I thought of my 18 year photography quest and remembered that each August I would take a 1 month break from anything having to do with pictures. The hot weather was perfect for running and getting fit, being outdoors and just enjoying the flow of moments. While my guitar quest is not as serious, I know that the warm weather has induced me to concentrate on other things, such as running.
Having signed up for a repeat of last year's races, the DWD 50k at Devil's Lake in July, and the 8 hour Howl in August, the training has currently taken the focus of my energy and attention.
Back in December I injured the popliteal ligament in my right knee at the tail end of a 12 miler. Just like all of my injuries, I was not in any serious discomfort, however, whenever I tried running my knee would get stiff after 5 miles, and I could feel the ache in the back of the knee, which is where the ligament is located. Just like the winter of 2008, when I injured my right knee, I was unable to run long distance until the spring. I took all of April off, and when I returned I found that the ligament had healed - the ache behind the knee was gone, along with the front stiffness.
I am finally starting to round into shape, although my endurance base is small. I ran the Buffalo 5 miler in mid May, having run only 3 or 4 times in the 5 weeks leading up to the race. I averaged 7:30 miles, which is slow when compared to my previous times, but considering the circumstances I was pleased with the result.
Last Saturday I ran the Lake Mingo 7 miler, and finished in 1 hour. Last year I crossed the line in 56 minutes, and the year before that, 52 minutes. It makes me feel old when I see the 4 minute time increases, but last year I was concentrating solely on long runs, with no speed work, so the 56 minutes made sense, and this year I had a 4 month break from January-April, so the 1 hour finish also makes sense.
After last year's Mingo race I took a 20 minute rest, refueled, and ran 2 more loops for a 23 mile day. It was a great workout, a lot of fun, and it led nicely to the Devil's Lake race. Coming into Mingo this year I had run 2 x 12 milers and the week before the race a 17 miler, so I decided to push myself and repeat last year's training day. After the race I refueled and when I began the 2nd loop I literally ran into Tana R., a fellow ultra runner, who was also going out for a 2nd loop. We ended up running together for the 2nd set of 7 miles, and it made things go smoothly.
The day was hot with high humidity, and after the 2nd loop I was on my own and considered dropping the 3rd loop. I knew that if I stopped after 14 miles I would probably have a tough time at Devil's Lake, so I decided to press on, and by mile 2 of the 3rd set of 7, I was overheated and bonking. I was not upset about this, as I wanted to practice running while under distress. I felt similarly to mile 19 of my first marathon - the inability to will the body to run against any type of resistance. I had to walk the hills, but was able to run the flat areas of the trail. Unlike the marathon, my legs felt fresh, but the depletion of energy in my muscles made it impossible to run. When I reached the mid point of the loop I could feel the heat baking my head. I needed to cool down, so when I found access to the lake I splashed the muddy/slimy water over my head. That saved me for a couple of miles, and at mile 5 I found a large mud puddle, bent over and splashed the brown water on my head, face, and body. I had to walk the rest of the way, but I covered the distance, and was happy when I got to the car to drink the last of my lemonade and eat fruit - watermelon, blueberries, blackberries, grapes. I was too hot to stomach the pbj I had, so I contented myself with constantly splashing myself under the shaded water faucet and sitting on the picnic table.
This week I had some good training runs, although the hot days had brought my energy level down and was unable to do as many reps as planned. Tuesday I ran 12 hills at 5k pace at the arboretum, and yesterday 5 x 1000m hard loops at Busey Woods. Tomorrow I am planning to start the run at 5:00am and go for as long as possible, hopefully 2 full South Farm loops for 24 miles.
To balance the running, I am taking a boot camp class at the Park District, mwf from noon-1:00pm. That class is kicking my butt, lots of leg and core exercises that I have previously neglected out of ignorance. I have never had a 6 pack ab before, it would be funny if I finally got one at age 44.
