Saturday, June 21, 2008

One Week to the Devil







Today was my final Snail run prior to the Devil. I did a slow and steady 6 miler at Lock Raven. Everything feel pretty good, I still have a twinge in the knee, but it only needs to carry me for 50 miles and then I will give it a much needed rest.


As usual, following our run, we did our Saturday morning snail breakfast. I am sure that I put more calories in than I burned off this morning.


Coach gave me a stay cold bag to store my ice vest and hat inserts we will have to see if this works. Ma is recovering from her surgery and is planning to do the 10K. She is on board to be our designated driver back from the race.


We are staying the happiest place on earth ….


Cheep rooms, easy access to the strip, world famous wings,Fat Tire BEER and a lot of beautiful servers who could ask for more after running a 50 miler in 104 degree heat? My plans are to stay for a week after the race to recover. I may have to rent a scooter to get around but I will be in full Vegas mode. I wonder if they will give me a race discount?


This week my plans are to become a couch potato and hydrate—hydrate ---hydrate. I will up my electrolyte intake to be safe. I am flying to Vegas on Thursday to have some time to acclimate. The worst thing about this race is going to bed early on a Friday night in Vegas… somehow that seems to be a sinful act in sin city!







Friday, June 20, 2008








Tapering sucks! You have to find something to fill the time. I spent the night reading the Hammer, Badwater, Calico and other websites to see if I can gleam some secret wisdom that will help me survive the upcoming romp around the Nevada desert.


The only bit of solace I found is that Nevada has fairly liberal gun laws. Hopefully, the race volunteers will be supplied with small caliber handguns to mercifully put a runner out of their misery!


The course is the same as the Angle. It is real simple to follow with only 2 turns. Run 25 miles smile and give the nice person sitting in the middle of the desert you race number and then go home. I can’t think of a nicer way to spend a Saturday in Vegas!



Sunday, June 15, 2008

I I am too young to feel so old!


I did my final long run in preparation for Running with the Devil 50 miler. Slightly over 20 miles in about 4:15. This was a bit slow but I did not want to press the knee too much. My plans are to do a 6 miler tomorrow morning and a light gym workout in the evening. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings will be long sauna workouts of about an hour each day. Thursday will be a 45 minute stair master workout followed by 45 minute sauna and a massage in the evening. Friday will be a rest day and Saturday will be a short run with the snails.


Hydration, Sweat…Hydration, Sweat…. Hydration….. will be my mantra this week.


The knee is not well. I can’t say it is painful but it is bothersome. With a bit of luck it will hold out for a 50 miler but I will have to pay the Devil by nursing it for days following the race. I wonder if beer and chicken wings are good for post race recovery?




Saturday, June 14, 2008

Another Year Older.


Tomorrow I turn 47 and another year seems to have whizzed past. I always got told the older you got the quicker the years seem to pass and this year has really flown by. I’ve had some highs and lows, achieved some goals and fallen short on others.


My greatest achievement in 2007 was running the Vegas Santa (Dressed as Santa) on one day and running the Vegas Marathon on the following day dressed as Elvis. This was one of my slower marathons but it was a true turning point in my life. I fought off my introverted tendencies and did something totally insane just for fun. I ran with 200+ of my Elvi brethren stopping along the way for photos with people I never met. God knows how many blogs and face book pages have my photo. IT WAS GREAT!


I really feel I’ve turned a corner a bit in many areas of my life. Work is going well. My public speaking and skills have gotten better thanks to Toastmasters. Recently, I was elected Vice President of my Toastmasters Club – Not to bad for an introvert.

Birthdays are a time for celebration of course, for me I like to take time for reflection and goal setting. As I reflect on the past year the words thankful and blessed come to mind.



I am thankful and blessed to have:

  • Friends like the NCR Trails Snails who literally will go the extra mile for me

  • Work for a company that values the contribution I make and offers opportunity for growth and personal development. I work with a group of dedicated professionals that makes it worth going to work every day. Sadly, one of my closest confidents is retiring early next week. I wish her all the best but I will miss her dearly.

  • My health, I may be a bit beaten up due to my self inflicted torture but overall I am physically strong and feeling good.

  • Another year with my parents. God willing I hope to say the same next year.

I will not be doing much celebrating tomorrow due to my upcoming death march – AKA Running with The Devil. I don’t know what I was thinking when I signed up for this 50 mile run through the desert. I need some serious help. Maybe my mother is right --- I need to me to give up this stuff and settle down.
Who knows, maybe the paramedic that comes to my aid after the race could be the girl of my dream, we will fall in love at first sight and stop at a drive through wedding chapel on our way to the hospital. Maybe Elvis will be there too!

Viva!


Sunday, June 8, 2008

Hot Hot Hot

It was a hot weekend.


On Saturday, I ran in my desert garb. This stuff may be ok for the arid desert but in the heat and humidity it sucks. All it took was 12 miles and I was dying. I will have it in reserve for the Devil Run but I am not looking forward to the opportunity of wearing it. After the run I joined the Snails for breakfast. I caught some grief for my persistent post run limp. Honestly, it only hurts when I stop running and sit for a bit. Some of the snails think I should reconsider running 50 miles in a few weeks but the way I look at it is no pain no gain. Besides I have over a week in Vegas to recover and rehydrate.


Today I decided to train inside with a 3 ½ hour stint on the elliptical and a weight workout. Still had a bit of my post run limp but I felt good. Tomorrow will be a long morning run followed by a 45 minute sauna. Oh joy.


20 days and counting to the Devil … 20 days and 13 hours to my next beer…. 20 days 15 hours and change to Viva Las Vegas!!!!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I just got back from a light track workout at Goucher College. I was a bit stiff in the knee and calf it is a bit painful but that is why they make 800 mg ibuprofen.


This morning I did a 7 mile run followed by 45 minutes in the sauna. Yesterday I did a 10 miler before work and a mega workout of 3 hours on the elliptical and an hour with the weight. To summarize… I am a bit worn out. Hopefully it will be raining in the morning so I have an excuse to skip my morning run!


Tomorrow night I will try to get a massage to see if this works the kinks out.