Icy

In life, when you don't have much to say you talk about the weather. I guess since I don't have a lot to say on my blog tonight, I'll blog about the weather.

Wednesday morning we got hit by that snow/ice storm that crippled Arkansas and Kentucky. But for those of us not working at a school district it was just another day. A really slippery yucky icy day.

The first thing I did when I got up in the morning was call in to find out if we had a delay. This made it a little easier to get out of bed, knowing that if we did get a delay I could go back to bed.

Sadly, there was no delay. So I showered and got ready for work and when I went out the front door I stepped into the ice-encrusted snow and said aloud, "I can't believe we didn't have a delay."

Then I got started my car, brushed it off (actually it was more like knocking off chunks of ice) and got in. The whole way to work I never drove more than 30 mph. And I rarely got above 20. On the radio I heard that ALL the schools had closed and they listed off many businesses (plus the Navy Depot) that were delayed. The whole way to work, I mumbled to myself, "I can't believe we didn't get a delay."

Then I got to work and the parking lot looked like this:

It kind of made me wish I owned hockey gear, since it looked like we had a pretty decent rink. I got out of the car and almost fell right on my butt and said, "I can't believe we didn't get a delay."

When I got inside I was the only one from my department there (although data entry was there and toiling away). Actually, less than half of the department showed up for work that day. My boss worked from home (as she had planned to regardless of the weather) and when I told her that her phone was ringing off the hook (via instant messenger) and she should check her voicemail, she said "I can't believe we didn't have a delay!"

It all ended well, though. When my other boss (who is in San Francisco) heard about the weather she encouraged us to leave early so we could beat the re-freeze that was sure to happen once temperatures dropped. I've never heard of that happening before, but rather than look a gift horse in the mouth, I left two hours early.

But seriously, how did we NOT get a delay?

Book Review: 50/50 by Dean Karnazes

This Christmas, one of my presents from Beth was ultrarunner Dean Karnazes' latest book, 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!

In 2006 Karnazes (pronounced Kar-nass-iss) ran 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days in each of the 50 states. Along the way he wore out five pairs of shoes, 18 pairs of socks and three toenails. Sponsored by The North Face, each of the marathons he ran was an official sanctioned race, on the actual marathon course - but re-created by a team from The North Face with police race escorts and a SAG wagon providing support.

The exceptions were his Sunday marathons that were held at the actual event itself (on its regularly scheduled date).

While Dean's story as a runner is inspiring (as chronicled in his first book, Ultramarathon Man) having given up running while in high school only to come back to the sport to fend off an impending mid-life crises on his thirtieth birthday (maybe it was more of a 1/3 - life crises).

Since that time Karnazes has ventured on many ultra-running journeys, often using his gift to raise money for causes dear to him. In the lead up (and aftermath) of Karnazes 50-day, 50-marathon trek across the country there was no shortage of hyperbole about him in the media.

The fact is however, Dean Karnazes was never really at the apex of the sport. Runners like Scott Jurek, Tim Twietmeyer and Karl Meltzer toiled in anonymity - dominated in anonymity might be more like it - Karnazes has just a handful of race wins, yet has managed to market himself as an ambassador of the sport.

All that to say that Karnazes has a bit of an ego. And it certainly comes through in 50/50. He all but credit himself for coming up with the Nike Free and the chapter entitled "Running Green" is sure to leave you amazed at how much he does for the environment.

But the book is not all narcissism as it does have many stories of the people he met as he traveled, from a Japanese man running in Hawaii to prove himself to his new bride to now former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

The book is peppered with plenty of grey boxes with tips on improving your endurance. Most of it will seem pretty elementary to experience ultra-runners and many marathoners, however it could be invaluable to an aspiring marathoner whose sources had previously been basic books on running and people they meet along the way.

50/50 won't change anyone's opinions about Karnazes. If you love Dean, you'll probably love the book. If you think he's an attention-grabbing media hound, then you'll certainly think that after reading 50/50.

As for the books subtitle, "Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days - and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance" I find it to be something of an overstatement. I'm not sure he learned all that many secrets - and it definitely doesn't give you enough material to acheive "Super Endurance." You can gain some endurance with his tips - probably even finish a marathon - but there is no instruction book for acheiving super endurance.

If you're new to long distance running and looking for some inspiration - 50/50 might be for you. But if you're an experienced endurance runner, you may want to take a pass. (However, if you're an aspiring mobile event organizer, you could probably learn a lot!)

Fiction Family

Sunday night Beth and I took the youth group to a concert at Messiah College feature Fiction Family.



Fiction Family is Jon Foreman of Switchfoot with Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek. Now, I'm not a big concert guy. Mostly I prefer recordings to live music. I'm a freak that way.

It's also pretty rare for me to like a band the first time I hear one of their songs. Rarer still for that song to not be a recording.

But Fiction Family is seriously good. They have sort of a folksy-rock sound comparable to REM or Barenaked Ladies. There is an obvoius Bob Dylan influence which may explain why I had The Traveling Wilburys' "End of the Line" in my head after the show.

You can hear a sample of their stuff on their MySpace page. (I can't hear the sample though because for some reason the sound on my computer isn't working.)

Week Log January 19-25

Monday: run 21.0 miles, 4:52 Appalachian Trail North from Trindle Road.

Tuesday: Core work (~40 minutes)

Thursday: run 5.5 miles, 49 min. A great, fast run. My quads were still a little sore from Monday, but it didn't seem to slow me down at all.

Saturday: Core work (~40 minutes)

Total: run 26 miles

This week is sort of a semi-easy week. I still got 26 miles in - 10% more than last week - but because my long run landed on this week I had plenty of time to rest up this weekend. Which is helpful, because my next scheduled easy week isn't until after my next scheduled long run on February 7.

The HAT run is less than two months away, so I'm now headed into the real "blood and guts" of the training time for that race. Peak training time generally begins eight weeks before an event and ends at the start of the taper, about three weeks out.

It's during that time that real fitness gains can be acheived in time for that event. If you peak too soon, you're in danger of over-training and burning out and if you peak too late the fitness gains don't solidify until after it is useful for you.

That being said, now is the time for me to head for the hills. It wasn't until my post about Monday's run that I realized there were 9800 feet of climbing at the HAT run. In my mind the number had been more like 3800, so it is actually far hillier than I thought (and hillier than my run over Blue Mountain). (The HAT course doesn't go over any mountains, but there will be many shorter climbs that have the potential to completely wear me down.) So I really need to train my quads to push me up over those hills, or I could be in for a potentially long and painful day come March 21.

It's All in Your Head

Today I spent a little time poking around TheUltramarathonStore.com, which has probably the most extensive race calendar you can find on the web.

But what really caught my attention was a link to a New York Times Article about dissociation. This article talks about how keeping focus on the moment you're in rather than the miles you've run or the miles you have left to go can keep fatigue at bay and push you towards your best race.

The method of dissociation is used by New York Marathon winner Paula Radcliffe. When she starts to struggle in a race she counts her steps. "When I count to 100 three times it's a mile." (Which makes me think she has some pretty long strides.)

After the race, an athlete may be totally spent because using mind over matter, they've defeated the psychological aspects of fatigue. Which reminds me of when I ran the Chambersburg Half Marathon. I was so intent on beating my 2-hour time goal I pushed myself to the limit in the last three miles. At the finish Beth asked me, "how do you feel?"

I said, "Like I'm going to throw up."

But seriously, I wonder if this isn't part of the reason the training calculator at Runnersworld.com doesn't work for me. While I enjoy longer runs, longer races might actually be intimidating me - I haven't come close to any of the times that my 6:30 mile last year would indicate that I'm capable of acheiving.

I'm not sure how to work this into training, and I've only done some quick internet research on it, but if I can find a way to trick myself into a 3:45 marathon, I'd feel a lot better about my chances running more ridiculous distances.

Two Days Later and My Quads are Still Sore

Originally, I was going to entitle this post "LSD and Lots of White Powder." That's "LSD" as in "Long, Slow Distance" and "White Powder" as in "snow." But there are a lot (okay, a few) people out there who read this whom I wouldn't want to get the wrong impression of me.

I used my Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday to put in some serious miles. And by "serious", I mean "up the side of a mountain" - at least for about four miles.

But the really cool thing about this run was that it was my first trail run in the snow:



Okay, it's not a LOT of snow, but it made the footing a little slippery. Especially as I went up the mountain.


Well, that's not really the mountain, just a little mound on the way there. But I wouldn't want to slide down the side of it.

I started where the Appalachian Trail crosses Trindle Road and headed North. I knew that a 21-mile run would put my turnaround point somewhere in the vicinity of Blue Mountain. And it did - more on that later. This trail would not only serve as my long run but also to scout for my "Cumberland Valley Rim-to-Rim" that I'm hoping to do this year.

I knew this would be a slow run what with all the snow and the fact that I would probably be on or around Blue Mountain at some point, so I made the decision that I wouldn't worry about time and would stop to take pictures anytime I felt the urge to.

I started out surprisingly fast. Well, not fast really, more like "not as slow as I thought." I maintained about a 12 minute-per-mile pace for about the first seven miles. One thing I noticed about running in the snow is the evidence of how widely used the Appalachian Trail really is - even in winter. I saw other (human) footprints for probably all but a mile or so along the way. And there were definitely prints of all kinds of critters. If you look carefully you can see squirrel prints along the top of this log:



I also took notice of trail improvements from the last time I had run in certain sections. In particular was the building up of the trail and drainage system in what had been in the past a very muddy cow pasture. (At least I assumed it was mud...)



After about 7 1/2 miles I noticed the grade of the trail increasing significantly. Along the way the approach to Blue Mountain had been obscured by trees, but I was pretty sure I was on the mountain by this point.

I watched the average pace on my GPS unit slowly drop...12:15, 12:28, 12:32, 12:59... And the trail got steeper and steeper. Snow Flurries started to fall.

Around mile 8.5 I decided to run two minutes then walk one...eventually I decided to just walk until I caught my breath.

On one flat section of trail on the side of the mountain there was a sudden opening in the trees and you could see the whole Cumberland Valley:

That is, you could see the whole Cumberland Valley if it weren't snowing. And the snow was increasing. As I ascended the mountain I noticed the snow getting deeper. I mean, it still wasn't deep, but it was deeper than it was eight miles back.

At mile 9.85 I reached the point where the Tuscarora Trail and Darling Trails meet the Appalachian Trail at the top of Blue Mountain.

Still having .65 miles to go before my turnaround, I had the choice of taking one of the branch trails along the top of the mountain or head down the other side on the AT.

Like any idiot, I hurtled off the other side of the mountain on the Appalachian Trail. I was enjoying the ease of the downhill so much I didn't bother to think about the fact that I would have to go back up the mountain once I turned around.

At 10.5 miles from my start and about 500 feet of elevation below the mountain ridge I stopped and turned around. It took me 15 minutes to get back to the top of the mountain where the junction with the Darlington and Tuscarora Trails were. That's about a 23 minute-per-mile pace. Yes, I walked most of it.

At the top of the mountain I checked my GPS and it indicated my average pace had dropped to 14:19. No problem, I'll make it up on the descent.

WRONG!

The descent was a bit harrowing. Not incredibly harrowing, just a bit. And I probably would have made up some time if it weren't for the snow obscuring roots and rocks on the trail and making smooth surfaces especially slippery.

Discretion is the better part of valor, so I took my time coming down. Being careful didn't prevent my second-ever fall as a trail runner, though. On the edge of one of the switchbacks there were some stone steps and even though I had come to nearly a complete stop when I stepped onto the stone, I still slipped and managed to catch myself by putting my hands down behind me with my rear end mere inches off the snowy ground.

The snow continued to pick up on my descent and I just couldn't seem to gain any time. I'd hit a spot where I could safely accelerate for a short time only to have to slow down on a rocky section or a spot where the trail made a sharp turn.

By the time I reached the valley floor, fatigue had set in and I still couldn't manage to gain any time. After 18 miles my average pace was still nearly 14 minutes-per-mile. But I had said from the beginning that I wouldn't be deterred by a slow pace. I had stopped to take pictures (and once to relieve myself) and gone up the side of a mountain (twice) so 14 minutes-per-miles isn't so bad.

I did finally get a second wind with about 2 miles left and got a couple seconds back. 21 miles in 4:52 slow, but it definitely was some serious work.

I woke up Tuesday morning with my quads aching - which is pretty typical after long runs, but now it's Wednesday and they are still burning. But it had to be good training. The HAT run has 9,800 feet of climbing, so I guess about 3700 feet of climbing over 21 miles is pretty good training.

I'm Not Riding with Team Fatty - But Maybe I Should...

Actually I really shouldn't. I've been waffling back and forth whether I want to join the Livestrong Challenge team put together by Fat Cyclist, but ultimately I just don't have the time to put "one more thing" on my plate (especially this coming August). So since I can't ride or fundraise for Fatty, I'll at least give him some free advertising in this blog post.


Fatty's goal is to create the single most successful Livestrong Challenge team in history. And he has a good chance at pulling it off - for three reasons: focused passion, a strong internet following, and really sweet prizes.

And I mean really, really sweet prizes. He's managed to get a companies in the cycling industries on board and they've donated a TON of great prizes. And I mean, really great prizes.


In his most recent post on the Livestrong Challenge post he announced that he will be raffling off a full carbon Gary Fisher Superfly Singlespeed. For those of you that don't know bikes, let me tell you that this is pretty much the awesomest mountain bike on the planet. And you can't buy it. Like seriously, it's not on the market.

So your (and my) only chance is to win it by donating to Fatty's Livestrong Challenge page. For details on how to win check Fatty's post about the bike and a Lance Armstrong signed poster also being raffled.

Week Log January 12-18

Monday: Run 3.7 miles, 34 min. Fast jaunt around the neighborhood. Need a break from these stability shoes - I have a bit of a hot spot on my heel.

Tuesday: Core work (~30 min.)

Wednesday: 8.8 miles, 1:42 One Lap around Pinchot park (with a few shortcuts). No walk breaks, so I kept a pretty decent pace on the trails.

Thursday: Core work (~30 min.)

Friday: 5.2 miles, 55 min. Cold, cold day - around 12 degrees out. Not as fast as I'd hoped, but felt very good.

Saturday: 6.5 miles, 1:12 Ditto to Friday's run.

Total: run 24 miles.

I've decided to start including my core/strength workouts on my logs to help keep me motivated to maintain those - so if you see those drop off, go ahead and comment asking what happened.

I admit, that I'm a little discouraged from my slow training times. It seems like Friday and Saturday's runs should have been a few minutes faster. But I got some encouragement watching the Cardinals-Eagles game today.

The Cardinals didn't have the greatest regular season. They lost every time they played on the East coast, but still made the playoffs because they are in a pathetic division. But once the playoffs started their defense improved and they even had something of a running game.

Now, even though the Giants, Titans and Panthers were juggernauts in the regular season, they are all going home while the Cardinals are headed to the Super Bowl in two weeks. This is because the Cardinals have peaked at the right time. While other teams have had outstanding regular seasons and appeared unstoppable the Cardinals were still figuring things out and learning what works for them as a team. The Cardinals are playing well when it really counts.

For me, I need to be running well when it really counts - on March 21 (and May 3). So while I may be frustrated about the slow improvements in speed and endurance, all this is building towards what I hope to be some good racing this spring.

Feelin' It

Lately it seems I haven't blogged much about running or cycling outside of my weekly training log. I think it's because I just haven't been feeling much like running or cycling.

While I had been itching to get back after taking few weeks off following the JFK 50, since Christmas I hadn't felt much like running. I bonked on my long run at the end of December and my legs had felt pretty dead since then.

Part of it is probably due to having two weeks off of work messing up my routine (not that I'm complaining!) and I think part of it is feeling lousy from a poor diet and having a colony of bacteria set up shop in my throat.

But this week, I think I'm starting to hit my stride. Before bowling on Monday I put in a fast 3.7 miles and then yesterday, having the afternoon off of work I jammed in almost nine miles at Pinchot State Park. It's been cold, but you know what I'm doing tomorrow when the mercury will only be in the mid-teens? About 5 miles.

So I took a few minutes at lunch and planned my training schedule. If everything goes as planned I'll have a new PR for miles in a month - in February! I'll be following the 10% rule with "easy weeks" every 3-5 weeks. I'll be peaking with about a 45 mile week just before my taper heading into the HAT run.

I have to say, this adding miles goal is starting to feel a little crazy. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

The Rise of the Snuggie

Beth and I have laughed a lot over the Snuggie (although she just admitted to me she secretly wants one). Have you seen their commercials? They're hilarious!


It's a blanket, but with sleeves! I can't tell you how many times I've thought "I'm nice and warm in this blanket, so I don't dare take a drink of water because it might slip and my arms might be a little cold!"

Oh sure, I could put on a sweatshirt or a flannel or a winter jacket. But they're not as comfortable as a blanket. I need a blanket with sleeves.

Apparently, they're really taking off. Here's a few reviews from Jennyreviews.com:

"Gyles" says: "The Snuggie blanket with sleeves is the strangest blanket I have ever owned, yet it’s so comfortable that I want to wear it outside the house. To be honest, I have snuck down to the mailbox a few times with it on."

Can you imagine seeing someone walking out to their mailbox wearing a snuggie? You'd have to wonder what exactly goes on at that house.

"Jackwinderberry" says: "I always dreaded wintertime before I got my snuggie. It is the most amazing product every invented in the history of man. Sure, fire was good, but it didn’t have sleeves!"

Hmm...but what if fire did have sleeves? Would it be better than the snuggie?

"Steve Smith" says: "Just got my Snuggie this morning, It’s the BEST thing for this Minnesota Winter. This was a gift, Guess I need something else now!"

If it's the "BEST" thing for the Minnesota winter why do you need something else now? And since you play for the Carolina Panthers, why aren't you wintering down south?

Truthfully, I think the inventor of the snuggie was jealous of Obi-Wan Kenobi's obvious comfort and maneuverability and decided to make their own Jedi-style robe:



Or maybe they watch a lot of Simpsons and are simply Stonecutter wannabes:



Check the commercial again. That family at the football game is obviously a Stonecutter family.

A Nightmare Scenario

Living in South Central Pennsylvania I am surrounded by an unusual combination of football loyalties, which falls into four general groups.

This area is sort of a "funneling point" for people who have moved from other parts of the state and country. The Harrisburg/Lancaster/York area has generally had more job growth, so people (like me) move here.

The first group are the natives. These people complain about how development has ruined the area (which, honestly it has) and are Philadelphia Eagles fans. Eagles fans can best be described as angry. They've dealt with failure after failure and generally don't expect the best from their team and give up quickly on them. They're the reason Donovan McNabb won't be an Eagle next year if they lose to the Cardinals this weekend.

The second group are transplants or children of transplants from Western Pennsylvania. My friend Matt falls into this category. These people are Pittsburgh fans. And Pittsburgh fans are generally positive about their teams. I don't know how many times I've been told about all the "young talent" that the Pirates have and "how good they're going to be next year." These fans are the reason that Ben Roethlisberger will probably always be a Steeler.

The third group are the Maryland transplants. They can be either Redskins or Ravens fans. They usually only come out of the woodwork when their team is doing well, usually in the form of simply donning a jersey or hat. I think they're scared of the Eagles fans.

The fourth, smallest group (to which I belong) consists of the transplants and the occasional native who follow a non-local team. We're a hodgepodge of Bills, Cowboys, Packers and Buccaneers fans who moved to this area and we usually don't say much unless our team is doing well.

You can see now potential unending annoyance I could be facing between January 18 and February 1. If the Eagles and the Steelers win their conferences and face each other in the SuperBowl, life will be darn near unbearable around here. The trash talk will be unending and I will be suppressing the urge to pummel perfect strangers day in and day out.

Eagles fans, while usually negative will be constantly spouting trash talk. This talk will mostly come in the form of "Steelers suck". Because "Everything sucks" is the official motto of the city of Philadelphia. I think. And if it's not, it should be.

Steeler fans will also be constantly spouting trash talk. Pittsburgh trash talk is usually at least a little more thought out. It will come in the form of "McNabb won't be able to handle the Steelers pass defense." Or "Westbrook won't be able to handle the Steelers run defense." And it may or may not be followed up with "besides, the Eagles suck."

So that is why I'm spurning those around me by rooting for the Cardinals and the Ravens this weekend. Because an all-Pennsylvania SuperBowl will simply be a nightmare scenario.

Week Log January 5-11

Thursday: Run 5.2 miles, 53 min. Not a bad pace for having been sick all week. A little underdressed for the cold, though.

Sunday: Run 8.0 miles, 1:30 After taking Friday off, I decided to pass on running Saturday because there was way too much to do around the house. So today, after eating a huge lunch (bad idea) I went running at about 4:00. I definitely still had too much in my stomach and it slowed me way down.

Total: Run 13 miles.

Wow. My goal of getting my base up to a regular 30 miles per week is off to a terrible start. Yes, I was hampered by four days of strep throat, but I feel like I should have crammed a few more miles later in the week. Then again, that might not be so beneficial.

So this week, I'm carrying on as if I hit my 24 mile goal last week and will shoot for 26 miles with a long run of 20-21 miles on Saturday. Since my long run is this week, I'm probably also looking at my third straight two-run week. So, that's not ideal, but I do need that long run so I'll be ready for the HAT run and I want to keep a steady (that is, not sudden) increase in mileage to safely get my base up to 30 miles per week.

Shrivelling Up Like a Prune

As a kid, I remember running around outside without gloves in 20-degree weather and my hands would be fine. I don't think I really used chapstick until I was a teenager.

But today, all winter long I feel like I'm in a food dehydrater. My skin, especially on my hands, gets red and chapped and I need to use chapstick roughly 7,000 times a day to prevent my lips from completely falling off.

I remember loving winter when I was kid - and I definitely don't remember these discomforts. And I'm not talking about the inconveniences of ice and snow weather - I'm talking about the dryness. Every winter for the past 7 or so I've had chapped hands. Chapped hands! I never even realized you could get chapped hands until my little brother's hands were chapped from a cold snap after my family moved to South Carolina.

Does this just happen when you get old? (How the heck did I get "old" all of a sudden?) Is there something special about the climate in Upstate New York that allowed it to get bitter cold, but your hands never chapped?

Maybe I just need to accept that I'll be using hand lotion and chapstick the rest of my life...

Strep Stinks

Finally, I'm feeling well enough to string a few coherant thoughts together.

Saturday while Beth and I were at her parents, I started to get a sore throat. Beth had had a sore throat earlier in the week and recovered pretty quickly. And since she normally gets hit by illness about three times harder than I do, I didn't think much of it.

But as the day went on it got worse. We went to Sharon, PA to an amazingly huge record store and then to lunch at the orginal Quaker Steak and Lube. I had eight cajun wings and "magna fries" (fries topped with cheddar and monterey jack cheeses and bacon - not exactly the healthiest thing I could have had) and I noticed that my throat hurt with every swallow.

On the ride back to my in-laws I felt worse and worse and we ended up stopping at a Rite-Aid for Tylenol Cold and some lozenges. I spent the rest of the night in bed, while Beth and her parents visited with the neighbors who were down for a visit. I heard a lot of laughing - reminds me of when my brother was five or six and he had to go to bed while the rest of us stayed up. "I could hear Jeff laughing!"

Beth had to drive home on Sunday because I couldn't handle it. I called in to work yesterday (as well as today) and went to the doctor. Strep throat. I probably haven't had that in 20 years. She said it didn't even take the full five minutes for the test to show positive. So now I'm taking good ol' penicilin and feeling considerably better.

Tomorrow I should be back to work an hopefully back on the run again.

Week Log December 29 - January 4

Tuesday: Run 18.6 miles, 4:00 Two laps around Pinchot Park. Went out way to fast and bonked around mile 15. A couple packets of GU got me back to the car.

Friday: Run 3.5 miles, 39 min. Three laps around the block in Meadville. Snow and slush made for a very slow go.

Total Run: 22 miles.

To keep a "steady" increase of miles and get my long run in this week I had to only do two runs. Which turned out fine, because if I needed more miles this weekend, I'd be up a creek. I've come down with a nasty sore throat (and occasional fever) so running is out of the question until I start feeling better.