I am seeing that there are a few folks announcing they have been contacted as Ignite presenters. I have not received any sort of confirmation or declination, so I am going to assume I have been rejected. No worries. Next time.
Days 1 and 2 of the mo, not much to write about yet. This will get ugly.
Lot of folks fired up for Pb as registration opened up on that (exhibit A). I have not registered for that in part because I am still interested in Pikes, in part I have a free entry to Pikes (versus a near 300 dollar fee for Pb) but MOSTLY because I have not convinced myself that I am willing to do all the necessary training to do the Pb I think I could do. Yes, I know I could do SOME of the appropriate training and get SOME level of the result that training would enable. But I am not yet sure I am WILLING to make the choices to support more than SOME, and so I am not ready to approach that half assed.
And so, implied in this is that yes – I think the training I currently manage can get me some level of satisfaction at Pikes, but for a 100 – it is a different game (but the opposite is less true … Pb 100 training would get you further along at Pikes anyway). Yeah, I know that folks will say - “just do it” or all I need to do is get up early and get this session done or that one, blah blah blah. They are absolutely right. I know what needs to be done. I am trying to be honest with myself that I am not sure I am willing to do that consistently.
Some of this comes across as the cranky old man, but some of this URP interview with Frank Bozanich is pretty good and funny. I do have to roll my eyes a bit at how there is talk about how guys were tougher and just raced off the front in the past. I did enjoy his comments on barefoot running though. Digging what the URP guys are doing.
12 miles, steady with Bob. Good to catch up with Bob, as it is the first time seeing him since the B100 and he has had some competitions in there since then. Third solid run in four days. Thinking about what’s next …
If your heart's leaning towards PP, then that's what you need to do ... Pb isn't going anywhere and will be there waiting for you when the time comes. Until then, train to race The Peak....and race it fast, like you do. Excited for you!!
ReplyDeleteGrow that stache out with that fur hat and the police will pull you over faster than you can spell p-e-d-o-p-h-i...
ReplyDeleteJill - thanks!
ReplyDeleteTim - LOL. That hat is old school for sure. Got that issued to me in 1988 back in the USAF.
GZ: I had the same reaction to what Frank B. said in his podcast. I do agree with him that runners should do roads more. Constant trail running can inflame the connective tissue especially in your feet, ankles and shins. Roads provide a nice break and also help enhance turnover. I think ideally a training plan should be 50% road, 50% trail. Anyway, I think it's hogwash that guys back then were tougher, as Frank contended. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think it's actually refreshing to hear you say you're not quite ready to make all the sacrifices you'd need to make to run Leadville the way you want to and are capable of. I applaud you for making that astute observation, because I've seen far too many people out there, dying on some rock on Hope Pass, who have no business being there in the first place because they're obviously way out of shape for a 100. Hundreds are hard and you have to train hard for them. Not sayin' you'd be one of those folks dying (you wouldn't--you'd be flying!) but it's refreshing to hear you acknowledge the sacrifices of training for a 100 and being so thoughtful about it all.
Wyatt
Wyatt - thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteRoads, trail ... I have learned that the first thing a person needs to do in training for that training to be successful is that they need to enjoy it. Ultimately, if you don't enjoy it - you ain't gonna do it. The motivation as to what you enjoy and why you enjoy is going to be highly varied of course. Trails, road, track, hills, flat, down, up, altitude, GPS, watch free, shoes, barefoot, etc. All of it can be debated but one needs to figure out what they enjoy, and balancing that against what gets them the results they want.
The problem for most comes when the training they enjoy is not aligned with the results they want. If a person loves the trail and heavy vertical is expecting to excel at a track mile -- well, those don't line up (as a somewhat silly example).
For the races you and I talk about - Pikes and Leadville, a combo of trail and road is certainly recommended to some extent.
Thanks for the comments on 100s as well. I think the big change I would need to get there is a willingness to get in big mile runs (let's say north of 25 miles) and a good number of ones backed up. When I look at the training log from this year - I don't see that I do that - nor do I drop miles to prep for those sort of days.
So it really becomes a question as to whether I can change my habits. I know physically I could do the training. I am just not sure I would have the discipline to make those choices. I recognize that is sort of sad ... even if it is honest.
I need to listen to the podcast when I get home, but I tend to agree - runners "back in the day" were just plain tougher, as a group, than runners today. And they definitely had better moustaches.
ReplyDeletebrownie - grow the beard.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are not that interested in Pb100, so why bother? If you are more interested in Pikes may as well do that instead. The whole running thing is supposed to be for fun/enjoyment so may as well do what YOU want to do, not what others want to do (or want you to do).
ReplyDeleteI meant to chime in on this a few days ago, but I think time-wise you do enough running that you could put together a solid 100. When I did my second 100 (Pb) I was doing about 10 hrs/week. While I didn't have a great run, it was decent. I think, as you now realize, the key is really just just how you distribute the time you spend running.
NMP - completely agree. I think looking at the sum mileage of my weeks, it looks okay. It is not the sum of the miles, but as you say - how those are distributed.
ReplyDeleteSo - who are you running for in 2012 and what are your race plans? Come on, I need to get this from you in the comments since you refuse to submit to the blog hype.
George, I think you should run Leadville.
ReplyDeleteDo the marathon then eh Jeff?
ReplyDeleteYou tried, JV.
ReplyDeleteNick, blogs are for people who'd rather take photos and spend hours prepping them instead of actually running, or who blog about sandwich wrappers that annoy them. Don't ruin your life like I did.
I liked McDougall's article, good catch. But... running on the streets of NYC? I'll take my chances with the beasts of forest.
Dig that Fudd hat there GZ! You'll have better luck with the stache - I would need 10 November's to grow one ;-)
ReplyDeleteI stopped shaving on 1/1/11... no-shavember... it's going to be epic.
ReplyDeleteI meant 11/1/11... If I stopped shaving on 1/1/11 I'd have made Grizzly Adams look like the backside of a baby's bum by now...
ReplyDeleteWard - mustache only man.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking you have more now than I will have by month's end.