Ok, I am in the taper part of my training. All my long runs are done, and I am supposed to be in a restful state. Funny thing is, I feel like running--long--hard--up and down hills--in the heat of the day--or all night. 
It is 10 days until I tackle another 100 miler--the Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin. This is not he hardest 100 I have entered, but it will be the hardest one to date that I have finished--at least I think so. 99.9% of this race is on trails, which means no long no-brainer sections of road (paved or gravel) where one can put some valuable time in the bank. 30 hours for the time limit means I have to average 18 minute miles which includes pee breaks, aid station stops, pausing to take pictures, tieing shoes, throw up delays, sitting down to eat a sandwich, foot soaking in water crossings, stretching (ok, I never stretch), and poop episodes if I have em. Gotta keep moving--or covering ground--or putting the back foot in front of the front foot. Can I do this in 30 hours?? I do not want to fail.
The elevation chart is a scary sight. They always are.
A close examination shows that the longish wicked looking climbs are only 100 to 150 feet at best. Running Lipbuster at Turkey Mountain is a little over 100 feet in .3 of a mile. The elevation chart here suggests 100 foot climbs over a few miles. Hmmm. Either it is not that big of a deal, or there are a lot more ups and downs than the graph shows. Truth is, one could make an elevation chart of the paved bike path at Riverside look like a snaggle toothed hillbilly by stretching it out. Still, the reported 12,000 feet is still over 2 miles of climbing.
I get to be in a new age group this time around.
Open 18-39
Masters 40-49
Senior Masters 50-59
Grand Masters 60-69
Great Grand Masters 70 & Over
Yippee!! I am a Senior Master!!
My last long run was a familiar journey. From QT in Jenks to NSU in Broken Arrow, and back. This is the 5th time I have run this route. At night, even though it is all paved, it is still a fun run. I ran it again with a lot of friends, although there were also quite a few new faces belonging to folks training for the Midnight Madness 50 miler that is coming up in July here in Tulsa. Still, I ran my own pace, pushed when I wanted to, and after being satisfied with my ability to maintain a profitable 100 mile pace for 30 miles, I slowed down a little and enjoyed hanging out with my running buddy K2.
Ken finished his 30 miler and was in good spirits throughout the night. I believe he was encouraged by his outing.
Kirk and Charis stop for a water refill at mile 10.
Kirk has gone from couch potato to ultra runner in just a year, and is running the 50 miler in July. This was Charis' 2nd or 3rd night run with us. Not sure if she is towing the line for the 50 or not.
I was very impressed with 3 friends. Laurie and Derek England showed up to crew the runners, and stayed out from 8:00 to nearly 3:00 am waiting for us with cold water and Gatorade and snacks.
They recently ran their first half marathon and no doubt we'll snare them into trail running and ultras soon!!
And my friend Sonya also helped crew and shuttle runners back to their car who decided to bail out early.
Sonya has a handful of half marathons to her credit, and I drop the hint to try trails every now and then. We'll win her over.
Thanks so much to these three, and to Brian who put this run together. Brian also did the crew babe thing, although if I posted his picture in the pretty pink skirt he was wearing, he'd kill me!
Of course, I have also been getting in a lot of trail miles as well.
My trails on Turkey Mountain sustained a bit of tree damage from the tornado a couple of weeks ago. This tree is on a trail we call the Bunny Trail. I think the local mountain bikers made it and it is smooth, almost rockless, and is a sweet downhiller. But now, there is a nuisance of a tree across it.
Kind of tough for a Senior Master to make it under it!
Right now, I am on a bit of a running streak, having run every day for almost 2 weeks. Someone needs to help me to understand the taper.
It is 10 days until I tackle another 100 miler--the Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin. This is not he hardest 100 I have entered, but it will be the hardest one to date that I have finished--at least I think so. 99.9% of this race is on trails, which means no long no-brainer sections of road (paved or gravel) where one can put some valuable time in the bank. 30 hours for the time limit means I have to average 18 minute miles which includes pee breaks, aid station stops, pausing to take pictures, tieing shoes, throw up delays, sitting down to eat a sandwich, foot soaking in water crossings, stretching (ok, I never stretch), and poop episodes if I have em. Gotta keep moving--or covering ground--or putting the back foot in front of the front foot. Can I do this in 30 hours?? I do not want to fail.The elevation chart is a scary sight. They always are.
A close examination shows that the longish wicked looking climbs are only 100 to 150 feet at best. Running Lipbuster at Turkey Mountain is a little over 100 feet in .3 of a mile. The elevation chart here suggests 100 foot climbs over a few miles. Hmmm. Either it is not that big of a deal, or there are a lot more ups and downs than the graph shows. Truth is, one could make an elevation chart of the paved bike path at Riverside look like a snaggle toothed hillbilly by stretching it out. Still, the reported 12,000 feet is still over 2 miles of climbing.I get to be in a new age group this time around.
Open 18-39
Masters 40-49
Senior Masters 50-59
Grand Masters 60-69
Great Grand Masters 70 & Over
Yippee!! I am a Senior Master!!
My last long run was a familiar journey. From QT in Jenks to NSU in Broken Arrow, and back. This is the 5th time I have run this route. At night, even though it is all paved, it is still a fun run. I ran it again with a lot of friends, although there were also quite a few new faces belonging to folks training for the Midnight Madness 50 miler that is coming up in July here in Tulsa. Still, I ran my own pace, pushed when I wanted to, and after being satisfied with my ability to maintain a profitable 100 mile pace for 30 miles, I slowed down a little and enjoyed hanging out with my running buddy K2.
Ken finished his 30 miler and was in good spirits throughout the night. I believe he was encouraged by his outing.Kirk and Charis stop for a water refill at mile 10.
Kirk has gone from couch potato to ultra runner in just a year, and is running the 50 miler in July. This was Charis' 2nd or 3rd night run with us. Not sure if she is towing the line for the 50 or not.I was very impressed with 3 friends. Laurie and Derek England showed up to crew the runners, and stayed out from 8:00 to nearly 3:00 am waiting for us with cold water and Gatorade and snacks.
They recently ran their first half marathon and no doubt we'll snare them into trail running and ultras soon!!And my friend Sonya also helped crew and shuttle runners back to their car who decided to bail out early.
Sonya has a handful of half marathons to her credit, and I drop the hint to try trails every now and then. We'll win her over.Thanks so much to these three, and to Brian who put this run together. Brian also did the crew babe thing, although if I posted his picture in the pretty pink skirt he was wearing, he'd kill me!
Of course, I have also been getting in a lot of trail miles as well.
My trails on Turkey Mountain sustained a bit of tree damage from the tornado a couple of weeks ago. This tree is on a trail we call the Bunny Trail. I think the local mountain bikers made it and it is smooth, almost rockless, and is a sweet downhiller. But now, there is a nuisance of a tree across it.
Kind of tough for a Senior Master to make it under it!Right now, I am on a bit of a running streak, having run every day for almost 2 weeks. Someone needs to help me to understand the taper.
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