Notes from the Road

In Dayton this week and making a real quick entry on the "shared" PC at the hotel I am at (hate to hog things, so I'll rush this...).

Completed a pair of runs with some bonus mileage thus far --> ran six miles yesterday (four scheduled) and eleven today (ten scheduled)...in my desparate attempt to prepare for the Finger lakes Fifty.  Yesterday's run was especially fun as I headed out from the hotel after work and attempted to run a bunch of circles and render an interesting "toe painting"...but since I can't download the runs from my Sports Watch I'll have to wait until I get back home to witness the graphic.

With today's run I have officially plodded a thousand miles since my training began last summer!  But what is really surprising is that in a mere six weeks of training I have already equalled the total mileage covered during the sixteen weeks I prepared for the half marathon.  I kid you not --- this fifty mile stuff is serious...

Tomorrow there are eight miles on the docket before an off day on Friday.  Then Saturday will be 24 miles but after that is my "rest week", lol --- only 38 miles the entire week!!!

Hydrated

Recognizing the pitfall with last Saturday’s long run was inadequate water supply, I endeavored to work the kinks out of the hydro-pack before this week’s mini-marathon.  I figured the test run should be a short session in the event of unforeseen difficulties, so the hydro pack made its debut during a four mile jaunt last Tuesday.

The hydro-pack functioned effectively and is WAY more convenient for drinking while on the move.  The suction straw hangs harmlessly (and not in the way) and can be quickly fetched --- much easier than plucking a water bottle from the belt and prying the nozzle open with my teeth…not to mention having to repeat this operation in reverse afterwards. 

The only drawback is the lack of a chest strap to keep the shoulder straps centered, so they kept slipping off my shoulders.  Despite identifying this deficit during the test cruise, I failed to implement any correction and was confronted with the dilemma again at the beginning Saturday’s twenty-two miler.  I was off and running at 6:30AM and it was cool and foggy, quite delightful running weather, and after several failures I wound up just tying the straps to each other across my chest and voila (notice the French???  J) à the issue was successfully resolved and everything was flawless thereafter.

It was a very good run.  Even though I am not focused on time, I paced twenty seconds faster than the previous week…an improvement I attribute totally to better hydration.  Managed the quicker pace despite a few obstacles --- seemed like every neighborhood was holding a community yard sale this Saturday morning and I encountered traffic galore the first five miles…despite the early lift-off.  Fortunately the course eludes neighborhoods after a bit and traffic had effectively dissipated when I returned on the rebound back home later that morning.

The pathway was consistent with last week, though this time I stretched things slightly to circle the stone posts marking the entrance to Fort Fisher, the last village at the southern end of Pleasure Island.  Total mileage was 22.9 with the extra push to the fort, and I might try to make it to the very end of the island next trip!

Downside for the accelerated pace was this morning’s ten miler.  Last week I felt great and knocked off the run without ado, but after pushing it yesterday the muscles were stiff and I had to work hard to conquer the circuit.  At least I had a massage scheduled for this afternoon, so the legs feel much more relaxed and tomorrow is a rest day...

Next Steps

So I’m well into the new regimen that will hopefully get me prepared for the fifty miler in July.  Each successive target in this journey generates serious qualms.  I’ve acquired a comfort level as each barrier gets conquered, but this one seems overwhelming.  I was definitely tired after plodding twenty-two miles last Saturday and of course that wasn’t even half way.

Not only is the distance tremendous, but unlike the previous two runs, I had to trim several weeks off of the training program.  Although I was initially thinking it wouldn’t be so bad since I had just completed the marathon training, this routine has miles galore in it and I fear not building a proper base.

On the plus side is how good I felt running ten miles immediately after the twenty-two.  Strangely, even a ten mile route is becoming just a ‘jaunt’, lol, and that’s a definite positive.  I’ve been extending my runs beyond the training requirement (well, all except for the twenty + milers) by roughly 10% in an attempt to get a little extra leg work in without dipping into the realm of overtraining.

Part of the comfort level I am acquiring for the longer runs involves enhanced maintenance on the food and water front.  Before I wouldn’t bother packing along a water bottle unless going out for at least ten miles and would only eat after it was fairly evident  my blood sugar was low.  Now I always run with my water belt stocked and start sipping by mile two.  Around mile five into any run I will enjoy a Hammer Gel and a half hour later consume a Clif Bar.  After this the maintenance gets back to play-by-ear, but by this point (typically over ten miles into the run) the tension has evaporated and it’s all business in conquering the current distance.

Caught Red Handed!

I’ve continued physical therapy to rehabilitate my wrist over the past two months with good results.  But still, it is dawning on me that it will never recover 100%...

As depressing as that sentiment might be, the good news is that there is no impact of the injury upon my running program…or so I thought.  The other day I sat down to start the exercises I need to perform every few hours to keep the healing wrist limber when I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.  My entire thumb was a ghastly shade of red, in stark contrast to the creamy white of the rest of my hand.  Had the injury cut off circulation to my thumb?

Then I scanned my fingers to acknowledge they were a ruddier complexion too!  What the heck, call the doctor?!?!?!?!?

Fortunately it only took a moment to connect the dots and decipher what had caused the funky shadings on my hand.  I still wear a wrist brace when I go out running and I’ve been pounding the pavement outdoors so much that I’ve developed a “farmer’s tan” on my hand!  The brace conceals my palm (and roughly the same area on the back side of my hand), sheltering everything except digits from sunlight.  An amusing solution to the mystery of being caught red handed…

Farmer’s Tan Hand - note the curiously red thumb and fingers…

Bonjour to the Big Race

Well I am officially registered for the run on Reunion…but not for the big race.  They limit Le Grand Raid to 2,600 runners and 1,300 of those slots are reserved for islanders.  Still, I figured I would have more than two weeks after they opened registration up to get signed up.

The first step was alerting Rudolph in the Netherlands so he and his wife Jacomien could do a dry run with the registration and provide critical translations, as it is entirely in French.  My Dutch friends came through wonderfully, saving screen shots of important pages and footnoting instructions.  So when I plunged into signing up it went fairly expediently…except for the part where I learned Le Grand Raid was completely booked!  But there were openings for the “half” version – the Bourbon Trail, so I snagged that.

Am I disappointed?  Honestly not at all, because here are the basics for the Bourbon Trail.  Total distance is 58 miles with an elevation gain of over 16,000 feet (i.e., three miles!).  I know Le Grand Raid runs past the active volcano and goes through a pair of villages which are accessible solely by foot or helicopter, so you know this crazy distance and elevation gain will be along hazardous trails.  Training for the fifty mile run in July has me appreciating just how intense this ordeal is and discretion became the better part of valor…particularly because it appears I will be tackling the venture solo.

There shouldn’t be a lick of remorse to wind up celebrating the landmark birthday by running a marathon, a 50-mile ultra-marathon and the Bourbon Trail ultra-marathon on Reunion this year.  Having learned a bit more about the world of long distance running it strikes me that Le Grand Raid requires a bit more experience than I would bring to the table.  However, I did take heart to learn that my age qualifies me for the “Veterans 2” class in the race, so I guess I’m not a rookie after all --- here is an excerpt from the e-mail:

Bonjour Vance

Félicitations, vous êtes désormais inscrit(e) à la course TRAIL DE BOURBON dans la catégorie VETERANS 2 HOMMES

Hommes, as Rudolph pointed out in his liner notes, is French for ‘men’.  The race is on!

Fifty at Fifty

Yesterday was another ten miles, right on the heels of Saturday’s 22-miler to yield my first week of logging fifty miles.  I’ve come quite a ways on this crazy trip and it was cool to think I was reaching these new heights.  Surprisingly, the ten miler came off very well --- feared I would be stiff from the long haul on Saturday but I guess the difference is running at a relaxed pace (could barely walk down steps for two days after the marathon!).

Of course this deal has involved constantly pushing outward and my exultation at completing fifty miles in one week is tempered by the realization that in just two months I need to span that distance in a single day (actually, half a day).  Well, thus far I have managed to achieve goals I could have easily dismissed as impossible by approaching their conquest a step at a time, so I’ll keep the faith.  But once again, the goal seems terribly distant at this early stage…

The rewarding thing about yesterday’s run was finally making it all the way to Kure Beach (the town just below Carolina Beach), which I had originally targeted for the twenty mile training run in preparation for the marathon.  The bad news is that it was a warm day and I packed along insufficient water supplies.  I was going to take the hydro-pack my stepson got me for Christmas on its initial test run, but it didn’t come with instructions and started sucking up time to get ready --- unfortunately I still get tense before these long runs (due to concerns over diabetes) and decided to punt because I wanted to get out before temperatures started soaring.  A bit foolish, but no serious repercussions.

The shortfall in hydration actually provided a couple good experiences.  I had drained both water bottles in my belt by mile eighteen and found it difficult to swallow the Clif Bar I was eating on the run to keep my blood sugar on track.  So for the first time ever during a training run I stopped.  Wow.

Pulled off at a convenience store at mile twenty to buy a bottle of water, finally breaking the twenty dollar bill I had tucked in my belt five months ago!  This was positive because I knew I needed to do this and convince myself it isn’t a tragedy to pause à suspect I will be doing that several times during the fifty miler, lol.

If you read my earlier posting about “Toe Painting”, the other benefit was understanding my Sports Watch a bit better.  I’ve been thinking about how to draw pictures by running and thought I could leave spaces by pausing my watch, but stand corrected.  When I got back and downloaded the run I noticed that even though I re-started my watch a bit further down the road (intentionally to see how it would appear), it connected the points with a straight line.  So darn, toe painting will be limited to a solid line, but it is better knowing that up front.

Beyond feeling really good throughout today’s run, another fun aspect was feeling like ten miles wasn’t a ‘long run’ any more.  Sheesh, I’ve come a long way, baby…

Better yet is growing confidence in effectively managing blood sugar levels during these runs.  I’ve been doing a good job, but today was more relaxed and almost second nature.  Let’s hope I can carry that feeling over to the twenty milers now.

And lest I forget, managing my diabetes will be impacted by the additional miles I’m plodding now.  Fortunately today was the first of the month, so I attempted to embed the need to ensure I accommodate nighttime concerns with the latest “Take Care of Yourself First” notecard:

The May edition of my monthly “Take Care of Yourself First” card – trying to be proactive about avoiding blood sugar dropping overnight!

My bedtime snacks are a bit more caloric than when I was a youngster (i.e., less than 50!), but you can bet I will edge them up again until I’m assured these long runs don’t send things into a tailspin overnight.  The training schedule increases to an average of 48 miles per week (from 28 miles per week for the marathon), so forewarned is forearmed.

Getting Off Track

Suppose one good thing about getting a colonoscopy is that I needed a few hours of rest after the procedure to get my brain back…which afforded a rare spot of time to finally start paying attention to facets of this adventure beyond running.

There is much to do.  Beyond learning French and pinning down someone to tag along (if not to run with me, just to be around and share the exploration of a new world), simply deciphering plane flights is a challenge.  Getting to Reunion is a long haul and with so few carriers servicing this remote destination, there aren’t many options at first glance.

Started off using my travel “search engine” of choice, kayak.com, which suggested Air France as the sole carrier servicing Reunion…and at some pretty steep fares.  I was already expecting to pay dearly to get over to Reunion, but because I was trying to recruit Paul (who naturally voiced cost as a concern with the upcoming wedding), sent Air France an e-mail seeking assistance towards the fund raising drive.

I honestly shouldn’t harbor any ill will towards Air France, for who knows how many crazy requests they receive to score discounted fares, but was disappointed with a lame response to my inquiry and this unjustified displeasure led to a deeper search, ultimately  revealing an actual Reunion-based carrier, Air Austral.

Better yet, Air Austral’s flights depart for Reunion from Charles De Gaulle airport in France, where most of the US carriers land.  I had been further discomforted by Air France because their Reunion departures disembark from Orly, an alternative Paris airport (they do offer bus service transfers from Charles De Gaulle, but this still presents another wrinkle if you are attempting the long trek).

So what’s the coolest part of researching flights to Reunion for my ultra-marathon?  Well, guess what the three-letter abbreviation is for the airport located in St. Denis, Reunion?  RUN, of course!  Yet another wonderful coincidence to help me embrace the adventure.

Now the plan of attack is to coordinate a flight to Paris on USAir, using frequent flyer miles to the extent possible, and then Air Austral the rest of the way.  This is not an easy itinerary and it looks like I will need to invest a day-and-a-half for travel time in either direction to the island…so I will definitely need two weeks of vacation time to make the effort worthwhile and afford time to prepare + recover from the run.  Next steps are to identify dates which make the most sense, ensure I may take the time off from work, and then start talking with USAir and Air Austral to get some tickets!