Relay For Life

This evening is the Cerro Gordo County Relay For Life to help fight cancer.  I've been a charter member of the Stoyle's Team so my wife and I are helping with the activities tonight.  I looked forward to an easy day and put in 4 miles on the trails this morning and another 3 for my evening hike, as well.

Myself and team leader, Bill Stoyles, posing in our "photo booth"

Metabolic Efficiency

The main training is finished so the next few weeks may begin to sound like a scratched CD that keeps repeating.  

The "taper" or sharpening may seem anti-climatic to the training build-up yet it's probably more important in that you can ruin the race with an improper taper.

Something that I haven't discussed much in this blog, has been the slow transition in my diet.  By listening to so many podcasts during the training, I began to wonder what diet suits me and this training.  There's many diverse opinions.  But I often heard about the changing food pyramid and concentrating on a higher percentage of fat.  This was against all that I've used in the past and certainly not what was drilled into us when growing up in the 60's and 70's.  But I've now begun to emphasize fats in the morning, and along with my slower paces and hiking, am beginning to teach my body to depend more on fat as fuel.  I definitely seem to feel better in the early stages of my workouts lately.

During a podcast that I listened to on today's run, I learned that the term applied to what I'm moving to is..metabolic efficiency.  I hope the way I've felt under this recent change bodes well for me at the Black Hills 50.

7 miles this AM and a hike after dusk. I even was surprised to observe a bioluminescent caterpillar while hiking tonight.

National Running Day

Surprised that I felt much better today than yesterday.  I started with an early morning 3 mile hike but due to it being National Running Day, I couldn't "not run" at some time during the day.  Around lunch, I took off for a 7 mile loop and it went well.  Ended the day with another 3 mile hike at dusk...the stars/constellations were very distinct tonight.

Coming Back

It's always nice to get back to familiar territory and today I was out on Lime Creek.  I perhaps set myself up for a tough day because we made the quick trip over to Chicago over the weekend and goofed up any semblance of normal/adequate sleep.  I mentioned that I ran in Galena by searching for and finding an old race course from the 1980"s.  I recalled that, at the time, the hill was one of the most difficult that I had ever run.  It now pales in comparison to what I've experienced in Colorado.

Very interesting the way Galena fits into the hillsides around it.

Yep, Buckhill Road was the culprit.

Every time you turn a corner there's more hill and another corner!

I was pleased with how I could run the hills but my legs definitely felt the burn that evening.  So when I woke early on Sunday, I headed out for some more.  The scenery of the area was stunning and Sunday added a bit of fog to the landscapes.

Today I wanted to get a longer run in but, as I stated, I was not 100% recovered from the weekend.  The early loops went well and I was practicing using boiled potatoes, peanut/butter and jelly sandwiches, and my homemade energy gel.  I also brought some electrolyte tablets that are going to be sponsored during the SD race.  Again, the tabs seemed to cause some stomach problems for me (same as the 30 miler at Pilot Knob).  But I stabilized when I slowed down and especially after I ate some more sandwich.  I chose to call it a workout after 20 miles and not go too deep into the hurt locker this close to the race.  I'm wanting to sharpen between now and the 23rd but not at the expense of today's effort causing me to start recovering from a race-type push.

A parting shot of the prairie at Lime Creek that is showing a great comeback from the early spring intentional burn.  And another visit with a Fox Snake in the grass!

20 miles this AM and a hike yet tonight.

Long Road Home

Up at 4 AM to help deliver my daughter and her husband to O'Hare Airport then drove back to Iowa, visited my mother,and prepped for a long run tomorrow if I can feel fresh enough to tackle the distance.

Still waiting for time to download the Galena photos and finish the posts for Sat/Sun.

Hiked after dusk, 3 miles.

Head for the Hills

Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning in Galena, Illinois. Revisited a race route from 25 years ago. Lots of hills and great workout. Trashed my legs but good recovery, as well. More details and photos coming when we return from Chicago. 10 miles Saturday and 3 Sunday early morning for 91 so far for the week.

Alternative Core Work

As stated yesterday, today was to be an easier day.  As such, I took the time while running the loop today, to rebuild some of the rock cairns that I've built in the past but, for whatever reason, other hikers love to destroy!  The big one out on the Badlands Loop made for some good upper body and core muscle work.

Someone else took time to build the little guy in the foreground.

In addition to the lifting, I've also begun to do many, many sets of calf raises by standing on a ledge and raising/lowering my heels.  I had done a ton of these when I prepared for the Pikes Peak events in the past.

10 miles in the AM. More hiking at dusk.