Night run at Lake Grapevine

I headed out to Lake Grapevine tonight, first time in months.  This is one of my favorite places to run.  Terrific trails, lovingly maintained by DORBA, some nice views, low traffic.  I hit the trail about 8:40, shortly after sunset, heading west from the MADD shelter.

I started out strong, but about 3 miles in I slipped, and as I tried to regain my balance I twisted hard to the right and did something to my side.  It feels like I bruised my ribs or something.  I kept running for a while, but after a couple more miles it got more painful, so I mostly walked the second half to avoid the pain.

Then I ran out of water after about 6 miles.  Talk about poor planning.  You'd think I knew better.

I have run trails in my VFFs before.  In fact, I finished the Rocky Raccoon 50 mile race in them.  But tonight the trails beat my feet up bad.  I might be cured of trail running in VFFs now, at least night trail running.  It's hard to see those rocks and stumps sticking up just enough above the surface of the trail to catch my toe.  I lost count of the times I stubbed my toe, mostly my right foot, for some reason.

I set out optimistically aiming for 18 miles.  Haha.  I was quite relieved to be back at my car after a mere 8.65 miles.  But I still had a good time and I'm glad I went.

Runner's high in A Separate Peace

I've been reading John Knowles's classic, A Separate Peace, and ran across a terrific description of the runner's high.  (Not that I've ever experienced it quite like this.)  The narrator, Gene, prompted by his friend Finny, has taken up running.  On a chilly winter morning they head out, Gene to run, Finny acting as his self-appointed coach.  Gene has the kind of breakthrough that runners long for.

After making two circuits of the walk every trace of energy was as usual completely used up, and as I drove myself on all my scattered aches found their usual way to a profound seat of pain in my side.  My lungs as usual were fed up with all this work, and from now on would only go rackingly through the motions.  My knees were boneless again, ready any minute to let my lower legs telescope up into the thighs.  My head felt as though different sections of the cranium were grinding into each other.

Then, for no reason at all, I felt magnificent.  It was as though my body until that instant had simply been lazy, as though the aches and exhaustion were all imagined, created from nothing in order to keep me from truly exerting myself.  Now my body seemed at last to say, "Well, if you must have it, here!" and an accession of strength came flooding through me.  Buoyed up, I forgot my usual feeling of routine self-pity when working out, I lost myself, oppressed mind along with aching body; all entanglements were shed, I broke into the clear.

Wow!  That's what I want!  Lately I'm usually stuck in the "feeling of routine self-pity."

The secret to a dreadful long run

I have said here before that any run is a good run, and the only run you regret is the one you skip.  I won't say I regret tonight's run, but I can say it ranks on the low end of the enjoyability scale.  I had a 15 mile long run on the calendar, but I only made it 10.  If you can call it a run.  Several factors contributed.

1.  I was so tired on the way home from work I was dozing in traffic.  Sure sign I should go to bed early and put off the night run for a day or two.

2.  As I was leaving work, Kelly called to see if I wanted to meet her and the kids at Fuzzy's for dinner.  How can I turn that down?  Two fish tacos, chips, queso, and salsa, and a few bites of Elliot's enchilada plate.  I did skip the Butt Burnin' Hot Sauce, but it still was not an ideal pre-run meal.  I also skipped the Dr Pepper, but in hindsight, maybe I should have gotten some for energy.

3.  When I got home, I worked about an hour and a half in the yard.  It was hot and muggy, and I probably sweated almost as much during that time as during the run.

4.  I hit the trails near my house.  I haven't run on them in several months.  They can be a bit confusing in the daylight, and at night, with my faded memory, and with some additional trails cut by the developer (I'm afraid he's going to cut down more woods!), I became thoroughly turned around a couple times.  I finally found the place where I can cross over the little pond to go under 820, but the pond was much fuller than usual, and the log, or, rather, the big stick, I could walk across felt extra wobbly.  After nearly falling in, I decided to turn around and find another way.  Plus, the trails were overgrown and overcrowded with spider webs, and there were lots of muddy sections that reminded me of my last trail race. 

All these factors combined for a less-than-satisfactory run.  At least I made it 10, and I still did my 161 pushups when I got home.  Now I need to shower and go to bed.

A whole week!

As I have previously mentioned, without a goal race and a training calendar to keep me on track, I'm pretty lost and uncommitted.  Well, I have finally chosen a race and put together a calendar, and for a whole week now I've stuck to it!  (baby steps, baby steps)

The race: I'll be running Tejas Trails' Pedernales Falls 60k in August.  You may recall I ran their 60K at Inks Lake last August (report).  This year's race will be similar, with a 7 p.m. start, running most of the night.  Last year I finished about 3 a.m.

So I've got my training schedule put together, getting up early or running late.  Last weekend I set out at 11:30 for a night run; it was terrific.  On another night I ran a 12 miler, starting just before sundown, getting to a park just after sundown, where I ran through a canopy of trees, surrounded by fireflies.  This morning I did intervals (6 800s w/ 400 walk/jog) at an average pace of 3:30.  Last fall I was doing 10 800s at 3:20, so I've got some room for improvement.

It will still be hard getting in miles working the day shift, but as long as I don't hit snooze too often and don't let the bed beckon me too early in the evening, I'll get the miles in.

Prefontaine

In Mark Remy's The Runner's Rule Book, Rule 1.10 is "Get to Know Pre."  I've heard of Steve Prefontaine, but wasn't well-acquainted with him or his accomplishments and influence on the world of running.  There have been not one but two feature films made about him.  I watched Prefontaine, from 1997.  Someone thought he was popular enough for another movie the next year; Without Limits came out in 1998. 

Steve Prefontaine ran for Coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon.  He held every American track and field record from the 2,000 to the 10,000 meters.  He had a passion to win; as Bowerman says in the movie, "Pre turned distance running into a blood sport."  In college he won virtually every race he ran, but in the 1972 Olympics he placed 4th in the 5000.  Had he not died tragically in a car wreck, he would likely have continued to run faster; he was poised to dominate the 1976 Olympics.

Here's Steve Prefontaine.  Fast.

Here's Jared Leto as Pre.

I like the way the movie was made, shifting between documentary style and feature style, and using archival footage to add realism.  It's a well-made, well-acted movie.  They weren't shy about showing Pre as human: at times arrogant, self-centered, a womanizer.  But the focus is on why we love him: his passion to run faster and harder than anyone thought he could.

His brief running career marks a crucial period of the growth of running as a sport.  He was a colorful character and stunning record-breaker, so he gained lots of notoriety, even making the cover of Sports Illustrated as a teenager.  People began paying attention to running.  At the same time Coach Bowerman was making his prototype shoes using his wife's waffle iron.  He tested out his ideas on Pre and ended up turning his crazy shoe ideas into the athletic empire that is now Nike.  In one funny scene, Bowerman brings a pair of shoes to Pre before a race, and explains that the swoosh on the side was his business partner's idea.  Pre rips it off, tosses it aside, and says, "Looks like needless wind resistance to me."

I'm not sure we can estimate Pre's influence on running.  With his fame, Bowerman's shoe innovations and founding of Nike, as well Frank Shorter and Bill Rogers's exploits, the running boom of the 1970s was born.  Prefontaine was a nice introduction to Pre, and it made me want to get out and run fast!

Bottom line, 3 stars.

No excuses

In my last post, I said I was adjusting to early morning runs.  I spoke too soon!  I've been so lazy in the mornings.  I also said I was running "most mornings."  Ha!  I guess I overestimated myself.  The Garmin doesn't lie.  I have been slacking off.  This morning I ran 6.2 miles, the first run since last Monday.  And I almost didn't run today!

I woke up before my alarm (which I think is a good think, in terms of adjusting to an earlier schedule).  I was considering going back to sleep and skipping my run when I heard a downpour outside.  I didn't remember seeing rain in the weather forecast, but I looked out the window and saw that the wall was wet.  Thinking I had a perfect excuse not to run, I got up to take a closer look.  I put on my glasses, went in the living room, and turned on the light in the backyard to get a better look.  The wall was wet, but the rain looked odd.  Then it stopped.  And I realized that it was the sprinkler, just on the other side of the wall.  I think the head must have broken so there was a geyser on the other side of the wall spraying into my yard.

Since it was only a personal little rain shower for me, I decided to run, and I'm glad I did.  They say (I can't remember where I read this recently) the only runs you regret are the ones you don't run.  Like Saturday morning, when my brother got me up to go run with him, but I sent him off to run alone while I went back to bed.  I ended up sleeping 'til noon, so I guess I needed the rest, but it would have been nice to take advantage of a rare opportunity to run with him.

Adjusting to early morning runs

Warning: this is a really boring post.

I've been on the day shift for 4 weeks now, and my body is finally starting to adjust.  I have been getting up at 5:30 most mornings, running many of those mornings.  Since the 5K a couple weeks ago, I haven't made a new schedule, so I'm just running most days, as long as I have time.  Not the best plan, I know.

When I was running after taking the kids to school, I had time to eat breakfast, mostly digest it, and be up and around for an hour or two before running.  Now I get up, groggily grope around in the dark getting dressed and finding my Garmin and ipod, drink a little water, eat half a banana, then hit the road.  It takes me some time to get the kinks out; those first steps, I'm stiff and creaky.  It takes a lot longer to warm up.

Right now I'm having a hard time conceiving of getting in the mileage I used to put in leading up to a marathon or ultra.  We'll see what happens when I get a race on the calendar and have a more directed running plan.

So this won't be a totally boring post, I'll add this mildly amusing cartoon: