Worst Run Ever!

My first trail run at Renaissance in awhile and it was a disaster.  Terry and I ran a 6+ mile course and around the 2nd mile I felt completely gassed.  I just felt heavy and exhausted.  I even walked - something I never do - not once or twice - but numerous times.  It was 82 outside and extremely humid today which was a big factor but the bigger factor is that I  simply lacked motivation today.  It was my first training run since running 3 races in 12 days - Uwharrie Rumble 8K, Warrior Dash, and the Rock2Rock 10K.  I trained hard for those races and now that they are over I don't have that fire under my butt. Now that I feel humiliated at my poor performance I think I will get the fire back because finishing 5 minutes behind my running buddies does not rest well with me.


I am going to view this as my first day back to training.  I have not done any tough high intensity workouts in awhile either so now it is time to get back into the swing of things.  We have trail runs planned for Monday and Wednesday so I will have more updates to come!

Waxhaw Town and Country 5K and 1/2 Mile Fun Run Tonight!

I haven't been doing much street running lately because I prefer to run trails.  The trails at Renaissance Park here in Charlotte offer very challenging single track and I don't feel the least bit sore even after long runs.  There is a very appealing sense of freedom I get when I'm running up and down dirt trails under a canopy of trees. Nevertheless, I do like to do some street runs here and there and decided to do the local Waxhaw Town and Country 5K which is this evening at 7pm.

One big motivator for me is my 8 year old son, Jack, who will be doing his first 1/2 mile fun run just before the 5K commences.  He is very excited to do this run. The street training runs that I did with him this week instantly proved to me that he is serious about running.  I have seen him get motivated about doing different things before but never like this!  His enthusiasm is contagious and I can't wait to cheer him on tonight in his race.  It makes this Dad proud!

Btw, I will be doing the 5K in my Vibram Five Fingers KSOs which will be the second 5K I have run in them.  Back in November of last year, I ran the Matthews 5K in 22:52 wearing my Five Fingers for the first time.  I am in much better shape than I was for that race and expect a much better result tonight.  I will report back tomorrow with results and pictures!

Sprint Tabata

If you read my posts you know I am a big fan of tabatas.  My "triad of death" is a tough one where I have only gotten up to 22 intervals before throwing in the towel.  Using a jump rope or the airdyne bike are also favorites and another one is alternating two intervals of rotating an 8 kg (18 pound) kettlebell attached to a 1.5 inch thick rope over my head coupled with two intervals of burpees for the total of 4 minutes.  With all that said, I still believe the toughest tabata you can do is the most primal of them all - the sprint - Sprinting full guns for 20 seconds and resting for 10 seconds for a total of 4 minutes.

I did a 4 minute sprint tabata today as it has been awhile and boy did that burn me out - more than any tabata I could think of recently.  What makes it tough is that by the time your momentum slows after the 20 seconds, 5 seconds will have elapsed from your rest interval giving you only 5 seconds to catch your breath and get ready blast into your next interval.  When you tabata in place with jumping rope, for instance, you can stop on the dime after 20 seconds and have the full 10 seconds to recover - but near impossible to do that with the sprints.  Forward momentum makes things tough!

Following the tabata we did the short 2.1 mile trail run.  I felt great.  My breathing was very relaxed on the trails after the tabata.  I have been doing all my runs with the 10 pound hypervest recently so this was my first run sans vest and I felt great!  I also took yesterday and Tuesday off from exercise so I felt very well rested when I ran today.

I used my Garmin 405 for the interval timing of the tabatas.  I was able to set it up with no instructions and with the GPS it came up with some good stats on tabata and my short trail run.  I may have mentioned in another post that the 405 is hardly accurate on the trails but as long as it is consistent in its inaccuracy I just make sure my time improves for the same distance.  The weather today in Charlotte was absolutely perfect in the 60s with no humidity.  You've got to love the Spring in the Carolinas!

Snake on the Trail!

During our training run at Renaissance Park today, my friend Terry and I ran into a rather long black snake. It was right smack in the middle of the trail.  At first I thought it was fake.  My thinking was that perhaps a mountain biker dropped it to frighten a friend - who knows??...but then I saw the little tongue and it started to slither.

Fortunately, I spotted the snake when it was well ahead of me.  When I run the single-track trails I am always watching my next few steps while intermittently taking a quick scan of  the trail 15-20 strides ahead of me and making mental notes of what will be in store for me.  In the winter, the trails don't have much wildlife but now that Spring has sprung I often see rabbits, birds and squirrels and now I can add a snake to my list.

The snake stopped me dead in my path.  Terry, who was 10-12 strides behind me, knew something was odd.  I never stop unless a mountain biker is heading directly for us and there is no room to run.  When he caught up he thought I wanted him to pass me and wondered if I injured myself.  Then I pointed to the snake.  He was impressed.  We looked at it for a few seconds then it started slithering off to the left of the single track and we then proceeded with a wide right around the area where I found him.  The encounter was toward the end of our run and I think I ran a bit faster after that.  I am not a big fan of snakes.  I was told that this type of snake is not poisonous but  I don't really care.  I do not want to be face to face with any snake.

I hope my next run will be more uneventful.

Back From The Dead With A New Personal Best!

I have avoided getting sick for quite awhile. For most of 2008 and all of 2009, I did not miss a day of work due to illness. That all changed on March 6th when I caught a nasty stomach virus which lasted a few days. After missing three days of work I have slowly worked my way back to normal and last Sunday, March 14th I did a warm-up and a short workout just jumping rope and from there got back to my usual work week workout routines. I had to miss the March 13th Riverbound Race 5k as I was still recovering.

Perhaps the stomach virus was my body's way of telling me to take a break. Prior to the illness I was on top of game and most notably I was able to set a personal best 22 intervals on my triad of death workout back on Thursday March 4th. I am yet to try that workout since fully recovering but I will likely try it next week. This week I shocked myself and my trail running partner when we did our lunchtime Renaissance Park run in 20:41! This broke the old best at 21:56 by one minute and fifteen seconds! Not bad for my first run in almost two weeks! March 27th is the next 5K at Whitewater and I would say we are ready!

I have been doing my running in my new Inov-8 X-Talon 212s that I purchased back in January. I love these trail shoes! The only thing I was not crazy about were the laces so I bought a pair of yankz! sure laces at TrySports and now I no longer worry about my laces becoming untied. The X-Talons are a minimalist trail racing flat with terrific traction and extremely lightweight - the 212 is the weight in grams - approximately 7.5 ounces. The day I got sick I ran about 8-9 miles in them at the Whitewater Center in the morning and my feet and legs never felt better - even running the longer distance. I purchased mine on Zappos. I am a 9 1/2 in most shoes and the 9 1/2 in the Inov-8 also fits me perfectly!

Inov-8 X-Talon 212 at Zappos

Lows in Teens - Highs in the 40s - Snow forecasted for tonight - time for a trail run!

I did my first trail run of the New Year with two of my buddies from work over at Renaissance Park today. We did the usual short loop just shy of 3 miles. It was chilly out in the low to mid-40s but it felt great. I do not run often in the cold weather but I have to say I find it quite exhilarating. Two miles into the run I felt very warm and I was not cold at all. I recorded a time of 23:34 which is not my slowest time but way off my best of 22:19. I thought I was running at a good clip but I was extra cautious on the downhills and big dips. It was very difficult decipher between soft mud and frozen mud and between water and ice. One spot early on in the run was a huge muddy icy puddle that we had to walk around as running through it looked way too treacherous. So the bottom line, I got through without incident and felt like I could have gone much further but had to get back to work.