Time for a plan

Okay, enough lamenting the amount of work I have to do and the lack of running that I've been doing. Time is running short. If I'm going to even make an attempt at a 100 miler this year, I need to make a plan and to stick with it. As before, my goal is to avoid getting injured and to train to finish. I'm putting in more miles/week then I was at this time when preparing for the 50 so I don't think it is too late to start getting serious. The problem is that I just haven't been putting in a regular pattern of long runs. So here it is:


I know, it kind of violates the old 10% rule, but I think if I avoid hills and update my shoes regularly, I think it will be okay. My plan is to max out my long runs with the Wild West 100k race in Lowell, MI. After a week of recovery, I'll try another 50 mile run on my own. I might do this as a regular 50 mile run, or a set of back to back 25 milers with one at night. I want to work a couple night runs in so that I can get acclimated to running while sleepy as I hear this is one of the differences in moving from a 50 to a 100. So there it is. Hopefully, having my training schedule out there will help me stick to it.

On a fundraising note, I'm still planning on posting a link for donations. I just haven't had time to get everything arranged and, I'm afraid, the way my summer is going I'm going to scale back my fundraising goals significantly. More later.

Run commute report

Well, my run to work went through without a hitch. I was out the door at 7:30 with a small backpack full of extra clothes. The rain that was previously predicted held off and the morning weather was pleasantly cool the entire way. I did pack everything into zip-lock bags so I wasn't worried about the possibility of rain, but all things being equal I prefer to be dry.

I arrived about an hour and twenty minutes later and covered 8.5 miles as planned. A quick change and I was ready for my first meeting of the morning. The run itself was interesting since it provided me with a different perspective of a route a drive on such a regular basis. It is interesting how much stuff you miss while driving a car--such as the amount of trash and roadkill there is on a given country road. Traffic was a little heavier then I prefer; however, commuters were relatively accommodating and moved as far out of my way as was safely possible. I had to do a bit of running on the uneven part of the shoulder so it was sometimes hard to get a good rhythm going at times, but perhaps that is good training for trail running. It does cut into the work day as I had to leave earlier than I usually would in order to make it home at a reasonable time. If I keep this up on a regular basis, which I think I will, I'm going to look into renting a locker over at our sports center so I don't have to carry so much stuff with me.

I did opt not to run in today as previously planned. I had an unanticipated meeting out at the greenhouses this morning and, while I like to run, adding an extra 4 miles in the middle of a 17 mile day felt a bit excessive. It does give you an new appreciation for distance and I figure I must have saved around $3 in gas at current prices. I spent my savings on a piece of pizza for lunch.

Anyway, if any of you out there live close enough to work to give it a try, I recommend the experience. Even if it isn't something that you do on a regular basis, I think it gives you a good perspective on the meaning of distance in a fast moving automotive society. Rather coincidentally, I found out yesterday afternoon that my commute timed with Bike-to-Work Week.

Run commute, take two

I turned in my grades last week and have the summer to focus on research and running. It seems to me that it is time to give the old run-commute another shot. Two weeks ago I had a solid 50 mile week and, while I only put in about 30 miles last week, I think I'm ready to try something a little more ambitious. So here's the plan. It's 8.5 miles from my house to my office. Tomorrow, I have a meeting at 10 so my plan is to leave here around 7 or 7:30. That should put me at work and cleaned up well before 10. Then, back home by 5 for a 17 mile day. The only down side is that it is supposed to rain tomorrow morning. I've run in the rain plenty of times and my laptop is currently at school so I think it should be okay.

If that goes well, I might try the same process again on Tuesday (Denise is in town so I'm working on Tuesday also). I haven't had time for a decent long run in the past couple weeks, but back to back 17 milers should be a good way of kicking off the summer!

Speedwork, me?

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On Saturday, Holli, Elliott, and I packed a picnic and headed to SVSU to enjoy some sun and for me to run a 5k put on by the TKE fraternity. The last time I ran a 5k was right after Elliott was born and it was put on by the Hispanic Student Organization on campus. I'm hoping that eventually there will be enough support that there will be an annual 5k on campus since it is a nice chance to get together with other runners. While they still have some details to work out (e.g. better signs to the start/finish would have saved us from walking all over campus and arriving minutes before the start), the course was well marked and everything was run pretty smoothly. I think there were only around 40 people running.

Now, as regular readers know, I rarely run short distances and I forgot my GPS so I started out with the first wave of runners with some trepidation that I was going too fast. After about 5 minutes I looked around and there was only one person in front of me. I have clearly started out too fast, I thought. After about 13 minutes, someone finally did pass me, but the three of us were at least a minute ahead of the next runner. So I finished 3rd overall and 1st in my age group (over 25) with a final time of 21:13. Now, I realize that all the cross country and track runners were noticeably absent, but that's my first overall placement that didn't involve 15 people ahead of me getting lost on the track (seriously, that happened last 5k at SVSU). I was awarded the fine trophy, pictured above, which has a pleasant 70s-ish look that really compliments our mantle.