I felt like that pumpkin today during my 14.5 mile run

I ran 14.5 miles this afternoon.  It was a very painful run and, it was very hot.  The temperature at the end of the run was 95 degrees.  Toasty.

At the start of the run my left lower calf was tight and hurting intensely.  Two miles into the run I had to pull over and do a good stretch.  In case you are wondering…no, I didn’t have my calf sleeves on during the run.  I chose not wear the sleeves during this run.  I wanted to get a good tan with no tan lines.  So, I left the calf sleeves behind. Nah, seriously, I just wanted to see how I would do without the calf sleeves since I’ve worn the sleeves for every run since I bought them.  Obviously, the calf sleeves do work because my left calf pain was very real and very intense today for about 3 miles.  After that the pain went away but I had to deal with another problem – I had to deal with that dang, metatarsalgia thing again!  The balls of my feet were aching horrendously.  Also, the asphalt on highway 80 was pretty dang hot making my feet burn.  A difficult run for sure.

my nasty feet and vff's at the end of today's run. These gnarley, deformed pups were hurtin.

This run was definitely a wake up call about the upcoming CrematorUltra 50.  I cannot take that race lightly.  It’s going to be tough.  Today’s temperature was 95 degrees.  By the third week of July temps at 95 or hotter will be normal in Savannah and Hilton Head (where the race takes place).  And, I hate to say this but I’m beginning to think that using vff’s for the CrematorUltra 50 may not be a smart move.  By mile 6 the balls of my feet were on fire but I pushed myself to keep going.  That meant that at times I had to walk but I made myself endure the discomfort and kept pushing forward.  I will admit that at mile 9 I hat to run into the Island’s Y and used the bathroom. While I was int there I refilled my water bottles. 
Yeah…Around mile 8, my stomach began to churn and it forced me to walk a good bit.  Fortunately, my stomach began to act up while I was running the Island’s Y trail.  So, a restroom was nearby.  My stomach is not used to this heat yet.  I had a nasty dose of common diareah and no pepto-bismol to relieve my churning stomach.

I took 3 of these pills today - one every 30 minutes.

One other important thing came about as well.  I wisely took a four pack of electrolyte pills (endurolytes).  I took one 30 minutes into the run and followed that time frame two more times during the run.  So, I took a total of 3 electrolyte pills during the run.  I needed them!  I’m glad that I had them and, will have to go buy some for my next long run.  Electrolyte pills are an absolute necessity for anyone doing long runs during the summer down here in the Savannah area.  They work!  I can definitely attest to how well they work.  I used electrolyte pills (succeed pills) back in 2008 as I was training down here during the summer for the Boulder 100.  I don’t believe I would have made it through those long summer runs without the succeed pills.

my refilled water bottles at the Island's Y - 40 ounces total

I can barely put any weight on the balls of my feet right now.  They are sore and tender.  I think I need more padding on the balls of my feet on my vff’s.  I had moleskins on my feet but that was not enough.  Also, I could literally feel the heat coming off the road on my feet.  I may have to figure out how to get a little bit of padding in my vff’s in the area of the balls of my feet.  If not, I don’t believe I can go 50 miles with the amount of intense pain I went through today.  Enduring 14.5 miles of pain is one thing, 50 miles…I don’t see it happening, – not for me.

I saw this bear on highway 80 near Johnny Mercher Blvd. It scared me.

Wildlife inventory:

• 4 squirrels
• 5 red cardinals: 4 females, 1 male
• 12 grackles
• 5 mocking birds
• 1 seagull
• 3 crows
• 2 doves
• 4 fiddler crabs
• 4 dogs
• 1 cat
• 2 wasps
• 2 bees
• 2 dragon flies
• 1 moth
• 1 bear (made of plastic)
• 1 snowy egret
• 1 little blue egret
• 1 broken plastic halloween pumpkin
• 1 freshly dead raccoon on the side of highway 80

a close-up of the plastic bear.

So, today was a good wake up call for me.  I wasn’t taking the CrematorUltra 50 very seriously because I’ve run 50 miles before a couple of times and didn’t feel a lot of discomfort then.  That was then.  This is now.  Today was the roughest run I have had all year and it was only 14.5 miles!  I still have a long way to go.  I was humbled.  I needed that.

• my running log
• my mapped run
• total miles on bikilas: 355.83

Where do I go from here?  I think it’s important for me to put in another run tomorrow.  It will not be a long run but I need the mileage.  Next Saturday I will run twice, – 12 miles in the morning, five miles in the evening.  Next Sunday will be a 10 miler.  The Saturday after next, June 4th, I’ll run 18 miles.  The next day, I’ll run 10.  Yeah, I’m going to start getting intense in my running.  And, by mid-June I’ll make a decision if I’m going to run the CrematorUltra 50 in vff’s or conventional running shoes.

Dog is definitely man's best friend but after a long run on a hot day, a runner's best friend is this popsicle.

Well, that’s it for now.  I am in a zombie watching movie quest.  So, I better get back to that.  I just finished watching Zombieland with my calf sleeves on.  And now, I’m going to watch the French zombie movie, The Horde.  And, I will be wearing my calf sleeves during that one as well.  I’m trying to watch as many zombie movies as I can because I’m doing some serious research.  I cannot at this time disclose the nature of my research but I will tell you this, – it’s bound to entertain!

Thanks for stopping by.

All the very best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

Saturday, 11:07pm

Savannah Canoe and Kayak. I run by this place just about every day when I run the neighborhood. It's a stone's throw from Bonaventure Cemetery and it's back is the Dairy Farm. The husband & wife business does tours of the low country and sells boats too. Very nice folks.

Today was my official first day of training for the CrematorUltra 50.  So, I started the training with an 8.18 mile run on a beautiful sunny Sunday with a temperature of 88 degrees and humidity at 32%.  It was perfect weather for starting off the training for a race that promises to be very tough due to the heat that we experience mid-July in the low country.  The CrematorUltra 50 will take place on Saturday, July 23rd in Hilton Head.  It’s a great place for an ultra.

Today’s run had to be tough because the CrematorUltra is going to be tough.  And tough,  today’s run was!  Very early in the run my calves cramped up badly.  Twice I had to stop and stretch.  Three times I had to stop running and I simply had to walk because the pain was so intense.  A part of me wanted to quit the run but the other part of me would have nothing with quitting.  Ultra marathons are tough and painful.  That is what they are about.  They challenge your physical and mental toughness.  There is nothing easy about an ultra marathon.  So I was not about to start my ultra training with a wimpish workout by quitting my first training run.  No way.

So, what I did was listen to my body.  When it said, I need to walk, that’s what I did.  When it needed a stretch of the calves, I gave in.  I knew that eventually the cramps would subside and the muscles would loosen up.  And, after about 3 miles my calves began to loosen up and the pain went away and I picked up the pace some.  At one point, my average pace was 11:30 per mile.  That’s how slow I was going.  In the end, I finished with an pace of  9:30 minute per mile pace.  What a big change from Saturday’s race pace, eh?  That’s the name of the game, though.  Ultra training is about fatiguing the muscles and pushing the threshold higher.  As an ultra runner you are more interested in running longer rather than faster.  A month from now I will be doing runs that last 6 to 8 hours.

Don’t tell anybody but my goal for the CrematorUltra is a finish time of 8 hours.  That would require me to run a 9:36 minute pace.  Is that a realistic goal?  In one word, Yes!

This is a pic from the Boulder 100 I ran in 2008. I finished that race in 24 hours and 5 minutes.

Two and a half years ago I ran 43 miles in 7 and a half hours.  That was a pace of 10:13 per mile.  When I finished that particular run the temperature was 95 degrees.  At that time that was the longest run I have ever done. I did the first 50 miles  of the Boulder 100 that I did a couple of years back in a 9:30 to 10:00 pace.  And, that was at an elevation of 7200 feet above sea level.  With smart training and God willing, no injuries, there is no reason why I cannot finish the CrematorUltra in 8 hours.  So, just between you and me, my secret goal for the CrematorUltra 50 is an 8 hour finish but I will be happy with a 12 hour finish if that should be the case.

Wildlife Inventory:

• 2 great egrets
• 2 pigeons
• 4 dogs
• 1 moth
• 5 doves
• 2 sparrows
• 5 grackles
• 8 mocking birds
• 1 raccoon – oh, that was yesterday while I was hiking in the dairy farm and not running.  sorry.
• 3 cardinals: 3 males
• 1 carolina wren
• 1 turtle turned upside down.  Oh, that was yesterday too while I was walking the dairy farm and not running.  sorry.

Greenwich Cemetery

Now, back to today’s run.  My calves were cramped up pretty bad for the first three miles but loosened up a good bit afterward and I picked up the pace.  Around mile 6 that metatarsalgia kicked back in on my left foot, annoying the crud out of me.  Again, I thought about the ultra that I’m training for and just soldiered through the pain.  This evening I’m soaking my feet again and icing the bottoms of my feet.  The life and times of a runner, eh?  Why do we do it?  Because we like it.  Yeah.

In Greenwich Cemetery viewing the Wilmington River

The run today was through the neighborhood and in and around Greenwich cemetery.  I don’t explore Greenwich cemetery enough.  I always end up spending more time in Bonaventure cemetery and I forget that Greenwich is also a very beautiful and peaceful cemetery.  Any way, I started and ended the run at the front of my house.

All in all, despite the cramping calves and the metawhatever, I enjoyed this run immensely.  I’m hungry for the CrematorUltra 50.  That race is mine.

Many thanks for stopping by.

I wish you and yours all the very best.

peace,

dh

05/08/2011

Sunday, 9:59pm

• my running log
• my mapped run
• total bikilas mileage: 290.87

at the end of my 8.18 mile run. Peace, dude.