Friday, December 30, 2011

sleep

Never underestimate the power of sleep. The cumulative fatigue associated with running hard up steep hills and strength training left me drained the last few days. Last night I fell asleep on the couch during "Whitney" at about 9:35 P.M. and did not wake up until 5:30 A.M. Unfortunately, the first thing I saw was this guy's mug on the tv (he's a tool as far as I'm concerned). Then, I went upstairs and got into bed and didn't move again until almost 8 A.M.

The result is that I am still a little stiff in the legs but mentally I feel much better. For anybody who claims to be able to get by on 4 hours of sleep a night, I don't believe you. Maybe it is possible for short periods but it is definitely not sustainable.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Unbreakable

This movie is great. While there is a lot of good footage of the race itself, my take is that the movie focuses a little more on the lives and personalities of G.R., K.J., A.K., and H.K. Specifically what drives them to want to compete at such a high level. The takeaway for me is that they all love to run just to push themselves, and the fact that a race exists to test themselves is nice but not essential to the process.

SPOILER ALERT

Two specific parts stand out about the movie, the first was the day before the race, David Horton tells Geoff that although Anton and Killian may be more naturally talented runners, Geoff has the edge in mental toughness and was therefore his pick to win. If there is a higher compliment that can be paid to an ultrarunner from a more highly respected source, I'm not aware of it.

The second was at the beginning of the race, the lead pack takes off and Killian just sprints up the mountain effortlessly, all the way to the Escarpment. When he got to the top he stopped and turned around to see where everybody else was, like he was surprised that the pace was so slow. He almost appeared to be a little bummed that he and the rest of the lead pack did not charge to the top of the mountain together. After seeing how this dude trains and moves through the mountains, it is kind of surprising that he did not break the W$ record in 2011.

Excellent movie, highly recommend.

Friday, December 16, 2011

updates

My daughter turned 1 earlier this month. This was definitely the fastest year of my life! I wonder if they will all go by this quickly from here on out. I'm sure I would have been just as happy if we had a boy, but I just love having a little girl. I don't think I could even imagine anything greater than being a dad to my daughter.

Past several weeks have been a series of false starts on the exercise front. For a week I was hitting it hard.......running, biking, weights, kettlebell...........a bit too hard though. One day I woke up completely wiped and void of energy/motivation, and it took a full week to get it back. When I did get it back I decided to only work out once a day (instead of the 2x per day that I was doing), but then I got sick. So, here we are, day 3 of not being able to work out due to a cold. 'Tis the season.

For the 2nd year in a row, did not get my name selected for Hardrock 100. That one was pretty much a relief. For the 3rd year in a row, did not get my name pulled for MMT. Something about that set me off and I was feeling pretty crappy about it. I did not know what I was going to do in 2012 regarding races. Then at some point it occurred to me, there is much more to it than just slogging through crappy weather all winter, then showing up for a race in May. There is value in the preparation for the race, in terms of the discipline required, as well as the fitness gains that are made. Also, there is value in the time spent with the other people I choose to run with. Therefore, I have a good feeling about this winter/spring in terms of my training, as well as races I am thinking about (which include MMT -- I will be at worst, #48 on the wait list, which I think means I've got a very strong chance of eventually getting in).

Then, for the summer, I can take full advantage of the bike riding and swimming that the weather allows for, and hopefully do a triathlon of some distance.

I am strongly considering buying a sleeping bag rated for -15 ºF (a full 47 degrees F BELOW the freezing point of water) and doing some winter camping. That could allow for some very interesting opportunities regarding camping in the Laurel Highlands, and waking up for some long runs!