Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Swim Night & Post-Race Plans
First I would like to address a couple question that arose over the last couple days.
50K Training – I have been running my long runs on hilly terrain where the highest climb was 125 meters over about a kilometer. This is about a third of what I will face at the 50K – but it was the largest hill in my area. The rest of the training trail is very similar to the surface I will be running on at the fifty - namely dirt trails and gravel paths. I anticipated (and trained) walking up the more aggressive hills during the 50K, so I should do okay if I don’t get too ambitious during the first half.
Gardening – Yes this was a hard decision, I really love growing my own veggies. We have a space behind our house where we can sit in the sun, but it is all tiled (cobblestones). My wife does have a herb garden growing in containers and I am building a couple growing beds where I can at least plant some salad fixings. In a few years we may look around for a garden closer to home, but no hurry.
Swim Night
Last night I stopped at the pool and swam 1000 meters, 700 freestyle and 300 breast stroke. My freestyle is really at the kindergarten level, I really need a class, I expend a serious amount of energy with each lap – I really feel it in my shoulders and arms.
So in two weeks and a tomorrow is my 50K race (May 25th). I am excited and nervous about it. My only goal is to finish, which I am very confident that I can do. Due to the numerous hill climbs I am expecting that I will need 6 hours, but 7 would be okay too. The weather is up in the air at this point, in past years it has ranged from 40-80°F, so anything goes.
I am officially tapering, which for me means reducing mileage. Tonight I will probably run my 14K/8.7 mile route and on Saturday morning a two hour hill run. Next week will probably consist of an 8K, 14K and a one hour hill run. The last few days before the race I will do a short run and maybe a jog.
Post-Race Plans
I really haven’t look into the future, e.g. post-race, as far as what is next on my race agenda. I am registered for a country marathon in September, which will be very similar to the one I just completed.
A triathlon will probably not happen this year – my swimming is still too weak. I need 4 minutes per hundred meters on a good day, or around 20 minutes to complete 500 meters. The sprint tri’s in our area have a 500 meters swim. The slowest participant completed their swim in 14:35 last year, so I still have a lot of work to do before I take on a Tri. I also need to learn to ride my bike fast (and need a new bike). So, I have basically put a Tri at the bottom of the pile.
I am really tempted to do another training marathon in July in Buehlertal in the Black Forest on July 23rd. This marathon has only 2K of asphalt, the rest is forest trails, dirt roads and gravel paths. I did the half marathon at this site for the last two years, it is not a flatland run! The marathon basically goes down for 25K and back up the rest of the race (low point 675 meters, high point 890 meters).
I also will do several 10K races over the next couple months, and maybe a HM or two. The possibilities are only limited by the time that I have available.
50K Training – I have been running my long runs on hilly terrain where the highest climb was 125 meters over about a kilometer. This is about a third of what I will face at the 50K – but it was the largest hill in my area. The rest of the training trail is very similar to the surface I will be running on at the fifty - namely dirt trails and gravel paths. I anticipated (and trained) walking up the more aggressive hills during the 50K, so I should do okay if I don’t get too ambitious during the first half.
Gardening – Yes this was a hard decision, I really love growing my own veggies. We have a space behind our house where we can sit in the sun, but it is all tiled (cobblestones). My wife does have a herb garden growing in containers and I am building a couple growing beds where I can at least plant some salad fixings. In a few years we may look around for a garden closer to home, but no hurry.
Swim Night
Last night I stopped at the pool and swam 1000 meters, 700 freestyle and 300 breast stroke. My freestyle is really at the kindergarten level, I really need a class, I expend a serious amount of energy with each lap – I really feel it in my shoulders and arms.
So in two weeks and a tomorrow is my 50K race (May 25th). I am excited and nervous about it. My only goal is to finish, which I am very confident that I can do. Due to the numerous hill climbs I am expecting that I will need 6 hours, but 7 would be okay too. The weather is up in the air at this point, in past years it has ranged from 40-80°F, so anything goes.
I am officially tapering, which for me means reducing mileage. Tonight I will probably run my 14K/8.7 mile route and on Saturday morning a two hour hill run. Next week will probably consist of an 8K, 14K and a one hour hill run. The last few days before the race I will do a short run and maybe a jog.
Post-Race Plans
I really haven’t look into the future, e.g. post-race, as far as what is next on my race agenda. I am registered for a country marathon in September, which will be very similar to the one I just completed.
A triathlon will probably not happen this year – my swimming is still too weak. I need 4 minutes per hundred meters on a good day, or around 20 minutes to complete 500 meters. The sprint tri’s in our area have a 500 meters swim. The slowest participant completed their swim in 14:35 last year, so I still have a lot of work to do before I take on a Tri. I also need to learn to ride my bike fast (and need a new bike). So, I have basically put a Tri at the bottom of the pile.
I am really tempted to do another training marathon in July in Buehlertal in the Black Forest on July 23rd. This marathon has only 2K of asphalt, the rest is forest trails, dirt roads and gravel paths. I did the half marathon at this site for the last two years, it is not a flatland run! The marathon basically goes down for 25K and back up the rest of the race (low point 675 meters, high point 890 meters).
I also will do several 10K races over the next couple months, and maybe a HM or two. The possibilities are only limited by the time that I have available.
# posted by Jack : 8:42 AM
