Tomatoes in

Soil:
potash: low
Nitrogen low
phosphorous OK
Alkaline OK

Hoping to improve on last year's hugely disappointing crop.

Tracking Progress, Barefoot Running, and a Bucket List

The achilles heel is still recovering, and it's taking time. I got through a 3.5 miler over the weekend, and today the plan was to do 4. But when I got to the gym I realized that i didn't have my running shoes. I did have my Vibram Five Fingers though, so I decided I try a short run on the treadmill with those.
This would be my first barefoot mileage, and I was interested in how it would go. It turned out to be pretty easy actually. My feet were perfectly comfortable, and I didn't notice a huge difference in my stride either. I put in 1 mile at a slow pace (9 min) and then shut it down.
It's now 4 hours later, and I can feel the effects of the run. My feet are starting to get sore, and I suspect they'll be more sore tomorrow. It's an exciting feeling though, as if I've discovered a new workout, a new way to strengthen and tax my running muscles, and I hope to lengthen the barefoot efforts over the next few weeks.
I'm in a huge motivational rut right now, and one of the ways I'll start getting out of it is creating my bucket list. What are the events I want to compete in, the things I want to accomplish and the experiences I want to have. I'm looking forward to creating and thinking about the list, and hoping that it will push me to explore some new territories.

Recovery

I have what seems like a minor injury in my achilles on the left side, but it has kept me from any decent running for over two weeks now. Hoping to get some resolution soon, I'll try to go 3 miles today, and hopefully 4 on the weekend.

Crashes, Injuries, and a Re-Introduction

Dear readers - are there any left? When you don't write, who'd bother reading? My achilles has been hurting lately, - no running really possible - so this weekend was to be my "triumphant"(?) return to the bike. I had done rides the past two weekends. A 50 miler to Uvas and back, and then a wind-whipped mountain bike ride up over Los Gatos and Sierra Azul (nothing like getting pushed uphill by the "breeze"). So I felt pretty good about jumping into the 60+ mile Tierra Bella, riding with my lovely wife and her friends for awhile, and then sending them off to complete their century. Unfortunately it didn't play out as planned. Mile 1, we shove off with myself and about 5 of justine's friends from her riding group. mile 2.5, heading down an easy slope. It's early, we're cruising along single file down a moderate grade - waking up. I'm riding point, see a crack a little late, point it out but hear some commotion and look back to see a crash taking place behind me. two of the women are falling, one hits the road head first, another, Justine's friend Chris, is falling as well. Shit! We stop, nancy is literally laying on the ground, not moving, starting straight up at the sky. Chris is sitting holding her shoulder, looking pale as a ghost. Fuck, are they okay? just a month after our friend Gayle broke her neck, this is a little too much.
Slowly, Nancy shakes it off and sits up. I'm worried for her, but this is a big relief knowing she's mobile and going to be OK. she'll need a new helmet, but otherwise OK. Chris is in a lot of pain with her shoulder. I assume it's a broken collar bone but eventually I learn from the paramedics (and later get the confirm from Chris) that nothing's broken. A bit of relief but a lot of sadness for the ladies, after going through this a month ago, and with falls being really pretty rare, it's traumatizing for everyone to have this happen again. Justine's Death Ride Group is in a bit of chaos right now too, and we hope that the ladies get their health back (a) and can resume training (b).
Justine cuts her ride short to go with chris. We have separate cars, and as unchivalrous as it sounds I do the 60(+) miler. The legs feel good, the route is very nice, but it was impossible to shake off the crash.
Ride safe! If you're riding point, don't relax, point out everything!

Stats for 2010

over 50 miles so far this month, and running comfortably again after a month or so lay-off to deal with my back. the goal is to ramp up for Eugene Marathon in May.

Broke

With a week to go before CIM, I broke myself playing with the kids on a trampoline over thanksgiving. As such, the racing year ended with kind of a thud rather than a bang. I haven't quite wrapped my head around my feelings about this: I was entering CIM with a lot of ambivalence, knowing that I wasn't as fit as I could be to do the race. On the other hand, not being able to excercise for a couple weeks has not been the greatest thing for me, as I find myself a little lost without the routine of a long workout on the weekend. I love the extra time, but since endurance training has really become my "hobby" along with a chance to see some friends, I've noticed the void. On top of that, I launched myself into the non-excercise regime and have quickly gained five pounds in two weeks... holidays, eh?

That said, my back is on the mend and my mind is racing with ideas for goals in the coming year. There are a lot of options, and I need to think it through and focus. The short list includes:

1) Spring marathon, fall event (half iron or marathon)
2) Spring triathlon, fall event (half-iron or marathon)
3) two marathongs
4) more short races and more trail runs
5) cycling centuries

So, we'll see.

Soft Hardware: 2nd place at Troy's Trail Runs Quicksilver 20.8 Miler

Choose the right races and you may end up on the podium! Yesterday I had an 18+ mile training run on my schedule, so I decided to jump into the "Troy's Trail Run Quicksilver Challenge" 20.8 mile trail run.

My goal for the day was to spend a long time on my feet (accomplished) and the idea of a supported run through Quicksilver was strangely appealing. It was a last minute decision, so I had no time to research the race or get nervous, I just showed up, paid my $45 and shoved off.

In short, the run was a lot of fun. The course started from the Mockingbird entrance, which I've never run before, and I was stunned to find a 15% grade for the first mile. I took it slow, "ultra-walking" up the path with the knowledge that the course would level out at the top. Once I got past that first hill though it was a really glorious run for about the next 10 miles. As you can see from the map, the organizer strung together nearly 21 miles with very little overlap on the trails. In addition, the run was well supported, with at least 5 stocked aid stations with GU, coke, nuts, and other snacks and sports drinks.

The field stretched out and I had no idea how I was doing relatively, but I was enjoying some scenic running and a great playlist on the iPod, and for a while the miles clicked off. When I pulled into the mile 10 aid station, I was surprised to hear that I was the first 20.8 runner through (the folks in front of me were apparently all running the 8 or 13 mile courses) and with that inspiration I started focusing a bit more. Towards the end of the race the climbs and downhills were starting to hurt, but I had not been passed and from the last aid station home I ran pretty strongly along a flat to mild downhill path.

I finished to a smattering of applause from the race support crew, but alas they told me I was the second finisher, not the first. Ah well, the podium is the podium and I will treasure my red ribbon for a very long time, or until I lose it, whichever comes first.

Overall I covered the 21 miles in ~ 4:37 which is probably 1:40 or so longer than a 20 mile training run would've lasted, so it's clear how the hills impact a runner like me. But hopefully it's good strength training for the rolling downhill course at CIM.

The course itself was great: there was a lot of single-track, some technically challenging running, and enough fire roads to let me run uninhibited for long distances. It's tough to get into a rhythm when trail running, but there is sure a lot more to distract me from thinking about my tired legs all the time.