Slowly Going Somewhere . . .

Excellent, as usual!  I love your race reports and when Susie is there, it's bonus time!

Great report, as usual! I think you were wise to pull the plug on this when your ankle started acting up. Hope it heals quickly.

It actually feels pretty good. I may do a short run/walk tomorrow.
Then Friday I hope to do 5 - 10 miles or so, but I will be careful.

Take it easy Charles - there are no records to be broken this year!

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Take it easy Charles - there are no records to be broken this year!

What she said!

charles.moman wrote:Agreed. Susie and I took a walk this morning and I am NOT ready to run yet.
So . . . I will just walk for a while longer.

I printed out a calendar and counted back from the April 2014 IT 100 race and found out my 24-week training schedule does not start until the week of November 10. So I have some breathing room. I won't wait until then to start running again, but I can ease into it.

Exactly!!!!  24 wks is a long time - so starting easy and making sure all systems are go is perfect.

Last year I tried to follow Bryon Powell's 100-mile schedule exactly and it ended up being too much for me.
I think it assumed a more experienced and perhaps younger runner.
This time, some of the weekday runs will be trail power walking and hiking days.
What I will keep though is the weekly long run, followed the next day by a shorter run.
And now I know it is ok and smart to skip a run or two if I need to.

I will also get in some all night training run/walks.
And I am working on my core a lot more than last year - already doing that.

charles.moman wrote:Last year I tried to follow Bryon Powell's 100-mile schedule exactly and it ended up being too much for me.
I think it assumed a more experienced and perhaps younger runner.
This time, some of the weekday runs will be trail power walking and hiking days.
What I will keep though is the weekly long run, followed the next day by a shorter run.
And now I know it is ok and smart to skip a run or two if I need to.

I will also get in some all night training run/walks.
And I am working on my core a lot more than last year - already doing that.

Don't forget the Ultraladies! 

http://www.trailrunevents.com/ul/schedule-100m.asp

Their 50-mile plan worked very well for me. I bet the 100-miler would work for you.

And don't blame age - just inexperience.  Ed Whitlock just ran 3:41 in Toronto for the marathon setting an age group record.  He is 82.

I had a nice surprise concerning the Indiana Trail 100.
At the end of my 33+ miles at the St. Pat's 24-hour Ultra, I walked 2 loops with a nice runner - Amy - from Elgin, IL. She ended up doing around 57 miles before she crashed and needed to sleep.

Today she asked if I would like her to be a pacer for me in April at the IT 100.
I quickly accepted and offered to share our cabin at the park with her husband and daughter.
Her husband does Ironman events (I want arms like him when I grow up!), so I said he could pace a little too if he wanted. I know I will need someone during at least the last 2 loops. As usual, pacers (safety runners) can start at mile 50 or at the start of the 4th loop. It would be great if she could split the duties with her husband. If not, I don't expect her to do 50 miles - so I may find a second pacer.

Now I better REALLY get my training together!

On a different note - I am composing news songs for my one-man Indiana Bicentennial school show. I decided to have a custom electric guitar body made for me in the shape of Indiana. I already have a Fender strat that I rarely use that I will cannibalize for the neck, pickups and hardware. Here is a photo of a similar kind of custom guitar owned by a guy I know. It is too big and a bit too gaudy for my tastes. Mine will be 25% smaller, no blue paint job - instead natural wood and a satin finish. I am having some inlays made for the neck - little Indiana fret markers and an inlay of "Indiana - 2016". A friend will do the body and a luthier friend will do the final setup. I will use it for just a few songs in the show - for sure at the opening for show eye candy. And I am toying with trading in one of my Martins and having the luthier make a custom banjo with cool Indiana inlay work. 2016 will be here before I know it! But I will be doing limited shows starting next fall.

That's great to have a pacer (or a few); I'm sure it'll help a lot in those distances!
Post a picture of your guitar when it's made!

Week 1 of my 24 week training schedule for the IT 100 - 6 miles yesterday.
It will be pretty normal training now, so not much to report about.
I don't plan on doing any races until the IT 100 - so no race reports with Susie.
I will be running 3-4 days a week, with ever increasing long runs each Friday.
This Friday will be 12 miles, followed in upcoming Fridays with:
14, 16, 14, 16, 18 , 18, 14, 21, 14, 24, 16, 18, 50k, 14, 24, 18, 14, 50 miles, 14, 24, 18, 10, 100. I will substitute some tough hiking on hills in place of short run days sometimes.

Unlike nearly 95% of the runners here, I am not competitive at all.
I don't care about time, setting PRs and DFLs are just fine with me.
I like completing and that alone makes me happy.
I want to complete the IT 100 by 29:29:59. 
And that will take everything in the universe lining up perfectly. 
I know 50 is doable - even up to 5 loops - which is 83.35.
That final 6th loop will be the determining factor, as long as the in-the-night loops of 4 & 5 don't put me away. I have one pacer and hope to line up a second.
I was part of the Indiana Trail Runners, but no longer. I probably could have found a pacer within that group, but it will work out anyway I am sure.

I look forward to what that weekend brings. 
I'm not sure I will attempt this distance again, but we will see.
I plan on being busier with the Indiana Bicentennial next year.
Oh, and I may trade in my 1979 Martin D-35 as part of deal to have a luthier make me a custom "Indiana Bicentennial" banjo with some sweet inlays on the neck and headstock, and a high quality pickup system.

A year ago I was probably in 200% better running shape. I could do 10-15 miles at anytime and stay with my 3 minute run/1 minute walk pattern to the end of any run. And at the end, I felt great. I got nearly all of my really long runs - some were pretty tough, but I did them. I simply cannot do that now and Indiana Trail is 6 months away. Though a few of my running friends will disagree, 100 miles is just not realistic for me. I really would need at least another year or more of running base to honestly expect to do 100 miles. Some would say I need more mental toughness, but I know it takes a body that can handle it too. And right now I am not having fun doing this.

I still plan on going to the IT 100, but will go for 50 miles (hopefully within the the 15-hour limit) and then see what I can do beyond that. I want an official 50-mile finish and I will be pleased with that. 50 miles is a worthy goal that not many people will ever do. Will I do 100 miles down the road? Probably not - it is not a salvation issue and my life will not be incomplete without it. I have finally realized that I have been rushing this too much. And I am OK with it accepting that now. I will now hit my reset button and start over.

With more realistic and smarter goals. And hopefully more fun.
I feel better now. Really.

Oh and yes I remember that last year I about dropped out after a really bad training run.
This is different.

If I get 50-miles as a 100-miler, it will not count as an official 50 mile finish (just heard from the RD) and that is fine and understandable. I will still know I did 50 miles.

50 more than I will run, Charles and 50 more than most.  Why not go for 50 and if there is still time and you feel good - go for more. Still a long time between then and now.

Yes, 50 is my plan and for "fun" I will see what I can get beyond that.

For what it's worth, I'm planning to run 50 at JFK and I'm not looking to do any more.  Maybe next year I'll go longer.

Right now my body simply cannot handle the level of running needed to pull off a 100 miler.
This was not a - one day bad run event - I just am having too much trouble with even short to medium runs.
And that should not be case - even with 6 months to go.
Last year I could do so much more and I really would like to be where I was last November, but it is not happening. It is not worth trashing myself.

I will just go to the IT 100 the best trained that I can be and get what I can.
I know I can do 50 - and I should not have any trouble doing it within the 15-hour limit (but it will not be an official 50-mile finish). I will just go as far as I can possibly go and be happy with that.

Also for what it's worth, I'm still wrestling with what I want to do next after my first ultra last summer. There's sort of an unwritten expectation of going farther, or at least doing more, but really -- that's only an expectation we put on ourselves.

When you get down to it, there is no rational reason to race such long distances in the first place. We do it because it's fun. So if your body isn't on board, and it doesn't make you happy, then there's probably no fun in it, either. And if that's the case, there's not even an irrational reason to do it. So don't. It's okay.

Here's to finding that fun again.

Hi Charles - you've got a great attitude - and you are pretty competitive, with yourself!  A 50 mile bike ride is long so I wouldn't sweat it - you've got a lot of running ahead of you and why not enjoy it!  And official or not, you know what you accomplish and you know your mind/body better than anyone else.  Who knows, but Michele has a great thought to just aim for 50 and after than who knows?

Yep, that is what I am doing.
That was my plan last year - do 50 - maybe take a nap if I needed it and then go back out.
And so it will be - hopefully better weather too.

This morning I ran a 5K with my oldest granddaughter, Addie, who is in 3rd grade.
It was the finale of the Girls on the Run program in her county.
There were over 200 runners - girls and their chosen running buddy.
It was fun and she ran it in 36:21 - her fastest in practice at her school was 45 minutes.

And she made sure and CHICKED me at the end! I knew she would do that.
She took off too fast in the first half mile and I warned her she might want to back down a little.
Later she had to take a few walking breaks, but I would tell her we would be back running at that tree up there or whatever and that helped her. I was not mean and pushy - just encouraged her to get going.
I had a custom trophy made for her and gave it to her when we all went to lunch afterwards - she loved it.
Good times. A few photos:

Congrats to you both, Charles!  Very cool.

Nice trophy! And an even nicer Grandpa.

Well done, Charles!