[mountainmilers] October Progress Report
- From: Terri Rashid <terri@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "mountainmilers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <mountainmilers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 12:01:38 +0000
October was a good month of running for me. I logged 259 miles for the month,
and also achieved this year's "dream" mileage goal of 2000 miles, ending up
with 2165 miles for the year by the end of October. Whoo hoo!
At the end of September I attempted my first 100 miler at The Bear 100. While
I only got a couple of miles past the Franklin Basin aid station (mile 61.x),
the total distance (~65 miles) and time (~22.5 hours), seem to have given me a
great boost for my long distance running.
I took a few days off, but started running again on Weds of the following week.
By the weekend I felt ready to do a long (25mi), slow training run and that
went surprisingly well. Some of this may have been residual benefits from
being at altitude for a couple of weeks, but in any case I was having some
great training runs. Two weeks after The Bear I did my first run/hike into the
Grand Canyon. I went down South Kaibab, visited Phantom Ranch, and then
returned up Bright Angel trail. I had a great time on that outing and did not
have any problems with the amount of distance or ascent. The next day I felt
good enough to go out and do a 30+ mile training run at a pretty typical pace,
giving me my longest pair of back-to-back workouts ever and a very high (for
me) week total of 93+ miles.
Four days later I met up with a friend (Karen King, my pacer from The Bear) and
we did an 18.7 mile run/hike in Bryce National Park. That was my first time in
Bryce and it was great to be able to hit so many trails and still have time to
stop, take pictures, and enjoy the views.
I was actually pretty sad to have to start tapering for Javelina Jundred on Nov
1. The weather in Prescott is fantastic in the Fall, and really all I wanted
to do was be out on the trails in the cooling temperatures, under the beautiful
blue skies. I was a tiny bit above planned taper mileage for the first two of
my taper weeks, then better the week directly before Javelina. (November
spoiler - I DNF'd for the 100 miler, but did complete 100K, so I got a nice
buckle for that distance.)
So how did I do on my October goals?
1. Make sure I am still having fun and enjoying my trail running.
DEFINITELY made this goal! I had a fantastic time this month and the Grand
Canyon and Bryce outings were amazing. In fact the ability to do those kinds
of run/hikes, on the spur of the moment (I decided to do GC only a few days
before I went), with no special taper or issues on the run, is exactly why I've
become interested in ultras. I love being in shape to go have long days on
fascinating and beautiful trails.
2. Squeeze in a bit more training for JJ100. Yes, I accomplished this as
well. Both with the above mentioned outings, plus some good training on the
trails around Prescott. I changed my routes to be more rolling and not as
mountainous as my training for The Bear. This was fun as my trail paces are
naturally a little faster on such routes.
3. Taper to settle down injured areas (Achilles insertion and PF). While
I didn't taper as aggressively as I did for The Bear, I took some days off and
definitely have dropped my mileage - especially the last week. Both my
Achilles and PF are better than they have been in the last 6 months.
One other thing of note, related to that last point I believe, is that I have
completely switched running shoes. I ordered some new Hoka Cliftons right
before The Bear - thinking that I might want something really cushy towards the
end when everything was hurting. I only did one run in them before The Bear,
but I really liked them. So much so, that I even started using them at The
Bear a bit earlier than I planned, though only for a short section since I
didn't want to injure myself with new shoes.
But as soon as I got home, every run I have done since then has been in the
Cliftons. I absolutely *love* them. Again, I would have thought such an
abrupt switch from the 12mm (or 13mm in the newest model) drop of the Asics
Kayano Gel to the 4mm (or 5mm - I've seen both listed) drop of the Hoka
Cliftons, plus the fact that the Kayano has a bit of stability control and I
believe the Cliftons do not, would have caused problems. I have not had any.
I worried about knee problems since some people on FB have commented on having
knee problems with them, but again, not my experience. On the contrary, my PF
has improved, and when I run in the Cliftons my feet don't get sore towards the
end of a 30 mile run as they always did in the Kayanos or the GT-2000 trail
shoes. Plus the Cliftons are feather light! It's amazing how much easier it
is to run with them!
I hope you are all having fun with your running!
.Terri
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