Week 18 (30.6) - Holding On

Only 30 miles this week. And 4 days off. I'm not too happy. This wasn't in the plan, but I've decided that a light week this close to the Triple is probably more positive than negative. I need to get to the starting line injury-free. My tooth is fine after a trip to the Endodontist, but I've been feeling a little "twinge" behind my left knee and the ankle pain is back. Nothing major. Just reason for caution.

On a positive note, on the three days that I did lace-up my shoes, I ate sports beans or a gel before the run and did just fine. On Saturday, I doubled the amount of carbs and felt a noticable boost. We ran for two hours and seven minutes at roughly a 7:45 pace. The muscles felt fine, but my joints felt banged up. For whatever reason, I've abandoned ice baths and am paying for it. Tahoe's 55 degree water temps should remedy this. I expect to spend lots of time standing in the cold water.

Russ Secker, who ran across France a couple of summers ago and will be doing his "Triple" as a single 78.6 mile run, met with the few brave Tahoe souls Saturday at Progress Coffee and gave us a detailed description of the courses. The thing that struck me was how hilly it's supposed to be around the lake. Russ figured that walking up the bigger hills would save the legs. The problem with this idea is that I'd already planned to walk down the big hills. (Sounds like I could be doing quite a bit of walking.)

Russ figured that the altitude, which has always been at the back of my mind, is only a problem when running up hills (...and I also assume when running too fast). Mad dog wrote that you can't simulate altitude, but I don't think this is true. I think that anytime you're running hard enough that you're in oxygen debt, you're by proxy training for altitude. And all the heat of the 2008 summer has put my heart through the paces.

The first race is now 12 days away. I'm trying to decide whether to buy a new pair of shoes. I have one pair of Mizuno Wave Runners with about 50 miles on them, but no other shoe with less than 300. I've been thinking about buying a Nike+ shoe and a Sport Band. Since my Garmin 301 crapped out, I have to guess on mileage. Since miles aren't marked on the first two Tahoe courses, I'd have to run by feel alone. I'd rather have some idea about how many miles are ahead of me. There's a 14-day weather forecast online and if it holds out, we can expect 37 degrees at the start. Last year, there was ice on the road during the Sunday race. It's a fine line - 37 is good / ice is bad, but either beats the heat of the past Texas summer.

Week 17 (61.3) - Running on Empty

I skipped Monday, felt terrible, and decided I could use a day off. My tooth was killing me. I’d been gobbling Advil, but was still waking up in pain several times a night. Tuesday morning, I drug myself out the door and when I got to Barton, Roger was already there with a plan to do 1200s. Since I had no plan of my own, I agreed, mentally unprepared. I still managed 4x1200 in 4:27, 4:22, 4:22 and 4:22 ...but it wasn’t easy. I had to push all the way. That afternoon, I saw my Dentist, who took x-rays, wrote a prescription for Amoxicillin and Vicodin and referred me to a specialist. Apparently, I had an infection in a tooth that I’d already had a root canal in.

Wednesday, I was in Phoenix all day and then had our fantasy football draft that night. The "Phonies" drafted third and took Westbrook in the first round, but there was no time for a run. Thursday, it was a surprising 72 degrees, so Roger and I ran a brisk tempo. I probably averaged somewhere under 6:30, although he pretty much crushed me. By Thursday, I’d either caught a full-fledged summer cold or the high mold count got my nose running non-stop and now I had a headache to match my throbbing tooth. Friday morning, I pushed myself around the lake at a pedestrian pace. It was discouraging and a little unnerving since the first race was now 21 days out. Right then, I decided that I’d better schedule an appointment with Meredith Terranova to map out a fueling plan for the Triple and hopefully figure out what I’m doing wrong in my training.

I was dreading Saturday’s long run. Somehow, I’d gotten in the habit of running at least two hours and forty minutes and intended log that amount at least one more time, but since I’d taken a sinus pill and was still on a steady dose of Advil, I felt worn out before we left the parking lot. To make things worse, Patrick Hall and Greg Thomas both showed up along with Roger, Mike and Peter. The cool weather gave everybody a boost, so we were soon flying with me huffing and puffing and bring up the rear. About an hour and forty-five minutes into the run, I was hopelessly behind the pack but was actually grateful to suffer solo. I did several loops around the park to bring the tally to 2:40:05, paid my $3 late fee to soak 15 minutes in Barton, choked down an Endurox R4, took a 30 minute nap at Leticia’s, and did non-stop errands until it was time to see Meredith. At 2:00, I ate my first meal, a McDonald’s grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo.

Meredith asked me what I typical eat before a training run (nothing). She asked whether I take electrolyte tablets (no, but sometimes I intend to) and what I eat and drink during my training runs (nothing during runs under 10 miles, but one or two gels and 12 ounces of a carbohydrate(16g)/protein(6g)mix on long runs). She also asked what I eat after long runs and when (it isn’t unusual to wait until noon before having a first bite). Apparently, on my “two-forty” runs, I should be taking in 120 grams of carbohydrates, but on a good day I probably get half that. Anyway, this all worked well for me when I did 40 mile weeks, but it all falls apart at 70+, so here’s my new plan so I don’t totally run myself into the ground –

Eat something before every run – Jelly beans in the car on the way to the workout or a gel with water. Meredith let me try some Carbo-Pro (a tasteless high (38g) carbohydrate powder), Ultragen (a 60g/20g carb/protein recovery powder that Paul swears by), four Thermolytes and a small Mountain Dew (for quick energy jumpstart). So, I plan on having a carbo drink on every single run, taking a Thermolyte (or the Hammer e-tabs that I have, but never remember to take) several times on my long runs and drinking an Ultragen immediately after any run over …90 minutes. Plus, I need to eat and eat, so Leticia and I bought cracked wheat bread, almond butter, bananas and honey at Central Market.

On Sunday, I woke up to the alarm at 6:00 but felt congested and achy, so I took two Advil and went back to sleep for another hour, got up and drank some coffee, and eventually felt like I could run at least 5 in the neighborhood. Since I told Meredith that I’d test out our new plan, I ate a small pack of Mountain Berry jelly beans, took a Thermolyte tablet, gulped a couple swigs of Mountain Dew and mixed up the Carbo-Pro with a bit of my regular grape powder. After running a hilly 5.3 mile neighborhood loop in 41:22 (my PR on this course is 32:15), I swooped into the garage and drank a third of the grape mixture, ran another 1.5 miles, back into the garage for another sip, another 1.5 miles, back to finish off the fuel and another 1.5, plus a quick half mile because I was felling much better. The Ultragen (punch flavor) was quite tasty and made me feel good …maybe because I ate and drank everything I’d intended. That night, after eating pasta and wheat bread and bananas and bagel chips and almonds and almond butter and a plum, I ran the 5.3 loop again in 38:02. This felt great, although my muscles were screaming the last couple of miles.

So, I’m less than three weeks out. Yikes. My last long run will be Saturday. I have a heavy travel week, but with luck, my tooth will be fixed on Monday. I’m not worried about light mileage from here out. Besides the Saturday long run, I plan on peppering in some intervals. I can use the confidence.

But the Phonies are in excellent shape, beating the "Security Geeks" 101 to 56 in week 1.

Week 16 (68.6) - 25 days to go

It's funny how quickly the running mind set changes. I averaged more than 73 miles per week in August, finished with 327 total and felt disappointed; disappointed because I felt sluggish and bored on Sunday. Before I started training for Tahoe, I'd have called anyone crazy who did 300 in the August heat. Especially me. I hate long runs.

So, with less than four weeks to go, I just need to hold on. I wrote some Ultra Marathon expert named "Mad Dog Mike" for advice. He wrote back, but since he didn't confirm what I think I know, I'm not putting much stock in his words. Here's the transcript (Mad Mike is in Parenthesis) -

(Dear Scott: Thanks for writing. How did you hear about The Mad Dog? Did you read my recent article in "Marathon and Beyond" magazine?)

Me: I've had a hard time finding forum threads on running the Triple, (No loss: message boards are generally fonts of misinformation), so I've been training without a net for the September races. (Ha, ha! That shows you are brave...important for being an ultra-runner. It is also important to be a little crazy.)

I'm not sure that I have a specific question so much as looking for advice. (Oh-que-doke.)

I'm a 46-year old, 2:50 - 2:55 marathoner. (Nice and fast. Congratulations. Have you done some 2:50 marathons recently?)

I've worked my way up from 120 mile months in the spring to 250, 270 and 325 the past three. (That's pretty high mileage in my opinion.)

No pain at all. (That's a relief!!!!)''

Actually feeling strong. (Very important. Now the trick is to not leave it all on the training trail, and still feel strong and pain-free at the start of the race.)

I haven't run at altitude, (Only running at altitude will prepare you for running at altitude. There are no tricks, other than using an altitude simulator, that will help prepare you), but I've been training in heat and 95% humidity. (That's nice, providing you plan to race under those sorts of conditions. However, if you believe training in heat and humidity will help, then continue to do so...the mind can be magical.)

I'd thought I run the day 1 marathon around 3:25, (Yes, you must run the first day very easy.)soak in the lake for half an hour (Immediately following the race, get in the COLD lake with a two litre bottle of full-sugar coke and food. Stay in the water until you have finished the coke and the food and or your legs have turned blue. Take at least one more soak later in the day. Do the same after days two and three as well.) and try to get enough carbs down (Other than your carb intake immediately following the run, your meals should be high in protein and reasonably high in fat. Do not take in excessive amounts of carbohydrates.) so that I don't hit the wall at the halfway point. (Hitting the wall is the result of poor pacing.If you pace correctly, you will have plenty of stored glycogen to burn intramuscular fat: and intramuscular fat is what will power your muscles.From now until a couple of days before the race, do all your runs before eating, and eat nothing during the runs. Nothing! You may sip a diluted sports drink, but that's it! This will help training your body to quickly switch to fat metabolism. Stay completely away from concentrated carbs, like gooz and jells. Eat and drink immediately following your workouts...no delay.)

My best guess is that I should be able to ratchet down several minutes each successive day. (Play it as you go along, and save your major effort for the final 13.1 miles on day three.)

I don't take food well on the day of the race, but have no problem with sports drinks (Take a diluted sports drink.Several members of The Mad Dog Training Team have had good luck with the drinks "Accelerade" and "Succeed, which each contain a little protein.) and gels. (Stay completely away from concentrated carbs like gooz, jells and candy bars.They can cause GI upsets, nausea, diarrhea, cramps and sometimes vomiting. They prevent or delay the switch to fat metabolism, impede the body's ability to absorb water, and provide no benefits.Any thoughts? (The Mad Dog always has something to say.)

I know this is vague, (No, your questions were good, and went right to the essentials. I am sending you, as attachments, some back issues of the run-newsletter that I hope you enjoy and find useful. After you read them, please write me again.Dr. (Mad Dog Mike) Schreiber, Online Marathon/Ultra/Trail Coach and Fitness Guru http://us.mc317.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=training2run@yahoo.com

Kind regards,
Scott McIntyre

I plan on running one more set of back-to-back long runs Saturday (Sept 6) and Sunday and then do one more 18 to 21 miler on Sept 13. Unlike training for a normal marathon, I plan on doing a big taper, maybe 50, 35 and 10 (short week) the last three weeks. That means that the upcoming week is the last serious one. Yahoo!!

Week 15 (77.2) - Stronger

I'm not sure that it was a breakthrough per se, but it was a really good week. After running long last Sat and Sun, I ran 14 on Monday, and actually ended the run early because I had to get into the office. I drove to Houston that afternoon and was surprised that after nearly six hours in the car, I wasn't twisting and shifting trying to find a pain free position. It's funny how all this extra pounding has had the opposite effect - I don't wake up sore much at all, and shaking off the morning cobwebs seems to get easier and easier.

I desperately needed to sleep late on Tuesday, and had planned to run the neighborhood that afternoon, but it turned out to be a five-step turnaround. (My first day-off in nearly two weeks.) Wednesday morning midway through the 7-mile LBL loop, I felt like I was running way too slow and took a detour to the Austin High track where I ran 3x800's in 2:55, 2:52 and 2:49. It didn't feel particularly smooth, but it was nice to open up. I met Roger for speedwork on Thursday, but his hamstring was tight, so I ran solo on the track - 4x800 in 2:50, 2:49, 2:45 and 2:46 and 4x400 averaging 79 seconds. I'd always heard that big slow miles sap speed, but I'm not too far off normal. Friday was a recovery day - 8 miles at 64 minutes.

Saturday, Peter and his wife ran with us from Barton. I listened to Allison talk about how she really didn't have the time to devote to running right now since she just accepted a teaching job at UT, but we ran at a 7:30 pace up Scenic and Mt Bonnell and she and Peter kept going and going. I suggested that they run back to Lake Austin Blvd via Exposition, but neither was interested in cutting the route short so we ran UT and Congress and never slowed. I offered gels all around, but discovered that my zipper was down and the gels had fallen out. Peter and Allison did 16 miles and made it look easy. Mike and I added another 5 for 21 total. Great day. No ice bath. Long nap.

On Sunday, I ran to the Rock and then then did the 10 mile LBL loop in 72 minutes. Didn't intend to run that fast, but felt smooth and I found myself picking up the pace from mile marker to mile marker. Hard to believe that I'd just run 21 on Saturday. I got back to Barton with 15 miles under my belt, but jumped in with Ken Fries for one last mile, which put me over 77 for the week. 15 minutes left for a free soak. All good.

Just 31 days to go before Day 1; three weeks of serious training left. Home stretch. Next Sat, Sun & Mon (Labor Day) I'm hoping to run a total of 52.4 miles (2/3rds of the Triple).

Week 14 (76.6) - All that ends well...

The week started out as a head-scratcher. Early on, everything I put in my stomach either hurt or made me nauseous. Strangely enough, all I had to do to feel better was not eat or drink. But of course, this makes distance training especially tough. Still, I ran an easy 11 on Monday morning, then slept in on Tuesday which forced a 7 miler on Tuesday night in 102 degree heat. Wednesday morning, it all caught up with me and about five miles into my run I had to stop. So, I cut the morning run short and scheduled a doctor's appointment. It turns out that I had an inflammation of the stomach lining or Gastritis caused by handfuls of aspirin (the only thing I could find) that I'd taken for a toothache last week and "body stress". The doctor gave me some acid reducers and by Thursday, I was feeling much better. As much as anything else, it was good to know it wasn't anything serious. Thursday afternoon, I ran a quick and mighty hot 10.

That night I ordered a big pizza and did some research on the Tahoe races; specifically, the top 10 runners from the past couple of years. The guy who finished second last year, "Charles Hofacker", had run 3:27, 3:21 and 3:20, which doesn't sound that impressive. I looked his non-Tahoe times up on "Athlinks" and decided he and I were roughly compatible ...although he's a bit younger and faster and probably has a better hair line. Most of the other runners had impressive non-Tahoe times, but got slowed badly by the Triple. I also read a few descriptions of the actual Tahoe marathon and am starting to believe that the course is far from friendly. It's not really discouraging, so much as a relief. Suddenly, a Triple in the 3:30 range sounds reasonable and acceptable.

Saturday, it was a bit cooler out. Mike, Roger and I had a loose plan which including swooping by the Mopac footbridge to pick up Peter, turning east on the trail to rendezvous with Floyd Watson who was running from his new place around Far West. Surprisingly, we found both Peter and Floyd in the dark and headed toward Scenic. The pace picked up to what felt like the low 7's for a while, which was probably a result of cool weather and new guys in the running mix. We eventually lost Floyd at the cleaners and Peter back at the Rock. The other guys were done at Barton, but I added another 5 for a total of 21.

Sunday, it was even cooler and I got in 15. If I wasn't so hungry, I would have done more ...so it was an encouraging run. Tomorrow, I'll shoot for another 12 to 14 in the morning, then take a nap before driving to Houston for a school board meeting Monday night.

Nothing hurts. The foot/ankle issues I had when I started training a couple months back seem to be gone. My knees are holding up well. My achilles tendons, which are always sore, feel better than they have in ages. My mileage this week is a new high. I'm on track for 300 to 320 miles in August. I'm still nervous and don't expect to be as prepared as I would have liked, but with a little over a month left, I know I'll be okay.

Week 13 (68) - Really tired and ...zzzzz

I can't seem to string together three, or even two really good long runs, so I'm wondering yet again whether I bit off more than I can chew. The good thing is that there's only six weeks to go ...but the bad thing is I only have six more weeks to train. I looked at pictures from last year's marathon, and there was snow on the ground. Sounds good.

At the moment, I'm trying to decide what's wrong with me. I feel queasy, but not the kind of queasy where you feel like you have to hurl. Food just doesn't taste good. I'm thinking that I'm out of balance. Dehydration would be too simple, although my urine was bright orange this morning, so maybe that's part of it. I lost six pounds on Saturday's run and was afraid to weigh myself on Sunday. I'm too porous. I'm totally drained. Sleep would definitely help. It's been a while since I got even six solid hours. I've jettisoned vitamins and need to start up again.

Anyway, I got in 68 miles this past week and have run 16 out of the last 17 days, which sounds like a terrible idea now that I see it in writing. The Saturday long run was fairly easy. Mike, Roger and I ran 20 at a pace pretty close to 7:30. Sunday, I had no plan, but ran around the trail and doubled back and added miles here and there, and ended up with almost 16. (I think) I really need a new Garmin. Wasn't hungry all day. Thought I drank quite a bit, but maybe not. Late that night, I drank a couple beers with Sam, my neighbor, a bored ex-Air force guy in a wheelchair who just moved here and needs a friend. Stayed up too late because he wanted me to see "Generation Kill" on HBO. It was a good show, but it wasn't over until after midnight. I was too tired to sleep well.

Today (Monday/technically a new week), I ran an uncomfortable and slow 11 miles. Thought about taking the morning off and taking a nap, but needed to make headway on some back-burner projects.

I'd really like to log 300 miles this month - that just sounds like a lot ...to me anyway. Especially, since a more typical summer month would be less than half that.

Week 12 (73.8) - Signs of life

I don't usually run seven days a week, especially in late July, but it's been nearly impossible to log the kind of miles I need for this damn Triple, so I made an exception. The result was record mileage both for a single month (267 in July) and for the week. Hopefully, I can top out at 80 or so sometime this month. I don't think my body can handle much more than that. I'm still having big trouble with the heat, but am doing better with the fueling part - I bought a box of Cliff bars, am still eating oatmeal with blueberries and started snacking on whole grain cereal at night. Plus, I'm drinking gallons of orange juice, blue Powerade and orange Endourox ...when I remember I have it.

Monday, I took a vacation day from work (this really helped boost the mileage) and had planned on doing at least 15. But it was 82 degrees at 6:15, so I did 12.6, soaked in Barton for 20 minutes then went home and slept for several hours. On Tuesday, I tried to do some intervals at Austin High with Roger, but wasn't really inspired enough. I did manage 2x800 in 3:00 and 2:59, felt hugely sluggish and called it quits. On the trail, I ran past a guy running with his wife. He picked up the pace and hung with me for a mile or so. He told me that he had just moved to Austin, started training for the San Antonio half and wants to do a 1:16:00. He also said that he'd just run his first marathon last year and qualified for Boston with a near 3-hour qualifying time, but his strength was the shorter distances. His name is Peter Gallimore. He's a 40-year old masters runner from Boston. My guess is that we'll all be chasing him this season.

On Thursday, I pysched myself up to run tempo. About midway through the 7 mile loop, Roger waved me ahead and I finshed just under 47 minutes. Although I've run this loop 4 or 5 minutes faster in cooler days, the 47 felt fast and made me happy. On Friday, I was sore and stiff and thought about sleeping in, but hated to start August off with a big fat zero in the mileage column, so I jogged an easy 5 miles. This turned out to be a good idea, because Saturday I was loose and felt much better. I ran with a bunch of Gazelles that I didn't really know, along with Roger and Peter Gallimore. Peter wanted to do 12 and I was hoping for 20. The pace was a bit fast. I think we were showing off. Peter was hardly breathing. I did log 20, probably at a pace just south of 7:30. Afterwards, I took a three-bag ice bath. I'd read in Runner's World that some really good runner (can't remember who) dumped the ice in first, sat gingerly down and then filled the tub with water. I tried this. It was pure torture. Not recommended.

Sunday, I'd planned on doing 15, but took way too long to drag my tired bones up and out the door. By the time I started running at 6:45, the car thermometer read a sizzling 83 degrees. So, 11 miles was all I could muster. Even that was in question for much of the way. I did run into old pal Rob Mroski on the trail. He and I trained together seven or eight years ago. I've always felt that Rob pushed me in the days when I really needed a push.

Next week, I'm hoping to top 70 again, but am starting to get concerned about my inability to actually follow through with the planned workouts. August is really important ...especially in stringing together long runs. Maybe 20/20 next weekend?

Congratulations to Black Shorts member Greg Thomas - 18th out of 6,700 in the San Francisco Half today.