Jemez

Last Saturday was the most fun I have had in a while. I got to run for twelve hours in a beautiful place while the weather gods helped all they could. Whoever designed that course is sick, and I commend them for it. There were a few climbs and descents that were surprisingly steep. My kind of terrain. I was hoping to break twelve hours, but ended up around 12:07. My hat is off to the faster folks, because I don't know how I could have gone much faster on that day. I ran what seemed runnable, and power hiked at a reasonable clip. I had some weird hamstring issues early on, but I don't think it made much of a difference. I was happy that it never got to the "staggering survival" stage, and I actually felt a bit like I was racing, albeit against myself. I can't think of a time that it stopped being fun. Even when I fell down a steep bit on my ass and skinned up the back of my calf. That was around mile 17, and I think it just re-focused my attention for the technical bits. I'm trying to come up with the way to explain my headspace for that day. This was the first time on a long run where it never got that physically painful. Sure, it hurt, and there were a couple short bouts off "why am I doing this?", but for the most part it felt like a meditative state that would go for hours. I was acutely aware of my surroundings, the wind, the sun, the features of the trail. Beyond that my the only conscience thought seemed to be on eating, drinking, and pushing the pace on the uphills. Many times during the day the silent mantra of "don't stop, clock is ticking" would repeat over and over in my head. It was a great way to keep the turnover higher on the long climbs.
   Something I frequently get asked is "don't you get bored running that long?" More than a few say they could not run very far without listening to music on headphones. Now, I'm not going to bag on people who run in headphones, but for me it would defeat some of my purpose in being out there to begin with.   Karl Meltzer always runs with headphones, and I have the utmost respect for that guys running. I would rather not have the cords bouncing around, the ear buds falling out, the fumbling for the volume button, and other little annoyances. However, the most important thing is for me to be in tune with my body and my surroundings. Part of why I'm out there is to escape from technology. Besides, I have a "shuffle" in my brain! Here is a list of a few songs that floated through my head during the race. "Taste the Pain" -Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Waiting For A Miracle"-Jerry Garcia Band, "Walk"-Pantera, "Tommy The Cat"-Primus, and many others I can't recall. The primary problem with this "playlist" is the weird stuff that pops up that I don't want to hear. Like Journey. Yeah, that's right. What was my mind trying to do to me at that point? See if I'd throw myself off a cliff to stop the suffering?
  So anyway, I don't really get bored. Sure, some parts are less than thrilling, but I love diving into my mind and swimming in the deep end. Sometimes it is scary in there, but rarely boring.
  Full results are here   http://www.highaltitudeathletics.org/results.htm. Congratulations and thanks go out to my friend Leah, who took third woman overall and rocked the final downhill miles to beat me by seven minutes. She has helped me immensely in my running pursuits. Thanks Leah!
The photos:

"Why am I not running?"

Aid station before the long climb up the ski area

Leah on the last little climb before the finish

Seven minutes later...

Routine

I have not posted anything lately because I have not done anything of note. I realized my last post was the day after a really good, long run. Since then life has been work, chores, and the dreaded taper. I am very bad at tapering. The body is strong, and wants to move, but the mind must hold the body back to make it even stronger. Moderation is not my strong suit. The dog does not like it either. We ran twelve miles last Thursday, and afterwards  he looked at me as if he had been gypped. I guess he expected at least twenty from a day off work.  So I try not to fidget, do some more yoga and core work, and surf the internerd for inspiration. Like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-2e8Wf4pSg&sns=fb cool video on the recent Miwok 100k. Those guys were charging. I know to many people that does not look fast, but for sixty two miles with 10k feet of vertical gain, that is moving! Other than that, I obsess about my race plan. What gear to use, fueling strategies, what to leave in drop bags etc. I suppose running is so simple I have to make it complicated. Oh yeah, in case you wanted to make a movie about the Seals taking out Bin Laden, too bad! Disney has the merchandising rights to "Seal Team 6". That's right, movie and merchandise. I can't wait to buy my Osama action figure with accessory turban and ak-47! Can this be worked into the Shrek series? God love American capitalism. A private company can own the rights to the name of a government military group!? Well, that is my morning ramble. Time to crawl out from under my rock and face a tiny fragment of the real world. 

Training...

The last two weeks have been tiring. Enjoyable, but tiring. At times it seems all I do is eat, sleep, work and run. I wish running was a higher percentage of that time, but what I get is quite satisfying.
   My body seems to have as many ups and downs as the weather here in Colorado. Last Sunday it snowed most of the day. Yesterday was sunny and seventy three degrees. My hip and lower back were seized up and painful just over a week ago. A good massage therapy session and I ran about 28 miles the next day. The ensuing work week seemed too long, and I only managed an hour to an hour and a half of running each day. Yesterday I ran 29 miles, and despite a bit of grumbling from my  right calf, it felt pretty easy. That being said, It felt hard enough to make me fearful of trying to go a hundred miles in June. I think that is part off the allure of a hundred mile footrace. I don't know if I can do it, and therein lies the attraction. A challenge of the physical body for sure, but mostly a question of will and desire. When I am on a training run, it never feels like "training". I'm just having fun. A long race usually provides a time when the fun stops. Why keep going? Good question. Let me know if you figure that one out! I know that part of it, for me, is the conversation in my head gets really interesting. Most of the time the thoughts in my head are mundane and petty. In a state of exhaustion things get more existential. I wish I could put these thoughts into words, but they seem to get lost in speech. It's probably just escapist, but I crave this state of mind. So many layers of my minds preconception and expectation are peeled back. The sensations seem to come through in full force, without being filtered.
    It seems funny, because I spend so much time researching training methods that would indicate that going faster, for longer, is the primary goal. Sure, faster is cool. It's an ego boost. Really though, it is about making the body resilient enough to keep it from being the limiting factor of the experience. At mile eighty I want my mind, not my stupid IT band, to be the deciding factor in my ability to continue. Pushing through a physical injury, while having it's own kind of mental struggle, may damage the future of this kind of enjoyment. Pushing through a mental barrier I can only see as healthy and helpful to my future. It is a fine line that we tread.
    Two more weeks and I'll be in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Only then will I find out if this vehicle of a body will take my mind where it wants to go.