So December rolls along, along with the miles. It seems like my life right now is pretty much a blur of budgets, Christmas parties, my son's basketball... and running.
The last of those is probably good, as Team Type 1 has formally decided that one of the focal races for 2011 will be the NJ Ultra Festival on March 19, which includes 26.2 mile, 50k, 50 mile, 100k and 100 mile options.
And on that day, with a little help from above plus a handful of painkillers, I'll be aiming to do my first 50 mile race.
Without a doubt, it's a strange goal: I always said I'd do ultras after I qualified for Boston and - to date - I haven't. Moreover, 50 miles is just... well, kind of far.
But there were a few things that led me to this decision:
* Though my base is strong right now, we're heading into the time of year where doing fast work will really suck. I did speedwork last January, and it was a special stage of hell. Instead, I'd rather do a ton of miles.
* Team Type 1 is almost creepily full of guys with major ultra experience... Guys who seemingly do 50s and 100s on a whim. And me, well I'm susceptible to both temptation and stupidity.
* My training partner has said he'll likely do it. Now that I've blogged it, I expect he'll feel committed. :) But seriously, the ability to do this race with Team Type 1 AND my regular training partner? That's a great opportunity.
Goals, you ask? Well I've never done a 50 mile race, and that's part of the beauty. Survive, really is my most important goal. Experts say to double your marathon time and add 2 hours. If I were to go for a marathon in March, I would go for a 3:20, so that would be an 8:40. But like I said, who knows what will happen? And truth is, if I can finish strong, that's all I need from the experience.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Much Ado About Much
The problem with not writing a blog post in 7 weeks is that you're virtually guaranteed to write a rather unfocused diary-like entry, seemingly devoid of purpose, intent, plot or resolution.
Like this one.
In no particular order:
1) I took a trip to England for work, and ended it with a day in Ireland for fun. Despite the fact that Ireland is nearly bankrupt, it wasn't like garage-sale bankrupt. Instead, it was like Kmart bankrupt; everyone talks about it, but the prices were mostly the same. Still, there was Guinness, and for that alone, I was grateful.
2) I took a trip to Cleveland for one night for work, which isn't remarkable, other than the fact that I hadn't been to Cleveland before. We went to a very nice restaurant, which leads me to conclude that Cleveland is awesome! I'm simple like that.
3) I went to Federal Jury Duty, and was dismissed after 5.5 hours, which included a 2 hour lunch. This, too, leads me to conclude that jury duty is awesome!
4) I ran 187 miles in November, including 59 miles the week of Thanksgiving - both my highest totals ever. Incidentally, I ran this far because I made the mistake of talking trash with someone at work about who would run more. She's apparently more stupid than I, as she ended up with 200 miles for the month. Either way, it made for an awesome base month of training. In December, I want to take the miles down maybe a smidge, but add 1 day of tempo runs in per week.
5) I'm the subcoordinator for my son's basketball league. Thus far, this job mostly entails preventing the school janitor from beating players and coaches with his mop and telling coaches they can't change their practice times or days. Good fun!
6) Team Type 1 is still finalizing race plans for springtime. There is talk of an ultra, but the ultra is scheduled the same week as my next trip to Europe. Thus, I have voted ANTI-ultra, but will have to see what majority rule decides. Regardless, I will either be doing a marathon or an ultra or both in the spring.
7) Since we last spoke, I've lost 8 of the 15 pounds I want to lose to get to weight I was when I ran my marathon PR. While I had previously posted I wanted to lose 11 pounds, the real number was 15, which I can admit now that I'm past the half-way point. How have I done it? More Synthroid, less food, more water. Well, the 187 miles probably helped a bit, too. Seven pounds to go. As I said to my doctor, "I'm not vain. I just want to be fast."
8) Had my annual eye exam, and the doctor was amazed at how well they look after 26 years of diabetes. He said, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it!" So I promptly went home and drank two beers.
And that's about all I have to say about that.
Like this one.
In no particular order:
1) I took a trip to England for work, and ended it with a day in Ireland for fun. Despite the fact that Ireland is nearly bankrupt, it wasn't like garage-sale bankrupt. Instead, it was like Kmart bankrupt; everyone talks about it, but the prices were mostly the same. Still, there was Guinness, and for that alone, I was grateful.
2) I took a trip to Cleveland for one night for work, which isn't remarkable, other than the fact that I hadn't been to Cleveland before. We went to a very nice restaurant, which leads me to conclude that Cleveland is awesome! I'm simple like that.
3) I went to Federal Jury Duty, and was dismissed after 5.5 hours, which included a 2 hour lunch. This, too, leads me to conclude that jury duty is awesome!
4) I ran 187 miles in November, including 59 miles the week of Thanksgiving - both my highest totals ever. Incidentally, I ran this far because I made the mistake of talking trash with someone at work about who would run more. She's apparently more stupid than I, as she ended up with 200 miles for the month. Either way, it made for an awesome base month of training. In December, I want to take the miles down maybe a smidge, but add 1 day of tempo runs in per week.
5) I'm the subcoordinator for my son's basketball league. Thus far, this job mostly entails preventing the school janitor from beating players and coaches with his mop and telling coaches they can't change their practice times or days. Good fun!
6) Team Type 1 is still finalizing race plans for springtime. There is talk of an ultra, but the ultra is scheduled the same week as my next trip to Europe. Thus, I have voted ANTI-ultra, but will have to see what majority rule decides. Regardless, I will either be doing a marathon or an ultra or both in the spring.
7) Since we last spoke, I've lost 8 of the 15 pounds I want to lose to get to weight I was when I ran my marathon PR. While I had previously posted I wanted to lose 11 pounds, the real number was 15, which I can admit now that I'm past the half-way point. How have I done it? More Synthroid, less food, more water. Well, the 187 miles probably helped a bit, too. Seven pounds to go. As I said to my doctor, "I'm not vain. I just want to be fast."
8) Had my annual eye exam, and the doctor was amazed at how well they look after 26 years of diabetes. He said, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it!" So I promptly went home and drank two beers.
And that's about all I have to say about that.
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