August, 2010

Total run mileage: 169 (personal best)
Long runs: 20, 18, 15
Best tempo: 5 @ 8:25/mi

I've felt sluggish for most of about the last 2 weeks now. I hope that means I'm working myself over pretty good, and the bounce will come back when I taper. Fortunately I've been relatively injury free. I've had a nagging knee thing, but that's been going on since High Cliff, and it hasn't gotten any worse. So I'm not worried about it, yet.

My weight is high. About 8 pounds higher than where I would have loved for it to be right now, but about 4 pounds higher than what I would be okay with. Jamie and I are vowing to eat better between now and race day.

Nothing significant happened in August. It's the first non-winter month since 2005 that I haven't raced, at all.

Lake Country Half Marathon this Saturday. First status check in a really, really long time.

Not-so-good run report.

I had visions of running 20+ this morning, but I knew not more than an hour in that I wasn't going to make it. Current temp is 87, and humid, and not a cloud in the sky. Unintelligently, I didn't run where there is an abundance of shade, or like, any at all. I bonked hard at roughly 13 miles and had to walk it off it a bit. The rest of the way was a run-walk affair. Something I have literally never had to do before on a training run. Ever. No kidding.

I'm not sure if it was because:
a) I was unprepared for the warm day.
b) The mild case of insomnia I've been battling.
c) The after effects of a migraine (thanks to astignatism - since I was 10) I had on Thursday and Friday.
d) A rather severe hiatal hernia/GERD flare-up this weekend (something I've had for about 10 years - I had to make a real quick exit at wedding reception friday night, which was a little embarassing, and painful).
e) A combination of all of the above.

Whatever it was, I'm posting this and moving past it. Posting helps. Then I'll continue to prepare the best that I can.

I still got 18 miles in, and I'm at roughly 162 miles for the month, which still has enough time in it for a couple of shorter runs. So I'm happy with my totals. I'm not sold on the quality having equal parts as quantity though. I'll have to work on that.


Next weekend is the Lake Country Half Marathon. I hope to run hard, but not too hard, and start to gain an understanding of what I should be shooting for in October at the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon.

Scary Situation

My daughter is fine, but she was hit by a car on Sunday night while riding her bike. Nobody is to blame. She has a nasty bruise on her shoulder, some scrapes and bruises on her elbow, wrist, knee, and ankle, and she says her tailbone hurts, but she's really tough, and can't wait to get back on her bike. Unfortunately, we probably need a new bike (which we can't afford right now) and definitely need a new helmet (it was totally destroyed).

Jamie tells the story a lot better than I, because I wasn't there until a few minutes after the incident. Needless to say we are shocked and relieved. It's not that I needed to be reminded of how much I love my family, but this puts things back into perspective.


Taken just prior to the incident.

Longest run since Ironman

I did my longest run since Ironman Wisconsin (Sept. '09) this morning. Jamie and I set out for 18+, and decided to run the Cap City Trail right down the road from our house in beautiful Madison, WI. Seriously, if you haven't been to Madison... visit. Like now. It's an amazing city in the summertime. We are so lucky to live in a place that has so many amenities for people like us. So much urbanity, nature, trails, parks, and all sorts of venues and events. It's days like this I reconsider my commitment to eventual southward relocation. I'll feel differently in January, I'm sure, but we'll be snowbirds for sure.

Jamie asked me with less than a mile to go if I wanted to push it and make it an "even 20". I told her to ask again in a bit. I was feeling okay, but knew that could change quick. At the last moment I recommended tacking on a couple, and I'm glad we did. After careful measurement, we hit 20 miles right on the button, and did it in exactly 3:20:00, or 10-minute miles on my watch. I didn't stop my watch at intersections though, so I suppose we ran it just a tad quicker.


It's nice to get my first of at least two 20s out of the way before the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. I feel slightly more prepared now, but boy my right ITB and left achilles are sore (normal for me). R.I.C.E. and I'll be fine. I also like that 40+ miles should be relatively easy this week, which should put me ahead of pace for my goal of 150 this month.

Don't forget I'm raising funds for the InStep Icebreaker Indoor Gold Medal Challenge. If you purchased a print, or any of my prints for that matter, I'll take 10% off the fundraiser prices.

Rockstar Recovery

A number of years ago, a buddy of mine went to Las Vegas to run in the Las Vegas Marathon. Knowing that upstart (at the time) energy drink company Rockstar was based in the area, I contacted them on his behalf and recommended setting him up with some sort of opportunity to promote their product, especially because he already had a booth at the race expo for selling athletic sunglasses. Rockstar complied. They sent a team out to the expo with cases upon cases of product for my friend Jason to give away and consume. Somehow nothing ever made its way back to me.

Fast forward to current day, and Rockstar probably gets far too many requests to oblige very often. Still, some sort of answer would have been nice. I wanted to opine on Rockstar Recovery with an opportunity to give away some sample, or coupons. No such luck. Maybe this might find its way over there and maybe even ring the right bell.

After a recent Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon build-up run of 16-miles out on the Glacial Drumlin State Trail, I snagged one of these from the trailhead vending machine, and it totally hit the spot. It tasted awesome and cracked serious whip. Normally I down a whole lot of water, something to eat, and a can of Diet Pepsi for the caffeine, but the Rockstar Recovery lemonade-flavored energy drink was a good solution for the drive home and for preventing afternoon couch-crash.

Normally I stay away from things like Tuarine, and not because I'm preachy about stuff like this, but mostly because I don't understand it. I do understand that whatever it is, gives you some sort of an energy boost, and often results in a crash, and a headache, but let's face it, endurance sports training can kick the shit out of you, and we'll reach for anything to postpone the ass-kicking.

With a 20-miler on tap mañana (which I think will end up being an 18 because I missed last week's 18 and ran a 15 instead), I wonder if I shouldn't just run out there again so I can get another one of these at the trailhead upon completion. Although I'd really like to run somewhere else, because that trail is getting boring, and runs past a certain asshole's house whom I'd rather just avoid at all costs.

Why I Bondi Band.

What are they? One-size-fits-all, wicking headbands that can be worn for fashion, or function. Intended for active applications. In my case, the function is for keeping burning sweat out of my eyes on the run. Jamie, my wife, is a big advocate, and uses them for fashion AND function.

Hats and visors as sweat-soakers don't work well for me. They get soggy and start to slide down my head. Often they fit uncomfortably. They also rarely work in conjunction with my sunglasses, so I prefer Bondi Bands to keep the sweat out.

Upon first observation, Bondi Bands appeared to be intended for gals, and they do in fact offer more feminine patterns than those you would expect a man to wear, but Bondi Bands are not just for the ladies. In fact, I think it's pretty easy to rock a Bondi Band and pull off a completely rugged look.

Flames!

Skulls and tribal!

The only complaint that I have is when picking out patterns online, there is really no way to tell what kind of fabric it's going to come on. Mine come from many different types of fabric, some of which aren't as light and breathable as I would like for them to be. They all claim to be "wicking", but there is a little confusion on the weight, or thickness of the material. It's kind of a crap-shoot there.

They are also available in a variety of phrases in addition to patterns, but I'm not personally big on the phrase versions.

I don't think I've ever been to a major running expo where Bondi Bands weren't being sold, and they can also be purchased online. I've also been known to buy in bulk and resell them, so let me know if you want a discount.

Give them a try!

Racevine.com Shirt Giveaway Winner

I had 34 entries in the Racevine.com Shirt Giveaway and Random.org randomly selected post #29. Lisa from Survival of the Fittest is the luck winner, and since we reached at least 10 qualified individual entrants, I'll be throwing in a few extra goodies that are left over from Edge Multisport promotions. Thanks everyone.

Lisa, email your shipping address to jason[at]clydesdalerunning[dot]com.