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?

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!

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!!!!

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.

Today was my one month checkup with the orthopedic surgeon. The knee is a bit irritating but I want to do everything I can to put off Surgery. His observation was that the knee is still a bit swelled and I have “water on the knee” but I am doing well. “Keep up what I have been doing and come back in two months”. I made the appointment for the week after the Devil just to be safe.

It has been a while since I have posted anything here. My remorse over my DNF at Umstead is mostly gone. I may try another 100 sometime later this year if my knee heals.

Blame the lack of attention to the blog on mostly on laziness and a big push in training for the Devil run. Check out the race web site

http://calicoracing.squarespace.com/running-with-the-devil/

The Race Director is great and the volunteers are truly dedicated to the runners.

Over the last few weeks, I have been having problems with my right knee. I think we will be doing the surgery route very soon but I am trying to make it through the Devil first.

Training is going well. I am doing a daily 10 miler followed by a 30 -45 minute stay in the sauna. My night training has been 2 hours on the elliptical and a 1 hour weight workout. My plans are to do back to back 15 milers on Saturday and Sunday.

I have all my heat gear for the run. Industrial Hygiene principles meet ultra running. Science meets stupidity… Geek vs jock … Which face of Jim will win?

I am really looking forward to Vegas. I consider it sort of a second home and probably spend 4-5 weeks there a year not to mention more that a few red eye weekend getaways! Coach will be doing the 50 miler with me. I use the term “with” loosely meaning that we will run the same course on the same day since his walk is way faster than my run. Ma is planning to do the half marathon if all goes well. I am happy to have their company for some of my time in Vegas. I will show them a good time. But, of course, I won’t lead them into too far into the dark side. I will have enough time for debauchery after they return to Baltimore.

I had the pleasure of crewing for a friend at the MMT 100. His drive and determination is admirable. Coach was there to keep him focused and 10 Snails were on hand for moral support. This has to be an all time record ratio for runner to crew and pacers. Peter finished the 102 miles with a smile and immediately thanked his pacer and crew.

Peter finishing the MMT 100 run. Ma in foreground, Carrie, Coach and yours truly in background

Monday was a very good day! I did my first real workout in over a month.

I started out with an early morning 5 miler – not much but it felt so good to be back on my feet. Afterwards, I spent 20 minutes in the sauna. I am doing the sauna as part of my training for the Devil run.

After work, I went to the gym and did an hour on the elliptical and a heavy chest and back workout. I could have worked out all night but I choose to use a bit or restraint.

Tuesday’s workout consisted of a 45 minute Stairmaster workout in the morning and a very light track workout under the watchful eye of Coach in the evening.