Pacific Coast Trail Run's Santa Monica Mountains 50k -Photo by Jayme Burtis
Fresh New Balance MT110's -Photo by Jayme Burtis
The tune up at Point Mugu went really well. I've been working on developing my non-100 mile legs this fall, and after being surrounded by speedy shorter distance guys (Chris, Jesse, Sean, etc. etc.) I feel like the race at the Santa Monica Mountains 50K last Sunday showed that they've been rubbing off on me as I felt more comfortable than ever running relatively fast. The rain poured for 75% of my race, but the MT110's were far too grippy to be slowed down by anything but the thickest mud. I did have a few ponds that I went through were I slipped a bit and aggravated my hamstring, but after 5 days of solid recovery, the knot went away and I've been running pain free since.
The race itself was really fun. Chris took off in his normal "blazingly fast-no need to warm up-are you guys racing today or what?" and put a couple minutes on me up the first climb. I maintained through the meadow and shivered through the rain and wind up top. I grabbed my windbreaker at the bottom of the first loop and had to fumble with the zipper for a good frustrating minute. Third place passed me, and I got close to ripping the jacket, but eventually fixed the zipper.
Eventually I was off, and climbing Ray Miller putting down Gu's casually and relaxed, enjoying the wind and rain under my 4oz jacket. I made good time down the fireroad and was suprised to see Chris on the turn around only 2 minutes ahead of me still as I was just running well within my comfort zone and had suffered a significant delay. I passed 2nd and powered up the climb to the fire road. Seeing all the other runners was a big boost, and I ran along enjoying the day under my cozy wind breaker.
First Climb -Photo By Jayme Burtis
Through the Rain -Photo By Jayme Burtis
The second north loop was sure to be a grinder, but for the first time in my 3 races on this course, it wasn't rough at all. I'd fueled well earlier and comfrotable trotted up and up, and watched Chris put down the hammer up the traverse to Mugu Peak. I could've given chase, but the mindset of the day was to race train like I was running 50 miles. So, I stayed within my comfort zone and stayed extra safe on the slippery, rocky, dangerous descent down to La Jolla. I knew the downhill skier in Chris took it like a green circle beginner route to blow through, but thoughts of driving my knee or a sharp boulder kept me carefully tip toeing down to the bottom for the final 5 miles.
I took the last hill well, and let my stride out over the last downhill to cruise in to the finish in 4:20, 11 minutes faster than my previous all out best (but 8 minutes off Chris). The day had gone as well as I could've hoped for, as my stomach was flawless through every part of the day.
Diet:
Over the course of this year, I've learned to adapt my diet to a new level of training that I never had to fuel in college. The limitations of my college situation dictated shorter training weeks and fueling was much less of an issue. Working 20-30 hours a week, studying 40 hours a week, and running maybe 10-15 hours a week allowed almost any fuel from fast food to sugary baked goods. Being on a tight budget, I used what worked and never worried about the training implications, because.. I wasn't nearly training hard enough to be affected by the food.
Since this spring's high mileage weeks, I've learned that a steady mix of greens, low gluten/HFCS carbs, lean chicken and turkey (and some beef) isn't just what's healthy, or what works.. But what I crave.
To walk into a Jack in the Box in 2009/2010, was simple and enticing with their tasty and cheap options to fuel long study sessions or hours on the floor of the running shop. To walk into one today, my memories of intense gastrointestinal pain this spring makes nearly the entire menu seem like a disgusting, un-appetizing laxative laced bag of saturated fats and chemicals. I'll step off my soap box in a moment, but perhaps this is the answer to the obesity epidemic: an exercise regimen that doesn't just burn calories, but also makes unhealthy food unappealing.
Update:
November 14-20
65 miles, 13,800ft climbed
November 21-27
48 miles, 10,300ft climbed
At any rate, I've been feeling good about North Face 50 for a while now, and it's time to see where I stack up. I rested a lot this week, as the bad knot in my hamstrings required it. My last workout for the race was the Mount Wilson Toll Road on Sunday: 9.8mi, 4200ft in 1:43 which equaled my previous personal best. I was by no means fresh, but I ran consistent and strong which is what I'm looking for in Marin at mile 40.
-Google Maps of Mt. Wilson Toll Road
-Sunset from Wilson (almost)
-Baldy from Mt. Wilson Road
I haven't had this dialed in diet and training schedule going for too long, but I feel rested and strong and ready to run with some of the best.
The last two Good Old War shows I was privy to:
11/19/2011
6/11/10 - That's what's Wrong
