I ditched the East Fork Duathlon Sunday for a long trail
run. The 60% forecast of thunder storms (did not happen), getting up at 4 AM
(did not happen), played a part in my decision to spend the morning on the
Mount Airy trails. The ultimate goal is to have fun, get faster, and more fit
so the trails won hands down. There was no free tee-shirt however but I don’t
wear a shirt on the trails anyway : )
This entry really serves as part motivator and part
progress report to keep me focused on my ultimate goal to do well at the Stone
Steps race at Mount Airy forest in October. So my marginal, questionable witty comments would seem out of
place given few will actually read this : )
Not sure yet if it will be the 27K or my first 50K. Last
year I did the 27K, and my pace splits were:
11:43 – 12:43 – 14:07 – 15:33 for an overall 13:33 and
50/57
The numbers tell the story that I was not prepared for
the distance as I had only run the 5+ mile loop once before the race. This year
will be different.
I have been running the Mount Airy trails 2-3 times a
week for over two months but typically one 5.4m loop. My PR pace for the 5.4 loop
is 10:40 but I had little left over. That would have put me in 22nd
overall out of 57, not too shabby considering most are fit and under 40. So
that is my goal, a top half finish in 2012. (actual 33/44 damn)
My plan will be to run the Mt Airy trails 2-3 times a week
(steadily increasing distance) with one of those a long run. If my long run by
early October is four 5.4m loops, I’ll do the 50K. jeez, that's 4-5 hours for me. The 50K will be more like 7 hours.
I’ll keep a log here of my progress: (does not include
road miles)
7/29-8/5 8.5m(12:30m/m),
5.4m(10:40m/m), 5.3m(11:11m/m), 19.2m total
8/6-8/12 7.4m(11:16m/m), 7.4m(10:45m/m), 10.7m(11:29m/m), 25.5m total
8/13-8/19 5.3m(12:05m/m), 7.4m(10:53m/m), 12.7m total
8/20-8/26 no trail running this week (out of town), just road, 0m
8/27-9/2 5.3m(13m/m in mud), sick with cold, basically took week off, 5.3m
9/3-9/9 8.8m (20:56m/m up, 13:13 dwn), 8.8m (19:06 up, 12:21 dwn), 17.6 total
9/10-9/16 Taper for Bad to Bone (ie-excuse to be lazy), 8m at race
9/17-9/23 Calf strain from B2B, rest until Thursday, 5.4m(10:42m/m),
9/24-9/30 4.1m@sw (< 9.0), 2.6m@sw(9:15), 13.5m@race( 10.4 ) 17.1 total
sw=sharon woods, trails but easy as the times show
10/1-10/7 5.1m@sw(9:43), 3.5m@sw(9:45) tender L foot, r knee 8.6 total
fighting plantars fasciitis on left, trying to manage pain@distance
10/8-10/14 5.3m(10:55m/m), 3.6m@CNC 8.9 total
10/15-10/21 5.2m@CNC, 9.8m@CNC, 9.9m@CNC 24.9 total
10/22-10/27 the hay is in the barn, hope it's enough
10/28 race day!!!!
summary:
mt.airy trails - 73.4 miles
other trails - 82.0 miles
total - 156.3 miles in 3 months, about 13 trail miles per week (too few for sure)
nov 10, 2012 last entry: get healthy then get serious
8/27-9/2 5.3m(13m/m in mud), sick with cold, basically took week off, 5.3m
9/3-9/9 8.8m (20:56m/m up, 13:13 dwn), 8.8m (19:06 up, 12:21 dwn), 17.6 total
9/10-9/16 Taper for Bad to Bone (ie-excuse to be lazy), 8m at race
9/17-9/23 Calf strain from B2B, rest until Thursday, 5.4m(10:42m/m),
9/24-9/30 4.1m@sw (< 9.0), 2.6m@sw(9:15), 13.5m@race( 10.4 ) 17.1 total
sw=sharon woods, trails but easy as the times show
10/1-10/7 5.1m@sw(9:43), 3.5m@sw(9:45) tender L foot, r knee 8.6 total
fighting plantars fasciitis on left, trying to manage pain@distance
10/8-10/14 5.3m(10:55m/m), 3.6m@CNC 8.9 total
10/15-10/21 5.2m@CNC, 9.8m@CNC, 9.9m@CNC 24.9 total
10/22-10/27 the hay is in the barn, hope it's enough
10/28 race day!!!!
summary:
mt.airy trails - 73.4 miles
other trails - 82.0 miles
total - 156.3 miles in 3 months, about 13 trail miles per week (too few for sure)
nov 10, 2012 last entry: get healthy then get serious
muscle fatigue at 13 miles in the race is no mystery
next year 30-40 trail miles per week for 27K, 60 for 50K
