must go check that out soon.

So with less than a week to go until my longest race to date, my base is crumbling. Not the best way to gear up for the rest of the season, but sometimes things just don’t work out. I’m anxious to consider a couple more races in February, but I have to wait and see how Rocky Raccoon goes first. I’m also eying a few other out-of-state races but I should probably stick to what I’ve got for now.

Speaking of out-of-state, my pre-race packet for FANS arrived in the mail. After reading through the information, particularly the section describing the course, I’m really excited about it. The concrete portion isn’t as bad as I thought. It also sounds like there are some good facilities (restrooms in several locations, showers in 1, and 2 aid stations on the 2.42 mile loop). June 2 sounds so far away!

With some balance on a gift card and a desire to have fresh trail shoes before my next race, I ventured over to REI tonight to check out their selection of trail shoes. I went with the intention to try on the Vasque Velocity, but they were no longer in stock. Actually, they did have a few pairs, but they were on the clearance rack. I guess Vasque is coming out with a new model for the Velocity.

Having already tried on The North Face Ultra 103, I knew I didn’t like its fit. I also passed over my existing shoe, the Montrail Hardrock. I spotted the Merrell Octane and decided to try it on. Bingo, the fit was perfect. I had just enough room in the toe box without the shoe feeling too big. The fit was really comfortable and the shoe feels lightweight. Putting it on, the sides seem stiff and protecting.

The shoe has some interesting features including Vibram® outsoles, a D-hook near the bottom lace for gaiters, and a padded bellows tongue for reduced lacing pressure. It is also vegan-friendly!

I will be giving the shoes a few test runs later in the week and then a trail test this weekend at Cedar Ridge. Hopefully I will continue to like them as much as I did tonight in the store.

This morning we decided to get an early start as Goutham had a plans at 1pm. So we met at 6am to gear up for at least a couple of loops for 19 miles. We decided if we felt like it, a third loop may be in order. Also joining us was Goutham’s friend Matt, who is training for the Austin marathon.

The morning was really foggy and chilly and though I didn’t plan to run with my fleece top, I kept it on. I am glad I did because I never got too hot. However, it was causing quite a bit of excess sweating which resulted in some chafing to my back from the waist band of my Race Ready shorts. Since it was still dark, I had my Tikka Plus headlamp on to provide some additional light. We probably didn’t need it but it did alert runners coming towards us to our presence.

The first loop went by pretty smoothly. Even on the hilly section at the northeast corner, we kept rolling. We estimated a pace of between 10:40-11:00/m. All three of us were wearing some sort of distance and timing device: Goutham had the GPS on his phone, Matt had his Garmin Forerunner, and I had my Silva Tech4O watch. Goutham and Matt were getting similar results while my watch was not calibrated correctly. I had previously set my running stride on a very smooth flat quarter-mile and my stride was obviously very different (and shorter) today. So I cut the stride length down for the second loop and had pretty good results (about .2 to .3 miles off over the 9.5 mile distance). This is within the tolerance. While not exact, it could be helpful on trail runs where I have no idea how far I’ve gone.

So we took out on our second loop and I was noticeably tight. My legs were aching as were my shoulders. I had a suspicion that a third loop would not be happening today even though the sun was finally out and the skies were blue for the first time in over a week. In fact, we were getting hot with all the layers we had on. This led to more sweating and more fluid intake than I estimated so I topped off my bottle with about 1.5 miles to go.

By this point, we were taking small walking breaks to keep our heart rate and breathing in check. On the long steady uphills, I could tell my effort was labored and my whole body was aching. I was ready to be done. I kept pushing to the end of the loop rather than dragging it on in a death march, and I am glad I did. However, this was a disappointing run so close to my next event. I was left wondering how in the heck I will manage to crank out 50 miles in less than two weeks time. Having missed Bandera and low on mileage for the past week, it will definitely be a rough ride.

I have a few questions at this point for how much I was hurting.

• Was it the asphalt? I don’t seem to hurt this much on trails. If asphalt really does this to me, I had better fasten my selt belt at FANS!
• Are my shoes wearing out? I am approaching 300 miles on my Montrail Hardrocks. I suspect they have many (100+) miles left in them, but low cushioning could explain things.
• Just not trained? I haven’t been putting in the miles lately, and I might just be paying for it.

I can remember a time when I loved to run in the rain. At the first opportunity to get out in it, I’d head to Town Lake and go for a nice cooling run of 8 miles or more. But lately, in addition to the cold, I have been dreading the rain. Nothing is appealing about getting out in 35-degree temperatures with falling precipitation.

Combined with the ice we’ve had recently, the rain has surely made a total mess of the trails. A few NTTR members went to Northshore today for a 7:30pm night run and I wonder how it went. I can’t see how it would be very enjoyable (at least for me). Add to that recent reports of downed trees along the trail (both here in Dallas and especially in Austin) and it’s just not a great time for. So with the cold, the rain, and the lack of runnable trails, my options are limited to a miserable run on concrete :-)

At least I have put a long run on the calendar for this weekend. I’m going over to White Rock Lake to do the 9-mile loop there a couple of times with Goutham. Depending on how we feel after 2 loops, I might try to get in a third since I really need the miles going into Rocky. I just hope my knees hold out better on the hard surface better than last time. With my FANS application in the mail, I guess I’d better get used to some long mileage on asphalt!

I’ve been meaning to get out and test my pedometer watch a bit more but the cold weather and wet conditions have provided enough excuses for me to stay inside and work sudoku puzzles or read books (work has been slow this week). After missing Bandera, I know I’m in need of a long run but just can’t muster the motivation to go out there and put in the miles. I would really rather run on the trails, but they are likely very muddy and need a few more days to dry. However, with Rocky Raccoon coming up, some long and flat distance would probably be a good thing.

And speaking of Rocky, I am still deciding on travel plans. Right now the most comfortable option seems to be flying in on Friday afternoon, attending the pre-race stuff, and then settling into a Huntsville hotel. I have the right gear to turn it into a camping weekend, but I am thinking a soft bed will be really nice to have after the 50 and before I head to the Dam Road Aid Station for a night of volunteering with Deborah and NTTR.

With regards to upcoming races, I filled out my registration for the FANS 24 hour run in June. That check is in the mail. Since I bought the plane ticket last month, I can officially tell myself there should be no backing out now.

Due to family reasons, I am unable to make it down to Bandera this year to volunteer at packet pickup, run the 50K, and then help out at Last Chance Aid Station. Good luck to those making the journey. I’m already looking forward to next year!

This means I am going to have to figure out options for a long run to prepare me for the Rocky Raccoon 50M early next month. I’m thinking a 10-hour run on similar terrain will be a good idea. Just need to choose a spot and possibly recruit some company.

I recently purchased a Silva Tech4O Accelerator^TM series watch in an attempt to more accurately measure my runs on trails of unknown distance. I’ve tried using my Garmin GPSMap 60Cx, but it has limited accuracy under tree cover, often lopping off 50% or more of the mileage. At only $50, I figured the watch was a small investment. I was a bit skeptical as it was hard to find a review of this product, and even the brand, anywhere online. It was also tough to find a local vendor, but South Summit (1819 Firman Dr, Suite 101, Richardson, TX; tel: 972-690-1812) had them in stock.

The first step was to determine my stride lengths. The watch allows you to specify different stride lengths for walking and running and claims it can tell when you are doing one or the other. It also allows for a weight input which is used to calculate calories burned. After determining my walking stride to be 29 inches, I set out on a stretch of concrete path which I knew to be a quarter mile. The watch measured both my total steps (almost exactly) and the distance to within the claimed +/- 5% accuracy.

Tonight I decided to figure my running stride length. I followed the same method as before and came up with 40 inches. I then ran back the known quarter mile distance while counting my steps. The watch again performed quite well, measuring my steps right on the nose and the distance within the 5% range. One of the neater features is the small display while in the pedometer mode. You can choose between distance, speed, calories, moving time, or the time itself. The speed display actually calculates an on-the-move pace, which could prove very useful in races when trying to stay ahead of cutoffs.

My initial impressions of the watch are good, though the buttons are not the most intuitive and take some getting used to. It is a nice looking watch that is very comfortable to wear. I’m anxious to give it a test at Northshore to see how it performs on the trail where my strides vary and I both walk and run.