My Tunes and the Pig

One week out from my first marathon. To be honest, I'm not that excited or even worried even with the achilles thing. It will be an accomplishment, if my legs cooperate, but my thoughts are on a 50K trail, Stone Steps. Ultimately I want to run a few 50 milers before I (die, get too old, forget where I live, whatever happens first)

I will of course blog the Flying Pig as it should be an adventure. Stay tuned.

Speaking of tunes  : /

Here is what I am listening to. When I get older, I'll blog about my poop

The first 4 songs do not repeat, and help me warm up / stretch.
Brick House The Commodores                        
Unwritten         Natasha Bedingfield Unwritten
It's My Life Bon Jovi
Danger Zone Kenny Loggins Soundtrack

These are in a repeating loop. Most are 89-90 BPM.
Ramblin' Man The Allman Brothers Band
     get the feet moving
Blue Minor Chick Webb Rhythm Man
     my dad joins me in his Army uniform
I'm Still Standing Elton John
     can't help but feel the beat (90 on the button)
Tusk                 Fleetwood Mac
     written for running, certainly not dancing (not that I do)
Tell Him           The Exciters
     you must swing your head from side to side
Feel the Rhythm U.S. Drill Sergeant Field Recordings
     pure motivation and funny too
Too Many Fish in the Sea The Marvelettes
     more head swinging
Flying Home Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra
    dad is back and joined by chrissie wellington (I have no idea why)
Can't Buy Me Love Beatles
     my roots, about 85BPM, a break from 90
I'm Still Standing Elton John
    ok, back to 90
Easy Run                 U.S. Drill Sergeant Field Recordings
     back hurts, legs hurt, ass hurts, run it on out

What Dogs Think About

My previous post suggested Brady (on right) contemplates Newton's mind.

Brady - I was thinking about how we are able to run and swim from an early age with all four legs working in a fluid motion.

Daisy - Yeah, we are evolved well beyond humans who appear to have no built in skills at all.

Brady - It makes you wonder how they have survived.

Daisy - Rabbits. Just saying. Odds are with them.




Brady - They spend a lot of time doing silly things for no apparent reason.
- they get wet and then dry off
- they put on clothes and then take them off
- they put stuff in drawers, closets , boxes and then get them out again

Daisy -  They must think those things will ensure their long term survival. Why else would they do them.  

Brady - Fortunately it is easy to train them. They readily understand our cues for need to eat, sleep, play and poop.

Tat #2 and Pigs Flying

First things first -

Of course there's a story.....

Darwin paraphrase - To contemplate the universe is like a dog contemplating the mind of Newton. The left side of the equation is typically called the Euler identity with the right side = 0. Actually Euler was not so obvious to let the angle = pi, and he let a lesser mind make the substitution years later. Newton co-developed calculus and therefore the derivative reference to the speed of light. If it is a constant, then it would be equal to 0, and all is well. But I don't think that is the case, so I added my imprint with the "not equal".

So far when people asked me if it's an energy thing, I say yes and that's my dog, Brady. They seem perfectly happy with that.

Brian thinks it's really cool. and Devon is thinking intervention. Just getting started. : )

I have been struggling with an Achilles strain due to over training. When will I learn to change gradually? With the Flying Pig 4 weeks away, Just back to 1 1/2 hour runs, not good. I'm not worried about rupture in the race, just endurance. So here are my goals for the race:
3:59:59     This is doable if my mind and Achilles hold up. approx 9 min/m
4:19:59     This is more realistic, but I'll take it if that is what it is. approx 10 min/m
4:30:00     Anything slower than this and I'll be disappointed.

Train your Brain, then your Body

There is and may not ever have been an athlete with the combination of mental toughness and physical ability of Chrissie Wellington. You just know that behind that smile is something very special. Here is a glimpse:

• Have a mantra and/or a special song to repeat
• Keep a bank of positive mental images
• Practice visualization beforehand
• Break the race up into smaller, more manageable segments
• Remember that training is about learning to hurt
• Get people to support you
• Mentally recall inspirational people
• Consider racing for a cause that is bigger than yourself

http://www.chrissiewellington.org/
article
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/21/health/chrissie-wellington-triathlete-champion/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

her new book - a life without limits
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Without-Limits-Champions-Journey/dp/1455505579/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330173558&sr=1-1

I read her book and it was a very honest, insightful glimpse into the mind of an adventurous, smart and caring person who just happens to be a four times world champion.

Run to work day

The thought struck me, if I commute to work running (9+ each way) then getting 50 miles/week in becomes a piece of cake. I commuted by bike for a while, so running will just take a bit longer. So today I got up earlier, and gave it a try. Left in the dark, 35F, headlight and backpack at 5:45. I really enjoyed the run, but I was fresh and there is a 350 foot drop in elevation from home to work.

The trip home was a different story. I hit a wall with about 2 miles to go, but the beauty of commuting is you have no reasonable options but to run (or walk) home. I walked a bit to gather myself then managed to finish running.

Sue took this as I made my way down the home stretch. It was getting dark, so I put the light back on.

A few days to recover, and maybe next week .....

After all, if I commute 2 days/week, that's almost 40 miles =  wooo  wooo

Tat #1,Training, and congrats to David Riddle

When you run for hours on a treadmill you think about a lot of "what if". I saw this on Slowtwitch last Fall and decided to get my first one.

Last year I was not really prepared (distance wise) for the races. My ego would get the best of me, and I would ditch the slow long runs and replace with intervals. I would go to the track and start at a slow pace, but it would always evolve into a "let's see how fast I can do 400 meter intervals". It assured my sore muscles the next day, but did little for my endurance.

I read somewhere, leave your ego at the door, and run slow and long to train your body for endurance. So my runs, since late 2011, have been 1 to 1 1/2 hours and I should be at 2 hours soon. Of course, this drives me crazy, but I am finding ways to entertain myself. I guess my heart rate then look at the Garmin to see how close i am. Also experimenting with drink-nutrition schedules which will help this year. I also started listening to music which believe it or not, is new to me.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Tri_tattoos_(good_ones)_P2995962

Update - April 18
added this temp tat last Sunday

ow

And congrats to my hero David Riddle:

Next, I wanted to acknowledge the results from the Ultrarunner of the Year voting. I was stoked to find out this week that I finished 4th in the UROY voting behind the likes of Dave Mackey, Michael Wardian, and Mike Wolfe. It's a huge honor just to be considered in the top 10 with all of the great runners on that list. And it was unimaginable just a year ago that I would jump from an honorable mention to being regarded as one of the top ultra guys in North America.

That was certainly great news, but I can top it. My performance at the JFK 50 Mile was voted the top performance of the year by a North American ultrarunner. I was stunned and speechless immediately after running JFK, and now that I know how highly the ultra community regards my race at JFK, it just makes it that much more difficult to comprehend.

This is what I see in my head, if I think I should stop when I get a bit tired training, it always works.

Running on the Beach and 2012 Races

Ran on the beach this morning. The nice thing about long runs is it gives me time to let my mind wander. Something John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) said about five years ago popped in my head. He was working on quantum gravity or some other equally abstract area. He noted that it's generally accepted the older mathematicians and physicists rarely contribute new ideas. However, since he spent so many of his earier years in a delusional state he may still be able to offer new ideas in his advanced years. The lost years somehow delayed the onset of the lack of creative thought.

I've been thinking about how fast I can get at my age. I'm getting faster, but also getting older. My sports have always been "fast twitch" and almost no endurance except for training runs. So starting endurance sports at such a late age, I wonder if I can place in the top of a olympic duathon, marathon or my new venture, trail races.

So, if I can extraploate John Nash's theory (who am I to disagree with The Beautiful Mind), I have been relatively easy on my body through my "delusional years" with only minimal damage. So there should be no reason why I can not compete with the best age groupers. They may have been elite in their day (Bekenstein-black hole entropy, et al) but my lost years have let my body rest waiting for the 60-64 age group.

So this is either a brilliant realization or I'm just old and slow. We'll see......