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Ice Age training is still pretty spotty but I have still managed to get in a few quality runs. This week I did back to back 12 milers on the trails. Both runs really went well and even though I ran pretty much the same course both days, there was a big difference in the trail conditions. Saturday was dry and dusty, Sunday was rainy and muddy. Good clean fun!

I was a little tired towards the end of my run today but I still managed to finish fairly strong and only about 6 minutes slower than yesterday. With the muddy conditions I am very pleased with my finishing time.

The warmer temperatures make the trails still look like fall.

It's a tough march up that hill, especially when muddy,
but it's really fun bombing back down it!

I was amazed at how bright orange the leaves were today.
This is a really pretty area of the trail

Because it rained all night there was no shortage of standing water or muddy areas

This creek bed was dry most all of last year.
It's not flowing, but it's a start.

There really is sort of a trail here. They did some clearing this fall which
created a big open dirt area / mud pit.

This trail area provides a good combination of mostly flat areas where you can really get some speed going of you choose to do so, and several challenging hills that will leave you gasping for air on the way up and praying not to fall on the way down.

Below is an elevation comparison between my 12 mile run and the first 25 miles of the Ice Age 50K from last year.

12 mile trail run

25 miles of Ice Age 50K

I believe that they are fairly comparable other than not so many flat areas in the Ice Age. 

This weekend was a great test of endurance before I participate in the Psycho Wycho Run Toto Run 20 miler in a couple of weeks. It is one of the toughest courses that I have ever run. It is a 10 mile loop that you choose to run from 1 - 3 laps. I am going to run two laps (20 miles) because I don't think I am ready to run another 50K right now. Especially on this course!

All in all it was a very solid training weekend. I am trying to focus on good recovery habits such as stretching and rolling. We have also started to shorten up our core workouts a little and add in some yoga for the last 15 minutes.

At the end of the day, you can't hardly beat a nice long meditative run on through the rain and mud out on the trails.

Signs of a good time!

Focus

I am putting a focus on fitness again. I have been running very little lately. Partially due to a nagging cold and congestion, and partially due to the work / life balance being out of whack again. Luckily I have started back with my early morning core fitness group on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and now the gym is offering a boot camp class on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Yeah, I may be a little obsessive at times, but now that I have the first week's soreness behind me, it should all be loads of fun!

Last week I had a couple of short and early road runs just trying to ease back into things, then I hit the trails on Saturday afternoon. I bought some new trail shoes, Mountain Masochist 2, so I had to give them a spin. I ended up doing 6 miles out on the trails and had a great time.

I missed a lot of the colors, but the trails are still beautiful right now...almost picture perfect!

I initially planned to take it easy and avoid the hills, but halfway through I was still feeling good so I took the hilly route on the way back.You cannot see them here, but off to the left out of the picture were a couple of deer that watched me as I took this picture.

I took these pictures with my phone and the zoom isn't real great. The deer was about 100 yards away, I have him circled but it's still pretty tough to see it. He is hiding behind the tree, you can barely make out his head to the right and his rear end the the left.

Some areas of the trail are still calf to knee high with grasses and weeds. This time as I was cruising along and found something a little sharper than the average weed.

That's about the extent of things now. My plan is to run the Ice Age 50 miler in May and maybe  a 50K sometime in the very early spring before that. Beyond that, I really have nothing planned.

How is your training going? Any big races on the horizon?

Sunday Photo-fest

It was a cool foggy morning on the trails. 

I ran across a couple of bow hunters, this means it's time to start wearing my blaze orange running shirts for safety. The funny thing about this... it was the first time that I can remember not seeing any deer or turkey at all on the trails.

The fog made for some interesting navigation, the trails looked different, there were a couple of times that I wasn't sure where I was and then was totally 

surprised about where I ended up.

I love the variety that this trail had to offer.

Shameless self-portrait

It's not mountain climbing, but there are some great rolling hills

In some places you really have to pick your way through the trail

The fog made for some interesting navigation

Dry stream bed

Who Inspires You?

We all have hero's or people that we look up to or admire for one reason or another. Somebody that has caught my eye and inspired me recently is Diana Nyad.

Diana is an endurance swimmer. She has broken and continues to hold several world records for swimming. She attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida last year and failed after being stung by several box jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-wars. They pulled her out of the water after swimming for 29 hours.

 She has not given up her dream and has continued to train for this swim. She is currently standing by and waiting for the right weather conditions for another attempt.

Diana is going to be 63 years old in August.



I love the outlook in this video of her stating "Life sometimes seems unfair, so what are you gonna do?"

Sunday Run

Took a nice Sunday drive in the Asics today. I had a new route in mind that I figured would take close to 2 hours to complete. I cruised through some nice rolling hills this morning, none of them real massive but as you can see, they just never stop around here.

Surprisingly, I realized after I was done that this was the longest distance that I have run since April. Now that I am falling back in love with running, it's time to see if I can spend some more quality time with her. :-)

Being able to check out the elevation profile after a run is pretty cool if you ask me!

Sights on today's run included:

• Miniature horses (they ran with me)
• Cows (they ran from me)
• Amish family walking down the road to church
• goat
• flock of sheep
• field of mums
• pig
• Chickens
• 8 vehicles in 13.1 miles

Running out here can be an adventure, I will try to take the camera with me next time.

I do have my next race in mind. I am looking at the Fall Fell Trail Race in Olathe Kansas on October 16th, or maybe, (probably not though) the Lake Perry 50K on October 22. This would be my first attempt on the 50K distance. We'll see how it all pans out with the short training window, it may be biting off a little more than I can chew, but that wouldn't be anything new for me.

Swimming Anxiety

I am not typically a worrier, in fact I generally use stress as a motivator. I am all about pushing myself and testing my limits but currently, I seem to have a real battle going on in my mind. There are less than 3 weeks until the Hy-Vee Triathlon and my swimming confidence is far from where it should be. It seemed to be getting better, I had a nice couple of swims last week then I sent a video to the coach and he  gave me some pointers to improve my technique. I am going to be honest and tell you that this really 'effed up my swim this morning. I had an extremely difficult time trying to relax, which is a huge part of swimming. When you are running or biking, you don't have to think about much, it's pretty automatic. Being a new swimmer I have to try to think about hand position, body position, arm position throughout the stroke, how and when to kick, when to breath and how to breath without sucking in a gallon of water.It's all pretty damn overwhelming, mostly because I have signed up to swim 1500 meters in a lake in less than 3 weeks.

I am not defeated! 
My plan is to battle those little negative thoughts that keep creeping into my head, you know the ones that say, "will I have to have a boat pull me out?" and "can I stay relaxed and not panic in the water?". There is extra pressure because I will have several family members there to watch and the company I work for is sponsoring the event. How's that going to look if I drown in front of my family or have to get pulled out of the water in front of coworkers? The mind can be cruel.

My plan is to watch a YouTube videos on swimming techniques daily hoping to train my mind what good technique looks like. There are some great Total Immersion videos that teach you the little intricacies of swimming easier and more relaxed. I have written some positive affirmations to help build my confidence and force out the negative thoughts, and I will continue to work on relaxation, confidence, and skills in the few training swims that I have remaining. I know that I can do this, I just have to relax in the water and take my time getting through the swim one stroke at a time.

The start of my swimming affirmations

If you are really bored, this is my swim intervals video that I sent into the coach.

This is what swimming is supposed to look like.

Home made breakfast / energy bars

It can be tough to find something quick, easy, and nutritious for breakfast.  Most of the time I am in the habit of not eating much of anything before a morning run, it just doesn't seem like there is enough time to digest anything from the time you wake up until the time you hit the pavement.

I think I have found a solution! I stumbled across this recipe on one of my favorite recipe sites, allrecipes.com. This is a great place to see how other people rate, prepare, and tweak recipes submitted by others. The recipe I found is called Jo-Ann's Power Bars. You can check it out here and see what other people thought about it too. These bars taste awesome, digest easily, and are a great natural energy boost. My wife and I ate the first batch in about two days. She liked them so much she made a second batch and added some coconut. The other nice thing about these bars is that you can easily add, substitute, or change just about any one of the ingredients. I suggest you try the original recipe first and then tweak it to your liking.

Good luck and let me know what you think!

Jo-Ann's Power Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup wheat and barley nugget cereal (e.g. Grape-Nuts™)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (7 ounce) bag chopped dried mixed fruit

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a 9 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, cereal, and cinnamon. Add the egg, applesauce, honey, brown sugar, and oil. Mix well. Stir in the sunflower seeds, walnuts, and dried fruit. Spread mixture evenly in the prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned around the edges. Let cool. Use the foil to lift from the pan. Cut into bars or squares, and store in the refrigerator.

Nutritional Information

Serving Size	1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe	12
Amount Per Serving
Calories	197
Calories from Fat	59
	% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6.6g	10 %
Saturated Fat 0.9g	4 %
Cholesterol 18mg	6 %
Sodium 40mg	2 %
Potassium 239mg	7 %
Total Carbohydrates 33.4g	11 %
** Dietary Fiber 2.3g	9 %
Protein 4.1g	8 %
** Sugars 10.4g
Vitamin A	10 %
Vitamin C	1 %
Calcium	3 %
Iron	26 %
** Thiamin	18 %
Niacin	18 %
Vitamin B6	10 %
Magnesium	15 %
Folate	14 %
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

47 to 3

It's been just over a month since I have updated the blog and a lot has happened since then.As I write this, there are 47 days until the Mankato Marathon, which will be my third marathon. I am at the point in my training that running a fourth does not sound very appealing. It's been a lot of hard work to get to here and I still have just over a month of training to go. Here is my long winded story of what has happened within the last month.

Century Ride for JDRF
What an amazing event! Because of my limited cycling training, I was very concerned about being able to ride then entire 100 miles. My longest ride prior to La Crosse was only 50 miles and when I told some of the other riders this, I could see them trying to mask a look of concern on their faces. My Coach had assured me that this would not be a problem, but I was not 100% sold on it. When race day came, it was not nearly as difficult as I had feared. The last 15-20 miles my feet started to get a couple of hot spots on them, but overall I was feeling good. With stops along the way for food and stretching, it took about 7.5 hours to finish. More importantly, it made me realize what a fantastic event this was. JDRF is a great organization that is funding research throughout the world to not only find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes but make lives easier for those that have it. The Wisconsin ride raised over $600,000 for JDRF and all rides combined last year raised over $4 million. It's a great feeling for me to be a part of this; helping someone with their fight against diabetes. Throughout the weekend I was able to meet many people who had children or siblings with Type I diabetes, it was truly inspiring to hear their stories and to know how thankful they were for us being there for them. I will definitely be participating in this event again!

About 60 miles into the ride at a rest stop right by the Mississippi river.

Marathon Training Update
Yesterday I told my good friend Jeff Pickett that I wasn't very happy with him for getting me started on these stupid marathons. Just over one year ago he suggested that we train together for the Twin Cities Marathon. Half way through the training he developed an injury that kept him from running it, for some crazy reason, I keep doing them.
Maybe it's knowing that they were not perfectly executed and with a little work I can finish faster and with less pain. Maybe it's just that I need to have a goal ahead of me in order to keep running and challenging myself. Nevertheless, marathon training is no cake walk. There is a huge time commitment and many sacrifices along the way.In a nutshell, 18 - 20 weeks of training, all for three and a half hours of running your ass off.

Enough bitching already...

My training is actually going very well. I have been putting in some solid weeks of training. I finished the month of July with 150 miles and August with 143 miles of running.

I am still struggling with my endurance on the long runs. After 2 - 2.5 hours I really start to go downhill. My calves get cramped, I begin to run out of energy, and at times I struggle keeping hydrated enough because I sweat like like a beast. I have been experimenting with my hydration and electrolyte replacement on these runs and I feel like I have made some improvements, but still feel like I am not 100% there yet.
First, I have been using Endurolyte capsules for about 3 months now. These are electrolyte replacement capsules. They are easy to swallow and seem to help reduce my calf cramping. I generally take 3 capsules before running, then about 3 every hour during my run.
For yesterday's run I tried two new items in addition to the Endurolytes. I finally broke down and purchased a pair of Zensah compression leg sleeves. I have been wearing some cheapo compression tights from Walgreen's for several months now for recovery after runs. I finally splurged and purchased the Zensah's and I am glad I did. I hardly noticed that I was wearing them and I have absolutely no calf soreness after yesterday's long run. They may not be the sexiest things in the world, but my calves were happy!

Zensah compression leg sleeves.

The second thing I tried out for my long run was a new fuel replacement. I have been using gels for quite some time and really don't mind them; but I don't believe that I have been getting everything from them that I need for endurance, so I tried another Hammer Nutrition product, Perpetuem. I was a little concerned about the flavor and consistency of this product prior to trying it, but it is actually very good. For my first trial I mixed it a little light, I made up a 2 hour bottle using 3 scoops in an 8 oz bottle for my fuel belt. I premixed it in a measuring cup before pouring it into the bottle. It had some lumps when I poured it into the bottle but they disappeared after I shook it up. The flavor was great, not too strong, and the consistency was similar to that of a thin protein shake. For this run I took a mouthful every 20 minutes and followed it up with some water. The early consensus, I like it! It is much easier to use than trying to tear open a gel and get it swallowed down and I didn't feel hungry during my run either.

Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem

Last but not least is my coaching. I must say, Coach Kline from PRSfit really knows what he is doing. He gives me my weekly workouts, answers my annoying questions, and gives great feedback from the workouts. He is definitely a teaching coach who along with his wife Diane, are very supportive of their team and others. It is obvious that they love to see others grow and succeed.
When teamed up with the coach he had me run a lactate threshold test. This is a test to determine your anaerobic threshold and help set heart rate training zones. Coach had me run this test again on Monday and my LT was much lower than the initial test back at the beginning of June. This means I have made some progress! Because of this test, Coach set up new training zones for me that kicked my butt this week. Aerobically, they were not too bad to run, but physically, my legs have some work to do. I had a difficult time running a fast pace to get to and stay in zone 4 or even the top of zone 3 during my last two runs. I am sure it will come in time, but it is currently quite a challenge. I am sure that the cooler weather helped, but yesterday's long run was scheduled for 2 hours and 15 minutes. I completed 17 miles in this time which is just a hair under 8 minute miles for the duration. This has been my strongest long run to date and I was not completely wiped out when I finished either. I love seeing progress like this!  I have my first half marathon in quite some time scheduled for this coming weekend and I am excited to see how it will turn out!

If you actually made it this far reading through my blog without falling asleep, I thank you. When I look at the road ahead and behind me, my training it seems a little daunting at times, hence the whining at the beginning of the post. I do love running and the challenge of the training and the races. In life, seeing progress and growth is a great motivator for all of the hard work we do whether it be running, working, or raising a family. The fight is the journey, the results are our rewards...never stop fighting.