TransRockies Quick Recap

We finished TransRockies, and we even finally made it home despite Irene. We ended up in 6th in the masters mixed category. A full race report will be going up on irunfar.com in the next week or so. It was a really tough challenge for me, and I'm happy to have gotten through it. All our orginal flights were cancelled both ways, and a gash on my hand requiring stitches on Day 3 made for a bit of a bigger challenge than we bargained for. TRR will forever re-calibrate my assessment of hilly runs. Beautiful scenery, amazing people, and satisfying finishes made the hard parts all worth it. Thanks to friends and family for your good wishes.

A few photos: Climbing Hope Pass; Derrick's prescription of milkshake after my medical visit; Ribbons of singletrack way up high - it doesn't get any better than that; Enjoying the views on the run; Another view; Finishing felt so good.

Marathon vs Ultra

The Conservative Marathon Mindset	The Audacious Ultra Approach
Respect the distance	The longer the better
Build up your race distance gradually	Jump into a 100 miler after a year of running
Typical max of 2 marathons per year	Typical max of 2 ultras per month
Taper is good (or a necessary evil)	Taper?? Huh?? Why would you want to do that?
Possibly a gel at mile 18	300 calories an hour
White shoes	Colourful shoes
Light and fast	Strong and steady
It's all about the mile splits	It's all about getting to the next aid station

Ready to taper?!

Usually I'm very ready to take a break and reduce training to rest up before a race, but this time I'm in serious denial about how close Transrockies is creeping up. I would love to have several more weeks to prepare. I just now feel ready to start ramping up the miles, which aren't nearly where I'd like them to be going into a race of 120 mountain miles over 6 days.

Considering my early summer foot issue, I was lucky to get in a sort-of-decent amount of running, it could have ended up much worse. I did a lot of extras (the big one being altitude of course, but also strength, biking, yoga, barefoot running). Still, miles are miles and nothing can replace them in my opinion.

On top of lower mileage that I had hoped for, we didn't end up going in any races, we didn't run up any mountains, and I even had to give up the treadmill uphill runs due to the foot.

So.........while I'm not super confident in my training, at least I'm not broken down and burnt out.

TransRockies should be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to a week where all we have to do is run a ton on trails, eat, relax, meet a bunch of trail runners, and gawk at pretty scenery.

The place to live

An excerpt from A. J. Mandell, 1977:

The first thirty minutes are tough, old man. Creaks, twinges, pain, and stiffness. A counterpoint of breathless, painful self-depreciation. Like driving a mule. You brain-heavy jerk. Keep going! Challenged, I smile with pride and follow my orders. The first thirty minutes hurt until the body gets the message that you're serious.

Thirty minute out, and something lifts. Legs and arms become light and rhythmic. My snake brain is making the best of it. The fatigue goes away and feelings of power begin. I think I'll run twenty-five miles today. I'll double the size of the research grant request. I'll have that talk with the dean...

Then, sometime into the second hour comes the spooky time. Colors are bright and beautiful, water sparkles, clouds breathe, and my body, swimming, detaches from earth. A loving contentment invades the basement of my mind, and thought bubbles without trails. I find the place I need to live if I'm going to live. The running literature says that if you run six miles a day for two months, you are addicted forever. I understand. A cosmic view and peace are located between six and ten miles of running. I've found it everywhere....

After the run I can't use my mind. It's empty. Then a filling begins. By afternoon I'm back into life with long and smooth energy, a quiet feeling of strength, the kind wisdom afforded those without fear, those detached yet full.

Super cautious return to barefoot runs

I did a lot of short barefoot runs two years ago, and my feet benefited greatly from the extra strengthening. With being injured last year, I let that part of my training go, and had intended to get back to it this summer. Then I started having some plantar fascia issues, so I thought I had better hold off. But after reading this post, I decided to add it to my physio regimen and carefully try to do some grass barefoot runs to see if it would help. I asked my physiotherapist about it, and she agreed that as long as I was careful, to go ahead.

So, here's how I progressed with it: (all done in bare feet on grass, at end or in middle of a run)

Jun 18 - walk 5 minutes

Jul 3 - 2 x 2 min, with1 min walk (i.e. recovery between)

Jul 5 - 3 x 2 min, with 1 min walk

Jul 7 - 4 x 2 min, with 1 min walk

Jul 10 - 4 x 3 min, with 1 min walk

Jul 13 - 5 min, 3 min, 3 min, with 1 min walk

Jul 19 - 10 min

Jul 22 - 15 min

So it took me a month to get to 10 minutes of continuous running, but it is always better to be extremely patient with adding barefoot, even without a sore foot. With having tightness in the PF, I knew I could make things a lot worse if I did too much, so it wasn't hard to hold back and make sure it was helping, not hurting. I had three physio treatments for my PF as well, and am feeling quite good about how things are coming along. I'll probably do another 15 minute barefoot run next time, before hitting 20 minutes and then holding it at that level after that. For what I want out of it (injury prevention in the form of stronger feet, stretching out the achilles and calves, and a bit of help with form) I think that is enough time. Occasionally I might do 30 minutes, but that's about it.

Trip to Asia!

It's officially confirmed...I'm going to Taiwan and Hong Kong in November!! This has been in the works for a few months, but I didn't want to say anything until the decision was made for sure and my flights were booked. Talk about going out of my normal realm and comfort zone; it took time for me to process the thought of going so far from home. I've wrapped my head around it now, and I'm really excited.

This came about because my best friend Deb invited me to take part in the Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong 100K race along with two other friends of hers, so I'll be celebrating the year of my 40th on and around her actual 40th birthday while doing this event! We go way back, Deb and I, and she's one of those miracle friends who know you more than you know yourself and likes you anyway. It will be a very memorable way to celebrate her birthday with her this year.

Deb and her husband Dan have been living in Taiwan for eight years now, and I will be spending the first part of my trip staying with them. It will be so cool to see the life they have there. They work for a little sporting goods company you may have heard of, or maybe you've even used their stuff at some point while you were Just Doing Something.

Then we will go to Hong Kong where the race is, and have an adventure as our team of four navigates the MacLehose Trail that winds along the coast and over mountains of Hong Kong for 100 km. I'm looking forward to meeting Deb's friends Kristina and Kim and spending some quality trail time as a team. (Get this: Kim is the world record holder for the 24-hour inline skate!) Obviously I'll be writing a lot more about everything in the months to come.

Earlier this year, feeling a bit of weight from just turning 40 I guess, I started experiencing a very deep desire to see more of this world, and was looking forward to a few years down the road when we would have more time and energy to put towards that. I guess life goes at its own schedule though, and within weeks of feeling that shift in myself I had won the entry to TransRockies from iRunFar, and then Deb asked me about this Hong Kong trip. I read somewhere recently that often we go right up to the edge of our comfort zone but then ultimately don't take that final committing step over the line. Was life maybe asking if I was serious?

Thank you D, for this incredible opportunity, and for helping me navigate that uncomfortable last step to committing to it. Travelling all over the world for you is normal, but you've been your ever patient and positive self in dealing with my less-adventurous self.

I'm lucky enough to have had another Debbie to talk it over with, my sister-in-law, who is also an extreme world traveler and equally patient and positive. I so appreciate your excitement and encouragement, Debbie. It helps me to see stuff through your eyes.

And Derrick, I cherish that we support each others dreams. Vote for Pedro.

It's the DEWPOINT!!!

From this Running Times article on hot weather running.

It's Not the Heat, Nor the Humidity....It's the dew point.

DEW POINT (°F)	RUNNER'S PERCEPTION	HOW TO HANDLE
50–54 (10-12C)	Very comfortable	PR conditions
55–59 (13-15C)	Comfortable	Hard efforts likely not affected
60–64 (16-18C)	Uncomfortable for some people	Expect race times to be slower than in optimal conditions
65–69 (18-20C)	Uncomfortable for most people	Easy training runs might feel OK but difficult to race well or do hard efforts
70–74 (21-23C)	Very humid and uncomfortable	Expect pace to suffer greatly
75 or greater (24+C)	Extremely oppressive	Skip it or dramatically alter goal