Saturday at the Park

Since the plan was to go to my sister's house for Easter Sunday, I felt like I needed to get a workout done Saturday.

I was very surprised to arrive at Stephen F. Austin State Park and find a sign stating all the campsites were sold out!  I was only planning to stick around for 2 hours at the most, just to get in a good hill workout, and since I have a state parks pass, I can visit as often as I like without paying a day pass fee.

Here is a map of the trails for reference... I started out at the Cottonwood trail head near the amphitheater.  Just a little way down the trail, the Opossum Loop breaks off to the right and there is a nice little down hill to a bridge over a creek bed then back up the other side of the creek.  As you proceed around the loop, you come to the intersection of the Raccoon Bend Trail. If you turn right, it takes you toward the Brazos river which is still pretty high, and if you make a left turn, it leads you back to the Cottonwood trail, or if you follow Raccoon Bend just a little farther, you can follow the Opossum Loop back to the Cottonwood trail.  None of these cover too much distance, so I chose a sort of figure 8 pattern for a decent 4 mile hill repeat workout.  Each of these trails have a nice little up and down near where they intersect with Cottonwood, so I ran up and down all the hills and walked the flats for recovery... I ended the morning with a couple of miles of easy hiking to check out the Riverbend and Copperhead trails which were both under water my last trip to the park!  Things had dried out nicely and the park staff had mowed some of the tall grass to make the trails more visible.  It was fun to walk along a few downed trees and jump back and forth over them for fun... also walked along the edges of the little bridge over the creek (forward, backward and side to side) to work on my balance... that's when the mosquitoes attacked in full force!

Side note: Thanks for leaving me the Deep Woods Off, Mellody.  Had I not sprayed myself down and rubbed that horrible stuff all over my face and ears, the mosquitoes would have just picked me up and carried me away.  As it stood, they were trying to fly inside my ears to bite my eardrums because that's the only place I didn't spray the Off!!!

I am always encouraged when I see families with their children out exploring the trails at a state park, and Saturday was no exception!  There were families headed out to the river with their fishing poles and families riding the trails on their bicycles!  One little lady was training for a triathlon and her mother had recently completed her first half marathon!

Notes on nutrition... started this workout about 3 hours after I ate breakfast, and find that I don't need any electrolytes or nutrition on walks/runs up to about 2 hours.  Anything longer than that and I use 1 or 2 Endurolytes an hour, and might take along a Larabar or a bite or two of cooked peeled sweet potato in a ziploc bag.  For ultra distance racing or training longer than 2 hours, I have a liquid nutrition drink that is made from sweet potatoes and other stuff... and I make home made Pemmican bars too.  I will post these recipes in a separate blog post.

Day 2, March 27, 2011 Bataan!!!

We arrived at White Sands early enough to not have the worry of waiting in a long line of cars and were able to park very close to the starting area! That is a good thing; we could wait in the car while the wind gusted to at least 40mph and blew sand everywhere! Mellody named the wind Bob and Bob really blew that day! Bob blew so hard he seemed to move the rental car, and he forced the trees to bend over! Bob was however, good enough to blow a trash bag my way so I could wrap up in it in order to block some of the wind. LOL Bagpipes played for morning entertainment as we waited for the beginning of the opening ceremony. The three of us tried to stick together in the crowd and ended up near the front for the opening ceremony which began at 6:35am. The ceremony was very moving, as the role was called. First the survivors responded “here”, followed by the role call of all the survivors who have died since the last memorial march in 2010. No one answered. One of the survivors stood throughout the ceremony. He was wearing is full dress uniform with all his medals. What an impressive sight he was, and when the battle poem was recited, several cried out with a resounding YEAH! Then it was time for the fly over, courtesy of Holloman Air Force Base. The cannon sounded, and the group of Wounded Warriors started the march. 

 We had expected a wave start, but were warned during the opening ceremony that there were just too many of us to enforce corrals, so people just mingled and got into the starting chute when they were ready. No problems with all us civilians mixed in with all the military personnel! They seemed to be having as much fun as we all were!

I stopped to shake a few Bataan survivors’ hands on the way to the starting line. They are a proud group of men, totally deserving of this event to commemorate their suffering, and remember all the lives lost in service to our country. We were now out on the marathon course. The first part was relatively flat, though at a higher elevation than I am used to. We started out on the road for about the first mile before our turn off into the desert. This desert section was rolling and sandy, with little or no elevation gain. I started out running this section until I reached a team or group walking abreast, took a breather while following them, then ran to the next group of congestion, all the while trying to stay up wind of the blowing sand. I do not usually carry my camera with me during marathons, but really wanted to have photos from this one. I took several photos during this first section. I was making pretty good time under the conditions, averaging a 14:17 mile through mile 6. Then we turned out onto the road, preparing for the climb. I really expected the gaiters I was wearing to be a lot more effective at keeping the sand and rocks out of my shoes, but no luck. I had to stop here at the aid station and dump the debris out of my shoes, and needed a quick potty stop. There was a short climb out of the main base property, across highway 70, and then up the mountain into a 40mph headwind. Mellody caught up to me, (she took a lot more time shaking Bataan survivors’ hands than I did) and we made the climb together. I tried to take a picture of us with my camera and it would not open any more. Methinks me got sand in my camera.  I was amazed that the elevation did not bother me as much this time as it had at ET. I attribute this to Paleo. Of course, my big mistake that morning was not bringing any protein along for breakfast, (should have brought the turkey jerky or the buffalo jerky along) and the continental breakfast they were serving was all pastries, so no breakfast was presenting sort of an issue for me. I was fueling with my Hammer Perpetuem and Hammer Gel, eating a few oranges, taking my Endurolytes and alternating drinking Heed with water.

I had to stop at the next turn off into the desert to mix another bottle of Perpetuem, and it was still very windy, so I took a lot longer at this stop than I wanted to and Mellody took off ahead of me. It is all good when we do the same race, we can walk together, but we do our own race. I just enjoyed visiting with the soldiers, and took off when my fuel was mixed. We were still steadily climbing, and I was feeling strong… just slow. At this point, I already knew I was not going to break any land speed records, so decided just to enjoy the event. I had heard tales of an aid stop at mile 14 (the top of the climb) that would be selling hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and cold sodas. I was glad that I tucked a $10 into my fuel belt, because I was totally out of gas. I walked up to the table and told the guy I would pay the whole $10 for a couple of meat patties. “I’m hungry, and all I need is some BEEF!” That got a good laugh and $5 in change. My maniac friend Nina was sitting down finishing her hamburger, so I joined her. Those were the two best hamburger patties I had ever eaten. Now as it is time to rejoin the marathon, I came upon a young man with a picture of a Bataan survivor on his t-shirt. When I asked if that was his grandpa, he told me no, it was his great, great uncle. The young man must have only been about 14 years old, and he was not the youngest marcher I saw that day. I thanked him for being so tough!

The course began to head around the mountain with lots of rolling terrain along the way. I was still running a little on the down hill sections, mainly because it was easier to run down than to try and walk, risking slipping as some of the downs were pretty steep. I found out later from my other friend Deb (she is a nurse practitioner and stopped to render aid more than once during the race) that one soldier had fallen somewhere in this section, breaking his leg. The view from this side of the mountain was amazing! We could see the Organ Mountains, named such because the vertical rocks on the mountain peaks look like a pipe organ! White Sands Missile Range was also visible off in the distance (at +/-4500 feet), and far below the +/- 5,500 feet we were now motoring at. A border patrol officer was stationed at one of these high points on the course, I guess his job was to make sure all the people out there had race numbers attached to their uniforms.

The course then headed back to the road, and a steep downhill. I racewalked down the whole hill, averaging a 12:30 pace at this point, which was still pretty good, coming up on 20 miles of this really tough course. My racewalking form provoked a little teasing, which I took with a grin, inviting the soldiers to “Walk this Way!” HMMM, only 10k to go, and the infamous sand pit was still to come. As I made my way through the sand pit, which seemed more like the consistency of cat litter, I came upon two soldiers who were having serious muscle cramping issues. I had enough Endurolytes for me and maybe a couple of extras, but I gave each of them 4. I really hope it helped these two guys make it to the finish! I am sure I will never know, but it was the right thing to do at the time. I thought I would be ok with what I had left and I did still have some Heed. One more time, I had to sit down and dump the rocks out of my shoes, and this time I turned my socks inside out. I was told to get up off my ass because there were only 2 miles to go. I got up and caught the sergeant who had ordered me to get up… let him know I was passing him now. LOL I kept playing tag with a couple of other soldiers and one kept threatening to jump on my back so I could carry he and his pack to the finish. I said, come on, jump on – we will go down together!

I started to approach the finish area, and even at 7 hrs 25 minutes, there were lots of cheering spectators. I thought I would try to run across the finish line, since I had done a fair amount of running in this race. My legs simply said HELL NO, and both of my calf muscles locked up completely. I was very lucky not to fall on my face. Apparently, I needed more Endurolytes than I thought. ;) I grabbed the fence, stretched out those lead calf muscles, and proudly walked to the finish line! I had the key to the rental car, so walked straight to it and my Recoverite, pineapple juice and Fage Greek yogurt recovery shake. I was feeling fine, and looking for some of my friends who were also doing the race. I found Lori Sherwood and Susan Bell, her husband Britt and their friend Terri. We took some photos, and then I went to get some of the post race food. I asked for a hamburger patty, bratwurst and sauerkraut. No bread, still Paleo all the way. I could not eat it all and was hoping I would be able to eat a decent meal later… All I kept saying all day was fajitas for two, just for me!

I also had the good fortune to meet the parents of the young man who created the Bataan Memorial March as his ROTC project. It has grown into an awesome thing over the 22 years it has been held, and this young man should be very proud of himself.

Finally, Mellody found me and we went to watch more finishers coming in. We were beginning to worry about Deb, but she finished while we were looking the other way. Mellody had a great race, shaving time off her first Bataan march in 2007, and Deb shaved a lot of time off her first Bataan march in 2006. I was just happy to have finished! I have recently completed my first 100 mile race, and the difficulty level of this marathon is right up there with that, but the difficulties we faced here are NOTHING compared to what our military face EVERY DAY. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

We had our celebration meal of Mexican food, and all I could manage was a fajita salad with fresh sliced avocados, sliced tomatoes, sour cream and a roasted green chile on top!  It was delicious... and I did have flan for dessert, because if you climb a mountain in the desert, you deserve dessert!

I won't bore you with the details of the trip home... except to mention it was uneventful.  No accidents, no speeding tickets, no heavy duty border patrol activity.  I am happy to report we were not searched by the border patrol at the point of entry! Whew!

Omg, another blog entry!

Just have a few things to share today.

#1 – thanks to Strong is the New Skinny for challenging us to do better!

#2 – I want to share my workouts from Monday and Wednesday… they are on Running Ahead. It’s the website I use to track all my mileage.

#3 – I will be turning 50 on March 11, and I am truly excited about reaching this milestone. I am healthier right now than I have ever been, because I was the FAT KID all my life.

#4 – thanks to Ruth for needing a training partner on Mondays! She and I are going to make a great team. She is faster than I am, and I have more long distance endurance. So, she will help me become faster and more efficient, and I will help her increase her endurance!

I also like to talk about my meals… This morning, I had a couple pieces of bacon and one egg. I was not really hungry, but hubby cooked breakfast, so I ate a little.

Lunch: some celery sticks with cashew butter, radishes and heirloom tomatoes with olive oil vinaigrette (still not very hungry).

Dinner tonight after my treadmill hill workout: 2 small flounder filets cooked in a mix of olive and coconut oils, a small sweet potato (increasing carb intake with mileage increases) and a huge serving of mixed veggies (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, squash and onions) with garlic and olive oil.

Feeling great, off to clean up the dishes then in the shower and to bed early! Sleep is awesome!

Thanks, Jerry!

Maryann

back to the training log again

Wednesday, September 23

This was kind of a strange day. I had to work for a little while in the morning. Then I picked up my Mom and we went shopping in west Houston. She needed a few things from the fabric store and we had a nice lunch at Jason's Deli.
After I got home, I got ready and went out for an 8 mile walk at the little league park. It was cool, in the low 60's and windy. It started to rain when I first started my walk, then it stopped after a couple of miles. The rain would have been ok with me...

Friday, September 25
Got over to the track for bleachers and drills. 1 mile walk to the track... So, there are 14 bleachers... I planned to do them all 3 times each. Forgot to re-start the timer after stretching and missed counting 8 1/2 of them, so I did those over. All total... 50.5 runs up the bleachers - 50.5 times walks down the bleachers. 6 x 100m sprints; 2 x 100m skipping; 2 x 100m side slides; 2 x 100m crossover drills; 2 x 100m racewalk sprints; 1 mile racewalk. Walked the curves between all the above; 200m jog back to the starting point to pick up the water bottle, then 1 mile walk home. That was SOME workout... a total of 6.2 miles in 1:40 with average pace of 16:08. That's fast enough to get me throuhg 100 miles with lots of climbing.

Saturday, September 26
Sorry, just copying and pasting this from my Running Ahead entry on facebook. Kara Goucher might like these Nike Lunar Trainers... but, I have tried them for short and long distance. I don't like them, and I am really glad they were an outlet store purchase. The right shoe eats my heel for breakfast. I had planned to walk 8 or 10 miles this morning and decided to stop at 5 miles before the blister on my right heel became unbearable. This really sucks because I had a good acceleration workout going. Oh well. I have to get to work on time today, so I'll get over it.
5.09 Mi; 1:08:07; 13:23mpm; Heart Rate: Average: 139 / Max: 184
Weather: 72° F, Humid
Then I had to go to work. I chose to wear dress slacks and sandals with heels (low heels) and the store was really busy. I ran back and forth, sold lots of furniture and mattresses and before I knew it, I had a headache. I went to warm up my lunch, thinking it was about 3pm and when I saw it was actually 5... I knew I was in trouble. LUNCH at FIVE??? I am supposed to be doing a 15 mile LSD walk Sunday. I finally made it home from work at 9:30 pm and didn't feel like eating a big meal. So, I ate 3 of the little blueberry pancakes and went to bed. I decided to set the alarm for 7am to see if I could get up to walk in the morning. Went shopping instead and planned to walk the 15 miles in the afternoon.

Sunday, September 27
So, now I know what happens when you try to do a LSD walk in the heat of the day when you have not fueled properly the day before. (I checked the weather and the heat index was 103 when I left the house to start the walk). I was feeling ok, so I started out too fast. I am still not too upset over the final numbers because it is almost equal to my 50k trail pr pace. I did the whole walk except for the first and last mile in the tall grass, gravel and dirt. There is not much elevation gain and loss (1250 feet over 15 miles).
I feel like someone beat me with a big stick so I am going to soak in a tub of ice (someone made me think of ice... Pam, maybe?). That should help. 15 Mi; 3:47:16.32; 15:10mpm
I am a little better after soaking in ice water. I probably will not walk tomorrow. I am going to ask Raymond to get my bike out for me in the morning and go for a recovery ride instead of a recovery walk.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

drum roll.............

9

So, I printed the last of my race instructions and pace chart last night after re-calculating my expected time out at each aid station due to the change made on the course. Everything is looking good so far. My mom and I are flying to Cleveland June 16 and will be staying with family. (thanks Uncle Bill and Aunt Shelly, Love you!)

The training is done, I only have an 8 miler to walk later today, then I will do one last hurrah on the hills in Bellville this weekend. All my walks will be short ones next week.

The only thing left to obsess over is packing. I am going to make sure all my race stuff is in the carry on. Street clothes will go in mom's checked bag as I am only bringing a few things. Remember I said red trail shoes go with everything? I ordered two pair of my favorite trail shoes and had them shipped to the uncle's house. I will wear them from the time I arrive until race day so they won't be brand new on the trail.

Oh, and I forgot... I don't have a laptop to take along. So sad... how will I exist without Internet access until I get home on the 24th??? I just don't know. I told close friends I will send a group text at the finish to let everyone know how the race went, and I will try to take mental notes for a decent race report when I return to Texas.

Hilly Long Distance

I got a late start for my 20 miler today, too. The LSD walks I am doing now are a lot different than what I have been doing, because I am still trying to walk lots of hills, and also trying to learn how to optimize time at aid stations.

So, I set up my mini aid station at my mom's house again this weekend. Started out at 9:22 am and it was overcast. My mom said there was a front coming through soon, and the wind was going to pick up. Steady 20mph winds with gusts up to 30mph. There is one place on the route where I walk up a big hill and I am headed directly north. I nearly got blown backwards a couple of times going up (I walked up this hill 3 times and also down 3 times) and almost had to run downhill to avoid being blown over onto my face. Once or twice, I just felt like sitting down on the side of the road and crying.

Anyhow... got it done, slow enough to say it was training for a 100 mile race. 20.26 miles in 5:17:01, (including 20 minutes stopped at the aid station) average pace 15:38, average HR 138 or 71.14%, elevation gain/loss 1700 feet. I added an out and back section to the loop so I would not have to walk as many loops, it was about 2.4 miles and only has one big hill at the beginning/end. Looks like that was a mistake because the shorter loop has more rise and fall. Two weeks ago when I walked 16 miles, I climbed 2000 feet.

Oh, well, I have until June to get this right.